Doug Levy

Doug Levy's COVID-19 Daily Top Stories

A former medical reporter's pick of the coronavirus news that matters most

Trump misleads on virus

A Virtual Conversation with Doug Levy, Communications Handbook for Coronavirus

Distracted?

These days, distractions are everywhere. How do you navigate the modern word without feeling completely stressed out? Read on.

You Can Get Your DNA Tested At An NFL Game. Should You?

Depending on whom you ask, finding out whether your genes make you a better athlete or give you healthier skin may be as easy as swabbing your cheeks for a DNA test on your way into a football game. But others say these "wellness" tests marketed directly to consumers are modern snake oil - worthless, or even misleading.

Free DNA Kits at S.F. 49ers Games Attract Skeptics - and Regulators

Depending on whom you ask, finding out whether your genes make you a better athlete or give you healthier skin may be as easy as swabbing your cheeks for a DNA test on your way into a football game. But others say these "wellness" tests marketed directly to consumers are modern snake oil - worthless, or even misleading.

Spatial Reasoning Is Your Brain's Inner GPS

One of a series of videos produced for Scientific American and AARP on brain science. This one was about "spatial reasoning," the brain's "GPS." To strengthen spatial reasoning, next time you get GPS directions, memorize turns and visual landmarks you see instead of just following prompts.

Video: How Selective Attention Helps You Stay Focused

Part of a series of brain science videos produced for Scientific American and AARP. In a world full of distraction, our brain's selective attention allows us to stay singularly focused despite a wealth of external stimuli around us.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/01/170131133730.htm

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/03/170313134937.htm

When Fear Becomes An Unintended Public Health Problem

With the Zika virus in the daily headlines, public health authorities should be looking carefully at how they communicate about this latest emerging infectious disease. People need to be alerted, not alarmed. That balance can be hard to strike when the health sources people turn to range from acquaintances on social media to politicians, instead of physicians and other medical professionals.

Addressing Healthcare Cybersecurity Strategically

White paper about health care data security for HIMSS Media on behalf of Symantec.

Direct-to-Consumer Advertising: Is It Too Late to Manage the Risks?

Helping hospitals learn from tragic mistakes

This article about medical errors was one of the first major news stories about the "epidemic" of mistakes in hospitals in the United States. Articles like this helped advance the effor...

Tobacco deal

Levy, Doug. "Tobacco's Top Foe Raps Deal." USA TODAY, Jun 23, 1997.

Medicine by modem

As an "early adopter," Doug frequently wrote about the impact of the Internet and computers on health care. This USA Today Cover Story ran in 1996.

USA Today: Organ Transplants 'lucrative' for some

This front-page USA Today story from June 23, 1993 was one of many articles that Doug Levy wrote about organ transplants, the science of transplant medicine, and how to increase the availability of organs to save lives.

Ghostwriters a hidden resource for drug makers

Exposing the practice by drug companies of writing articles, then getting prominent doctors to claim authorship.

Genome Project Reaches Important Milestones

In 1992, Doug Levy reported on the near-completion of the Human Genome Project, a $3-billion international effort to map the entire genetic blueprint for humans.

The Bay Area's best Bargain Bites

The Bay Area's best Bargain Bites Since last year the dining scene has gone through some interesting changes. Food carts and trucks, lunch counters run by big-name chefs and pop-up restaurants have cropped up everywhere - mostly in an effort to survive dismal economic times.