A tale of two Germanys: Some patients in former East Germany were more equal than others

When some are more equal than others.

A tale of two Germanys

Editor—The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 marked the beginning of the end of communism in eastern Europe and in eastern Germany. As McKee and Fister point out, certain constellations of epidemiological and demographic variables characterise the resultant process of political and economic transition: low or even decreasing life expectancy (especially for men) and higher prevalences of alcoholis...

Some hematopoietic stem cells are more equal than others

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) save lives in routine clinical practice every day, as they are the key element in transplantation-based therapies for hematologic malignancies. The success of clinical stem cell transplantation critically relies on the ability of stem cells to reconstitute the hematopoietic system for many decades after the administration of the powerful chemotherapy and/or irrad...

Internet Newspapers: Are Some More Equal than Others?

In 450 years of existence, the written press has never faced a change with the intensity and consequences as those of the Internet. The decision of going online represents a whole set of opportunities and threats that publishers must carefully weigh. Once they have made the step, newspapers find themselves in a completely different competitive environment. They deal with different competitors, ...

Metazoan Evolution: Some Animals Are More Equal than Others

Comparison of newly available sequence data facilitates reconstruction of the gene inventory of the Urbilateria, the last common ancestor of flies, nematodes and humans. The most surprising outcome is that human genes seem to be closer to the bilaterian roots than previously assumed.