Barry Drees

Section Editor

Contributions

The Light Stuff - Volume 23, Issue 4

Anecdotes and quotes related (more or less) to scientific writing   Pigeons are like editors, they both do the icky to your most cherished work, but at least pigeons don't say, Now it really sings. Cecil Adams, The Straight Dope Ignorant people…

The Light Stuff - Volume 23, Issue 2

I love deadlines, I like the sound they make as they fly by Douglas Adams, English writer, humorist & dramatist (1952–2001).Illustration: Gemma Hobbs, Downham Market, UK. Answers to Medical Writing Jumble #10:PRINT, TRAIN, SAFETY,…

The Light Stuff - Volume 22, Issue 4

A call to abandon the useless anachronism of the ‘define at first use’ rule for abbreviations Definitions CTD – Common Technical Document (dossier submitted for marketing authorization) eCTD – Electronic Common Technical Document QC – Quality…

The Light Stuff - Volume 22, Issue 3

Decoding the Japanese Code 1: Yes means yes, and no does not exist At a recent dinner, my husband and I were chatting with a university professor, a Japanese fellow who has lived and worked in Europe and the US. We talked about cross-cultural…

The Light Stuff - Volume 22, Issue 2

The medical profession has a well-deserved reputation for atrocious handwriting, which has undoubtedly led to many mishaps in patient care. Sometimes, however, problems in interpreting doctor's writing, as those of us who have worked on publications…

The Light Stuff - Volume 22, Issue 1

Welcome to The Light Stuff One of the unwritten laws of EMWA is ‘Never talk to the editor of the journal if you don't want to end up working on it in your spare time’. I can joke about this because as I was the editor of the EMWA journal from 1998…