Back from D.C.

Spent the past two days in D.C. at a Science Writers Symposium hearing about new approaches to flu vaccines, salmonella, heparin, heart devices and pet food scares.

The group was pretty high powered, from Time to Bloomberg, and the questions intelligent and incisive. I didn't get the sense that the FDA was particularly trying to hide anything, but they didn't really make anyone feel safer about the state of the global food or medicine supply, particularly since save for the salmonella, some of these fiascos were intentionally started by people wanting to make a quick buck using cheaper materials.

The scientists played up the CSI aspects of the searches, but I was more impressed by the connections made by the doctors -- how they bore down and used everything they knew to think and re-think the problem before them. And, how far the search took them from where they had started....

Spent an hour in the part with Noodle, letting her dash around and wear herself out in piles of leaves among animal dens. Such peace watching her sniff and snort and such pleasure as she barrels towards me, hanging onto my every footstep and shrug.