Tag Archives: Murder Mayhem and Medicine

Red Wine and Dark Chocolate are the Best Drugs!

Posted on April 17, 2013 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

Two of my favorite food groups: red wine and dark chocolate – and now I discover that both are among the healthiest foods one can eat. But hold on a minute. There’s a catch. Scientists have found that it’s not … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Medications/Pharmacy, Dark Chocolate for Health, Drugs That Prevent Aging, Foods For Health, Foods to Prevent Aging, Pharmaceutical Fountain of Youth, Pharmacy/Pharmaceuticals, Red Wine for Health, Resveratrol for Health, Resveratrol Research | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Pharmacy Recall Epidemic

Posted on April 10, 2013 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

In November 2012, I wrote a blog about an outbreak of fungal meningitis that resulted from poor quality control procedures at a Massachusetts compounding pharmacy. It was first reported in September of that year, but evolved into national news because … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Medications/Pharmacy, Compounding Pharmacy, Compounding Pharmacy Deaths, Compounding Pharmacy Disasters, Meningitis Outbreak, Our nation's drug supply, Pharmacy/Pharmaceuticals, The Practice of Pharmacy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Bee Venom Kills HIV

Posted on April 3, 2013 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

In the past few weeks I’ve presented two blogs on various drug resistant bacteria. The first was on March 13th about “Super Bugs” and another on March 20th about “Deadly CRE”. These hardy bacteria are a growing concern worldwide since … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Medications/Pharmacy, Bee Venom, Bee Venom Research, Bee Venom Therapy, Curing HIV with Bee Venom, Curing HIV with Mellitin, Curing Viral Infections, Drug Resistant Viruses, Mellitin, Mellitin Research, Mellitin Therapy, Pharmacy/Pharmaceuticals | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Visine as a Deadly Poison?

Posted on March 27, 2013 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a blog: “How to Write a Bloodless Death Scene”. The purpose was to stimulate ideas about how to write interesting murder scenarios. I had listed the most obvious ones and a couple of … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Medications/Pharmacy, Bloodless Death Scene Writing, Bloodless Death Scenes, Drug Poisoning, Our nation's drug supply, What writers are called!, Why People Kill, Writing Dialogue, Writing Labels, wrLapinsky | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

The Deadly Invasion of CRE

Posted on March 20, 2013 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

In last week’s blog I discussed “superbugs”, a term given to bacteria that evolve to become resistant to some of the most commonly-used antibiotics. Drug resistant bacteria are a growing concern among healthcare professionals and the causes are partially related … Continue reading →

Posted in Antibiotic Overuse, Carbapenem Resistant Bacteria, CRE, Drug Resistant Bacteria, Pharmacy/Pharmaceuticals, Superbug Epidemic, Superbugs | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Super Bugs = Super Killers

Posted on March 13, 2013 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

We perceive bacterial infections to be little more than a nuisance—with a simple fix of taking an antibiotic for a few days and then we’re back to feeling one hundred percent. Fortunately, that’s usually the case. Certain bacteria, however, have become … Continue reading →

Posted in About Medications/Pharmacy, Antibiotic Overuse, Antibiotics in Agriculture, Drug Misadventures, Drug Resistant Bacteria, MRSA, Pharmacy/Pharmaceuticals, Superbugs | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

How To Write a Bloodless Death Scene

Posted on March 6, 2013 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

The storyline for the novel I’m currently writing calls for one of the characters to be murdered. Simple enough! Shoot or stab the person, or use a dozen other ways to kill off the character. But that didn’t fit with … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, Bloodless Death Scene Writing, Bloodless Death Scenes, Drug Poisoning, Drugs Used For Murder, The Art of Writing, The Psychology of Murder | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

I’m a Writer – No Other Label Needed!

Posted on February 27, 2013 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

I started my professional career as a pharmacist: a graduate pharmacist first, then a registered one, and then a clinical one. Those labels defined not only who I was, but it described in a single word what I had achieved. … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Writing, All About Writing, The Art of Writing, What writers are called!, Writing Labels | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

The Perfect Drug As A Murder Weapon!

Posted on February 13, 2013 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

As I write about murder, I often have to ask myself this question: What is the perfect drug to use as a murder weapon?  There are a number of possibilities, but most have flaws that make them less than perfect. … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Medications/Pharmacy, Drugs Used For Murder, Pharmacy/Pharmaceuticals | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 26 Comments

Medication Errors – A Killer

Posted on January 23, 2013 by James J. Murray, Fiction Writer

As a follow-up to its landmark report, To Err Is Human, the Institute of Medicine has determined that medication errors are a serious public health risk and that the risk remains a widespread and growing threat. Medication errors result in … Continue reading →

Posted in About James J. Murray, About Medications/Pharmacy, Drug Misadventures, Pharmacy/Pharmaceuticals, The Pharmacy Profession, The Practice of Pharmacy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments