Science for the public good

Now, here's what I like to see: Medical science hard at work finding new and innovative ways to conquer one of the great scourges of humanity. I'm speaking, of course, of head lice, and in praise of a California dermatologist who's bumped the strategy of suffocating lice up a notch by creating a lotion that can be applied to hair to effectively "shrink-wrap" the head and choke the tiny vermin. The last time I tried to suffocate head lice, it involved great quantities of either petroleum jelly or salad oil slathered on the head, covered with a shower cap, and endured for many slimy hours, followed by endless degreasing shampoos. A lotion that would dry unslick and undetectable -- so much so that kids could go to school with the buggers trapped and no one would be the wiser -- sounds like an incredible boon to moms who have known the joy of picking nits. Dare we dream of a day when our hearts won't skip when we see a child scratching her skull? Keep that research coming.