The Scientific Knowledge That Could Save Lives Is Hiding in Plain Sight
How to Assemble Science
Science produces 7 million papers a year, yet single studies often contradict each other. Meta-analysis and systematic reviews — pioneered by Gene Glass and Iain Chalmers — synthesize all evidence to reveal what really works. Without them, we missed the link between front-sleeping and SIDS for 20 years, costing 50,000 infant lives. These unglamorous methods already shape medicine more than any headline.
They calculated that at least 50,000 infant deaths in Europe, Australasia and the United States might have been prevented if evidence had been synthesised and acted on earlier.