If you’re like most Americans, you’ve probably popped some prescription pills today. And if you’re like most pill poppers, those drugs did not have the desired effect. A popularly prescribed medication is a wild success if it helps a quarter of those who take it. When it comes to treating high cholesterol or heartburn, the drug-effectiveness numbers are much worse. How close are we to more personalized medicine? Nature’s Nicholas J. Schork on the time for one-person trials.

+ When we’re not swallowing ineffective pills, we’re being over-tested and over-diagnosed. From The New Yorker’s always interesting Atul Gawande, Overkill: how an avalanche of unnecessary medical care is harming patients physically and financially.

+ The Economist: The effectiveness of a placebo may depend on someone’s DNA. (Yeah sure, like I’d believe that…)