Medicine: Out in the Open

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For those who know what British Novelist Malcolm Lowry described as the alcoholic's "fine balance between the shakes of too little and the abyss of too much," sobriety cannot come too soon. That is the challenge for medical researchers. But just as much energy should go into the job of preventing the disease. That means not only finding genetic markers to warn those susceptible but also changing attitudes in a society that still glorifies drinking. As Bowen remarked recently, "To do anything less than all this would be a disservice to ourselves, our society and to the many future generations whose lives and livelihoods are at stake." For millions of American alcoholics, there is no time to lose.

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CREDIT: TIME Diagram by Joe Lertola

CAPTION: THE EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL

DESCRIPTION: Color Diagram shows how liquor is consumed and affects various parts of the body.