Stuck On Pause & 3 Scientific Finds in Translation

It’s interesting how life progresses in fits and starts on every level. Of course, that's what keeps life interesting! As a freelancer, I've been noticing that my business is not an exception. That is why my blog and social media use have been stuck on pause.

Last week, a lot happened with my home (I am getting ready to buy/sell for the first time), which is major progress for me! As a result, I put my blog posts on hold, and now I find myself without a well-developed, interesting topic to discuss, but the need to write and share my experience is ever present.

The result: you'll find below a list of 3 interesting, scientific finds from my translation work last week. Maybe you'll "ooo and ahhh," too.

1. ​sujets à traiter (NST) afin d’éviter un événement clinique = NNT: number needed to treat. Just when I think I have learned all of the major clinical trial terms, there’s always a new one that pops up in my work. (I know, I’ll never learn them all.) For example, progression free survival, PFS, is very common. Last week, it was the above term: Number needed to treat. The English and French version differ in a way that makes my bilingual heart smile. The French uses the word sujets, or patients, whereas the English, in a manner, personifies the word number, so that it encompasses “number of patients” in one word.
2. WHO website: Naming the coronavirus disease (COVID-19): This is an interesting and succinct explanation of the official names for the coronavirus disease. Additionally, this link led me to click on other links in the sidebar to learn more about the science and general language that WHO uses when discussing this subject. So, maybe give that a shot, too.
3. Clinical trial research terms: pretty self-explanatory. The writer explains 30 terms that are extremely helpful for translating medical science documents. My favorite part is the introduction. She tells a story about a clinical trial using all of the acronyms (you’ve gotta see it for yourself), then asks, “Confused yet? Here's an explanation of each of the clinical research acronyms in alphabetical order."