Elephanticide redux
NB: I temporarily removed this post from circulation while I thought about the details. Given the public bile surrounding these photos I didn’t want to give any vigilante details that might help someone locate the alleged hunter, but I think this current edit tells the story without raising potential problems. My concerns about the photo: there is smearing and blurring of these low res photos as if they have been manipulated so there is still ambiguity, but there is an additional photo and description on the hunter’s blog post that would suggest that any tweaks or jpf compression artefacts are incidental and th...
Source: Sciencebase Science Blog - November 15, 2013 Category: Medical Scientists Authors: David Bradley Tags: Science Source Type: blogs
Synthetic Human Cadavers in Medical Education
It’s not so surprising that simulation will play an increasingly important part in medical education. I covered this topic in my recent The Guide to the Future of Medicine white paper as well. As a next step, here are some synthetic human cadavers which could make medical students forget about the formaldehyde exposure in anatomy labs and replace traditional techniques in education.
“It (the synthetic cadaver) has a heart that beats and blood flows. It has a liver that can make bile, so you can imagine, procedural-wise, this is profound,” Flynn explained.
SynDaver Labs also created the world’s most ...
Source: ScienceRoll - November 9, 2013 Category: Geneticists and Genetics Commentators Authors: Dr. Bertalan Meskó Tags: Future Medical education Source Type: blogs
#inactualfact announces mass counter propaganda tweet out for 6th Nov against #britainonthefiddle #wca #disability
Wednesday 6 November 9.00pm, BBC will broadcast ‘Britain on the Fiddle’
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03hhvsr
This is a chance to show In Actual Fact working to counter propaganda. We need you to join us, mass-tweeting on the #britainonthefiddle hashtag (you might have to modify some tweets to squeeze it into the character limit).
We’ll be tweeting throughout the hour of the programme and for the hour after, answering every single lie with relevant tweets from the IAF site. We’re also planning to use tweets to respond directly to misinformation and bile put out by other people on the #britainonthefiddle thread.
...
Source: Dawn Willis sharing the News and Views of the Mentally Wealthy - November 1, 2013 Category: Mental Illness Authors: Quinonostante Tags: Mental Health, The News & Policies. Source Type: blogs
Bile acid sequestrants
True statement/s regarding bile acid sequestrants:
a) Inhibit the absorption of bile acids
b) Depletion of cholesterol pool in the liver
c) LDL receptor upregulation
d) All of the above
Correct answer: d) All of the above
They occur sequentially. In addition they have a beneficial effect on glycemia, possibly mediated through incretins. Important drugs in this class are cholestyramine, colestipol and colesevelam. (Source: Cardiophile MD)
Source: Cardiophile MD - October 31, 2013 Category: Cardiology Authors: Prof. Dr. Johnson Francis MD, DM, FACC, FRCP Edin, FRCP London Tags: Cardiology MCQ DM / DNB Cardiology Entrance cholestyramine colesevelam colestipol incretins Source Type: blogs
Top stories in health and medicine, September 27, 2013
From MedPage Today:
Sulfonylureas May Raise Death Risk. When taken as first-line therapy, sulfonylureas may increase the risk of death in patients with type 2 diabetes.
Parkinson’s Makes for Distrust, Risk-Taking. Compared with healthy controls, patients with Parkinson’s disease were markedly less trusting of strangers in a psychosocial experiment, even while showing greater willingness to take risks.
Cholesterol Meds May Hold Glycemic Benefit. Cholesterol-lowering drugs that work by binding to bile acids in the gut modestly improve glycemic control and pose little risk of hypoglycemia.
Kids Beat Adults at Ge...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - September 27, 2013 Category: Family Physicians Tags: News Diabetes Endocrinology Heart Pediatrics Source Type: blogs
Intuitive Surgical’s Firefly Fluorescence Imaging Vision System FDA Cleared for Gallbladder Surgery
Intuitive Surgical received FDA approval for expanded indication of the company’s Firefly system that’s used along with its laparoscopic da Vinci surgical system to visualize blood vasculature in real-time.
Firefly imaging activated around the renal hilum.
Indocyanine green (ICG) dye is injected into the bloodstream and naturally sticks to albumin. When a 803 nm wavelength laser illuminates the surgical scene, the dye is excited and glows, showing the path of vessels.
From Intuitive Surgical:
In addition to providing the ability to view blood flow through vessels and tissue, the expanded use now includes real-...
Source: Medgadget - September 26, 2013 Category: Technology Consultants Authors: Editors Tags: Surgery Source Type: blogs
A retrovirus makes chicken eggshells blue
When you purchase chicken eggs at the market, they usually have white or brown shells. But some breeds of chicken produce blue or green eggs. The blue color is caused by insertion of a retrovirus into the chicken genome, which activates a gene involved in the production of blue eggs.
The Araucana, a chicken breed from Chile, and Dongxiang and Lushi chickens in China lay blue eggs. Blue eggshell color is controlled by an autosomal dominant gene: eggs produced by homozygote chickens are darker blue than those from heterozygotes. The gene causing blue eggshell color is called oocyan (O) and was previously mapped to the shor...
Source: virology blog - September 12, 2013 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: Basic virology Information blue eggs chicken EAV-HP eggshell color endogenous insertional activation provirus retrovirus viral Source Type: blogs
A retrovirus makes chicken eggshells blue
When you purchase chicken eggs at the market, they usually have white or brown shells. But some breeds of chicken produce blue or green eggs. The blue color is caused by insertion of a retrovirus into the chicken genome, which activates a gene involved in the production of blue eggs.
The Araucana, a chicken breed from Chile, and Dongxiang and Lushi chickens in China lay blue eggs. Blue eggshell color is controlled by an autosomal dominant gene: eggs produced by homozygote chickens are darker blue than those from heterozygotes. The gene causing blue eggshell color is called oocyan (O) and was previously mapped to the shor...
Source: virology blog - September 12, 2013 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: Basic virology Information blue eggs chicken EAV-HP eggshell color endogenous insertional activation provirus retrovirus viral Source Type: blogs
An Interview with Noted Pancreas Surgeon Dr. Charles J. Yeo
Recently, InsideSurgery had a chance to speak with Dr. Charles J. Yeo about his career as a top Whipple and pancreas surgeon and his ongoing role as a surgical leader and educator.
As the Samuel D. Gross Professor of Surgery and Chair of the Department of Surgery, you welcomed your second intern class to Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania last month. What one piece advice do you have for your new trainees?
One piece of advice….that’s tough! Several pieces of advice….enjoy the challenges and experiences of internship; read and increase your knowledge base outside of that 80 hours; practice kno...
Source: Inside Surgery - August 12, 2013 Category: Surgeons Authors: Editor Tags: Interviews Source Type: blogs
An Example of the Importance of Mitochondrial Membrane Composition
The membrane pacemaker hypothesis suggests that longevity is heavily influenced by the composition of mitochondrial membranes, and thus their resistance to oxidative damage. The details of mitochondrial structure and operation correlate strongly with variations in longevity between species, and minor genetic variations between individuals within a species may also correlate with natural variations in longevity, though the evidence for that is less compelling. Damage to mitochondrial DNA is implicated as one of the root causes of degenerative aging, however, and issues with mitochondrial function show up in many of the comm...
Source: Fight Aging! - August 12, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs
Vomiting, Diarrhea, and Our Place in the Universe
I’m not sure I can live up to the promise of this post, but as I crouched naked on my hand and knees this weekend, crippled in the 6th hour of profuse diarrhea and vomiting, a few thoughts came to me.
First, how woefully miserable it is to feel sick. Not just sniffly-nose-nasal-congestion-sick, but rather the kind of sick that if it went much longer you might question your will to keep suffering.
I felt a tight, painful clench in my trunk that would not ease; a foul urgency to sit on the toilet as liquid poured out; that familiar burst of saliva and welling nausea as I scrambled to clean one end before the guttural r...
Source: The Examining Room of Dr. Charles - July 29, 2013 Category: Primary Care Authors: drcharles Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
Post #39 Vomiting and Diarrhea (Gastroenteritis) in Children: A Practical Guide
It certainly looks, sounds and smells awful, but vomiting and diarrhea are rarely dangerous.Vomiting, not to be confused with spitting up, is the expulsion of food from the stomach. Spitting up is more of a laundry problem than a medical problem, and kids who spit up do not become dehydrated. Diarrhea is a little harder to define, because watery stools are fairly common and most healthy individuals will experience it from time to time for reasons which do not qualify as diarrhea.Frequent stools can be normal too, especially in breast-fed babies, who might dirty the diaper every time they feed, up to 12 times a ...
Source: A Pediatrician's Blog - July 13, 2013 Category: Pediatricians Source Type: blogs
News of Progress in Growing Liver Tissue from Stem Cells
Last year Japanese scientists published on their work in growing small amounts of liver tissue from stem cells. Here is more on this line of research:
The researchers found that a mixture of human liver precursor cells and two other cell types can spontaneously form three-dimensional structures dubbed "liver buds." In the mice, these liver buds formed functional connections with natural blood vessels and perform some liver-specific functions such as breaking down drugs in the bloodstream. It's possible the technique will work with other organ types, including the pancreas, kidney, or lungs. The study is the first demonstr...
Source: Fight Aging! - July 4, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs
Hepatitis A virus infections associated with berry and pomegranate mix
An outbreak of hepatitis A virus (HAV) infections in eight US states has been attributed to consumption of Townsend Farms Organic Anti-Oxidant Blend frozen berry and pomegranate mix purchased from Costco markets. Since March 2013, 118 individuals have acquired the infection and 80% report having eaten this fruit product. Townsend Farms has recalled some lots of this product because, according to the producer, one of the ingredients of the blend, “pomegranate seeds processed in Turkey, may be linked to an illness outbreak outside of the United States”. The Food and Drug Administration will soon begin testing f...
Source: virology blog - June 19, 2013 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: Basic virology Information HAV hepatitis a virus icteric jaundice Townsend Farms Organic Anti-Oxidant Blend frozen berry and pomegranate mix viral Source Type: blogs
