Eight research teams working with DARPA to discover best ways to activate neuroplasticity and accelerate learning
DARPA Funds Brain-Stimulation Research to Speed Learning (DoD news):
“The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is working with seven U.S. universities and elements of the Air Force and Army on research that seeks to stimulate the brain in a non-invasive way to speed up learning.
DARPA announced the Targeted Neuroplasticity Training, or TNT, program last March, and work now has begun on the effort to discover the safest and most effective ways to activate a natural process called “synaptic plasticity.”
Plasticity is the brain’s ability to strengthen or weaken its neural connections to adapt to changes in the en...
Source: SharpBrains - May 12, 2017 Category: Neuroscience Authors: SharpBrains Tags: Cognitive Neuroscience Education & Lifelong Learning Technology Brain-Plasticity cognitive skills training cognitive-skills Cognitive-Training DARPA neuromodulation neuroplasticity neurostimulation synaptic-plasticity Targeted Neur Source Type: blogs
Widespread hype gives false hope to many cancer patients
After Michael Uvanni’s older brother, James, was diagnosed with a deadly form of skin cancer, it seemed as if everyone told the family what they wanted to hear: Have hope. You can beat this, and we are here to help.
The brothers met with doctors at a half-dozen of the country’s best hospitals, all with impressive credentials that inspired confidence.
Michael Uvanni was in awe when he visited the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, one of the world’s most respected cancer hospitals. It was like seeing the Grand Canyon, said Uvanni, 66, of Rome, N.Y. “You never get used to the size and scope.”...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - May 3, 2017 Category: Journals (General) Authors: < a href="http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/liz-szabo" rel="tag" > Liz Szabo < /a > Tags: Conditions Cancer Source Type: blogs
Urgent care clinics just for cancer patients
It’s tough being a cancer patient. The illness is serious and sometimes fatal, treatments can have serious side effects, and the fatigue and stress can be overwhelming. It gets worse when patients end up in the emergency room where they are exposed to people who may be contagious and encounter medical staff who may not know how to address the special needs of an oncology patient.
So I was heartened to read about urgent care centers specifically for cancer patients. Centers like the one at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas cater to the requirements of cancer patients. They provide same-day ap...
Source: Health Business Blog - May 2, 2017 Category: Health Management Authors: dewe67 Tags: Economics Hospitals Patients cancer Source Type: blogs
40th Annual Health Law Professors Conference
If you teach health law, come to the 40th Annual Health Law Professors Conference, June 8-10, 2017, at Georgia State University College of Law in Atlanta. Here is the schedule:
Thursday, June 8, 20178:00-12:00 AM Tour of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Separate registration is required. Participants meet in the lobby of Georgia State Law to take a shuttle to the CDC.)
9:45 – 11:15 AM Tour of Grady Health System (Separate registration is required. Participants meet in the lobby of Georgia State Law and will walk over to Grady as a group.)
2:00 – 5:00 PM Conference Registration – Henso...
Source: blog.bioethics.net - April 27, 2017 Category: Medical Ethics Authors: Thaddeus Mason Pope, JD, PhD Tags: Health Care syndicated Source Type: blogs
The Return of the Angry Granny State
By CHARLES SILVER
Texas should call itself The Granny State. That’s because it’s a nanny state in which the public officials who run the place have the values of a tea-totaling, Bible-thumping biddy who knows how God wants everyone to live and can’t resist telling them. No buying liquor on Sundays when people are supposed to be at church. No gambling ever. No whacky-weed for medicinal uses or recreation, even in the privacy of one’s home. No gay marriage, preferably no gays, and no transgender folk deciding which restrooms to use. And, of course, no sex, sex education, birth control, or abortions. Women should hav...
Source: The Health Care Blog - April 26, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: John Irvine Tags: Uncategorized Charles Silver Malpractice Texas Trump Source Type: blogs
Kathy Greenlee ’s Reflections on Paths to Person-Centered Planning
Challenging Us to See the Whole Person at All Stages of LifeKathy Greenlee, VP for Aging and Health PolicyThe Center for Practical Bioethics hosted the Joan Berkeley symposium on Thursday, April 6. The title for the day was “Paths to Person-Centered Planning.” In planning the event, my objective was to focus on tools and techniques grounded in a disability policy perspective that could benefit healthcare professionals and bioethicists. The day brought articulate and engaged speakers, raised new questions, introduced different language, and ultimately affirmed the strength of a multi-disciplinary approach t...
Source: blog.bioethics.net - April 18, 2017 Category: Medical Ethics Authors: Practical Bioethics Tags: Health Care bioethics chronic pain healthcare decisions Opioid Epidemic Paths to Person-Centered Planning syndicated Source Type: blogs
Who ’s to Blame For the Shortage of Doctors? Doctors and Politicians
By CHARLES SILVER and DAVID HYMAN
After missing an appointment with a physician recently, one of us was tongue-lashed by a medical assistant who explained that the practice has a months-long waiting list for new patients. The dressing-down included a threat. Another no-show and the miscreant would be discharged from the doctor’s practice and have all medications cut off.
Wondering if patients really wait months to see this doctor, the delinquent called back, pretended to be a new patient, and asked how quickly he could get in. The first available appointment at the closest location was, in fact, 2 months out. (Th...
Source: The Health Care Blog - April 12, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Jonathan Halvorson Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
What ’s At Stake for Medical Residents Under the Trump Administration?
The new administration has impacted higher education in unanticipated ways, and universities across the country are experiencing unusually low rates of international applicants. For example,40 percent of 250 collegesacross the country have observed a decrease in applications from international students. The demographics of residency positions for medical students have also changed. The National Resident Matching Program reported that the number of foreign applicants dropped from7,460 in 2016 to 7,284 this spring.President Donald Trump ’sexecutive orderregarding terrorism has deterred potential residents from predominantl...
Source: radRounds - April 6, 2017 Category: Radiology Authors: Julie Morse Source Type: blogs
Bit by the Research Bug: Priscilla ’s Growth as a Scientist
This is the third post in a new series highlighting NIGMS’ efforts toward developing a robust, diverse and well-trained scientific workforce.
Credit: Christa Reynolds.
Priscilla Del Valle
Academic Institution: The University of Texas at El Paso
Major: Microbiology
Minors: Sociology and Biomedical Engineering
Mentor: Charles Spencer
Favorite Book: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot
Favorite Food: Tacos
Favorite music: Pop
Hobbies: Reading and drinking coffee
It’s not every day that you’ll hear someone say, “I learned more about parasites, and I thought, ‘This is so cool!’” But it’s al...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - March 28, 2017 Category: Research Authors: Christa Reynolds Tags: Being a Scientist Bacteria BUILD Infectious Diseases Profiles Training Source Type: blogs
Should Your Husband Be Your BFF?
“Marriages are forms of super friendship” – John F. Helliwell, Senior Fellow of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research
Some marriages begin with love at first sight. Usually, but not always, they fail after the initial buzz wears off. Others begin with a friendship that grows into love. This kind of marriage is more likely to succeed in the long run.
I don’t trust love at first sight. It’s based largely on fantasy and romantic longings. Don’t get me wrong. I love romance. It’s just that it’s not the main ingredient for an everyday fulfilling, lasting marriage. Romance is more like a condim...
Source: World of Psychology - March 22, 2017 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Marcia Naomi Berger, MSW, LCSW Tags: Friends Happiness Marriage and Divorce Relationships Intimacy lasting marriage Love at first sight Source Type: blogs
Make Trumpcare the First Big Step toward a Free Market in Healthcare
By CHARLES SILVER
Say what you will about Obamacare—at least President Obama eventually took ownership of it. When it comes to the American Health Care Act, President Trump isn’t ready to do that. He’s discouraging people from calling it “Trumpcare.” Since Trump normally he puts his name on everything within reach—even the trash can liners at the Trump SoHo Hotel bear his moniker—he must be keeping his distance from the AHCA because he’s ashamed of it.
The editors of The New York Times think he should be. They accuse Trump and the rest of the GOP of “Trading Health Care for the Poor for Tax Cuts for the R...
Source: The Health Care Blog - March 22, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: John Irvine Tags: Repeal Replace Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
Ronald DePinho Resigns as President of the MD Anderson Cancer Center
In a recent blog note, I discussed the abandonment of the Watson project at MD Anderson Cancer Center (see:Scandal at M.D. Anderson -- Operating Loss and Then Watson Deep-Sixed). Perhaps not too surprising now is that the president of this leading cancer hospital, Ronald DePinho, has recently resigned (see:Ronald DePinho, embattled chief of MD Anderson Cancer Center, resigns). Below is an excerpt from the article:Dr. Ronald DePinho... resigned as president ofMD Anderson Cancer Center, one of the nation ’s most prestigious hospitals, after a tumultuous tenure marked by financial problems, a large layoff,...
Source: Lab Soft News - March 16, 2017 Category: Laboratory Medicine Authors: Bruce Friedman Tags: Healthcare Business Healthcare Information Technology Hospital Executive Management Hospital Financial Medical Ethics Medical Research Source Type: blogs
Upcoming Event: America's Global Role in the 21st Century
The Cato Institute has long been unique in Washington, D.C. ’s foreign policy debate. For years, our scholars have argued that there is essentially no debate over grand strategy here in the nation’s capital. Vigorous political battles about U.S. foreign policy tend to happen only within a very narrow range of opinion, usually centering on tactics rather than competing strategic visions. These surface level disagreements mask a bipartisan consensus in favor of a grand strategy of primacy (alternatively termed “liberal hegemony” or “deep engagement”), which is further buttressed by an extensive network of...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - March 14, 2017 Category: American Health Authors: John Glaser Source Type: blogs
