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Tantrum-taming edibles, support gators, and chemo eggs
Chill out, kid
What do you do when your child has constant tantrums? A simple edible could do the trick, according to a Hollywood physician.
The natural medicine physician is in hot (bong) water after recommending marijuana cookies as treatment for a 4-year-old child’s ADHD and bipolar disorder. The icing on the cake (or cookie) is that both diagnoses weren’t even accurate. Perhaps the doctor was sampling his own treatments before the office visit?
The progressive physician has had his license revoked for the “grossly negligent” diagnosis, which he made in 30 minutes without consulting the child’s teachers, his father, or a psychiatrist. Probably not the best way to handle it, said the state medical board. Perhaps he should have suggested some CBD-infused Coke, instead?
Gator saver
Dogs, cats, peacocks – these are the animals that many people with anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues use for emotional support. But now, enter Wally, the emotional support alligator.
Spanning 5 feet long and sporting way too many teeth, Wally is the constant companion of a 65-year-old Pennsylvania man with depression. Wally’s owner decided to forgo pharmacologic treatment for something decidedly more reptilian.
Wally, who was rescued from Florida, loves chicken wings, hugs, and his adopted gator brother, Scrappy. He also has the potential to reach 16 feet long, which is … concerning. Something tells me you can’t take Wally on a plane as a service gator.
But don’t worry, Wally has been approved by a doctor. Rumors that Wally had the doctor’s arm in his jaws before approval are unsubstantiated.
Synergy is not always a good thing
Since it is generally agreed that two heads are better than one, three heads must be even better than two, right? But what if we’re not talking about heads? Suppose, instead, that the subject is global pandemics. Would it be better if three of the greatest threats to humanity’s existence on the planet decided to join forces?
The Lancet Global Syndemic Commission, a group of more than 40 international experts, said that obesity, undernutrition, and climate change “constitute a syndemic, or synergy of epidemics, because they co-occur in time and place, interact with each other to produce complex sequelae, and share common underlying societal drivers” (Lancet. 2019 Jan. 27. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736[18]32822-8).
It gets better: The commission suggested that the “three interconnected health pandemics [have been] effectively orchestrated by the shadowy manipulations and influence of vested commercial interests – an entity collectively defined as ‘Big Food,’ ” according to Science Alert.
This all seems like a lot to overcome, but we here at LOTME have faith in science, and in the scientists who are working to solve these problems. After all, it’s not like anyone’s out there disregarding the science and saying that this stuff isn’t really happening. … Wait, what? … Climate change deniers? … Really? … The president tweeted what? … We’re doomed.
I prefer my medication sunny side up
Here’s a hypothetical question for you: If you were to have cancer, how would you prefer to be treated? Would you rather go through the rigors of chemotherapy? Or would you rather eat an omelet?
Okay, it probably wouldn’t work quite like that, but a group of physicians from the University of Edinburgh have successfully modified chickens to lay eggs containing a pair of human proteins within the egg white.
One of these proteins has antiviral and anticancer effects, and the other can help damaged tissue repair itself. The researchers added that the protein in the egg white could be modified to make the key ingredients for other protein-based drugs such as Avastin and Herceptin, which are used for treating cancer.
We know what you’re thinking: It’ll probably take a thousand eggs to make one dose – but no, it only takes three. Over the course of a year, one chicken could produce a hundred doses, and do it for far cheaper than is currently possible. We hate jumping on the social media bandwagon here, but frankly, this is an egg worth giving millions of Instagram likes.
Chill out, kid
What do you do when your child has constant tantrums? A simple edible could do the trick, according to a Hollywood physician.
The natural medicine physician is in hot (bong) water after recommending marijuana cookies as treatment for a 4-year-old child’s ADHD and bipolar disorder. The icing on the cake (or cookie) is that both diagnoses weren’t even accurate. Perhaps the doctor was sampling his own treatments before the office visit?
The progressive physician has had his license revoked for the “grossly negligent” diagnosis, which he made in 30 minutes without consulting the child’s teachers, his father, or a psychiatrist. Probably not the best way to handle it, said the state medical board. Perhaps he should have suggested some CBD-infused Coke, instead?
Gator saver
Dogs, cats, peacocks – these are the animals that many people with anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues use for emotional support. But now, enter Wally, the emotional support alligator.
Spanning 5 feet long and sporting way too many teeth, Wally is the constant companion of a 65-year-old Pennsylvania man with depression. Wally’s owner decided to forgo pharmacologic treatment for something decidedly more reptilian.
Wally, who was rescued from Florida, loves chicken wings, hugs, and his adopted gator brother, Scrappy. He also has the potential to reach 16 feet long, which is … concerning. Something tells me you can’t take Wally on a plane as a service gator.
But don’t worry, Wally has been approved by a doctor. Rumors that Wally had the doctor’s arm in his jaws before approval are unsubstantiated.
Synergy is not always a good thing
Since it is generally agreed that two heads are better than one, three heads must be even better than two, right? But what if we’re not talking about heads? Suppose, instead, that the subject is global pandemics. Would it be better if three of the greatest threats to humanity’s existence on the planet decided to join forces?
The Lancet Global Syndemic Commission, a group of more than 40 international experts, said that obesity, undernutrition, and climate change “constitute a syndemic, or synergy of epidemics, because they co-occur in time and place, interact with each other to produce complex sequelae, and share common underlying societal drivers” (Lancet. 2019 Jan. 27. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736[18]32822-8).
It gets better: The commission suggested that the “three interconnected health pandemics [have been] effectively orchestrated by the shadowy manipulations and influence of vested commercial interests – an entity collectively defined as ‘Big Food,’ ” according to Science Alert.
This all seems like a lot to overcome, but we here at LOTME have faith in science, and in the scientists who are working to solve these problems. After all, it’s not like anyone’s out there disregarding the science and saying that this stuff isn’t really happening. … Wait, what? … Climate change deniers? … Really? … The president tweeted what? … We’re doomed.
I prefer my medication sunny side up
Here’s a hypothetical question for you: If you were to have cancer, how would you prefer to be treated? Would you rather go through the rigors of chemotherapy? Or would you rather eat an omelet?
Okay, it probably wouldn’t work quite like that, but a group of physicians from the University of Edinburgh have successfully modified chickens to lay eggs containing a pair of human proteins within the egg white.
One of these proteins has antiviral and anticancer effects, and the other can help damaged tissue repair itself. The researchers added that the protein in the egg white could be modified to make the key ingredients for other protein-based drugs such as Avastin and Herceptin, which are used for treating cancer.
We know what you’re thinking: It’ll probably take a thousand eggs to make one dose – but no, it only takes three. Over the course of a year, one chicken could produce a hundred doses, and do it for far cheaper than is currently possible. We hate jumping on the social media bandwagon here, but frankly, this is an egg worth giving millions of Instagram likes.
Chill out, kid
What do you do when your child has constant tantrums? A simple edible could do the trick, according to a Hollywood physician.
The natural medicine physician is in hot (bong) water after recommending marijuana cookies as treatment for a 4-year-old child’s ADHD and bipolar disorder. The icing on the cake (or cookie) is that both diagnoses weren’t even accurate. Perhaps the doctor was sampling his own treatments before the office visit?
The progressive physician has had his license revoked for the “grossly negligent” diagnosis, which he made in 30 minutes without consulting the child’s teachers, his father, or a psychiatrist. Probably not the best way to handle it, said the state medical board. Perhaps he should have suggested some CBD-infused Coke, instead?
Gator saver
Dogs, cats, peacocks – these are the animals that many people with anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues use for emotional support. But now, enter Wally, the emotional support alligator.
Spanning 5 feet long and sporting way too many teeth, Wally is the constant companion of a 65-year-old Pennsylvania man with depression. Wally’s owner decided to forgo pharmacologic treatment for something decidedly more reptilian.
Wally, who was rescued from Florida, loves chicken wings, hugs, and his adopted gator brother, Scrappy. He also has the potential to reach 16 feet long, which is … concerning. Something tells me you can’t take Wally on a plane as a service gator.
But don’t worry, Wally has been approved by a doctor. Rumors that Wally had the doctor’s arm in his jaws before approval are unsubstantiated.
Synergy is not always a good thing
Since it is generally agreed that two heads are better than one, three heads must be even better than two, right? But what if we’re not talking about heads? Suppose, instead, that the subject is global pandemics. Would it be better if three of the greatest threats to humanity’s existence on the planet decided to join forces?
The Lancet Global Syndemic Commission, a group of more than 40 international experts, said that obesity, undernutrition, and climate change “constitute a syndemic, or synergy of epidemics, because they co-occur in time and place, interact with each other to produce complex sequelae, and share common underlying societal drivers” (Lancet. 2019 Jan. 27. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736[18]32822-8).
It gets better: The commission suggested that the “three interconnected health pandemics [have been] effectively orchestrated by the shadowy manipulations and influence of vested commercial interests – an entity collectively defined as ‘Big Food,’ ” according to Science Alert.
This all seems like a lot to overcome, but we here at LOTME have faith in science, and in the scientists who are working to solve these problems. After all, it’s not like anyone’s out there disregarding the science and saying that this stuff isn’t really happening. … Wait, what? … Climate change deniers? … Really? … The president tweeted what? … We’re doomed.
I prefer my medication sunny side up
Here’s a hypothetical question for you: If you were to have cancer, how would you prefer to be treated? Would you rather go through the rigors of chemotherapy? Or would you rather eat an omelet?
Okay, it probably wouldn’t work quite like that, but a group of physicians from the University of Edinburgh have successfully modified chickens to lay eggs containing a pair of human proteins within the egg white.
One of these proteins has antiviral and anticancer effects, and the other can help damaged tissue repair itself. The researchers added that the protein in the egg white could be modified to make the key ingredients for other protein-based drugs such as Avastin and Herceptin, which are used for treating cancer.
We know what you’re thinking: It’ll probably take a thousand eggs to make one dose – but no, it only takes three. Over the course of a year, one chicken could produce a hundred doses, and do it for far cheaper than is currently possible. We hate jumping on the social media bandwagon here, but frankly, this is an egg worth giving millions of Instagram likes.
Gametes for back pain, Alice in Wonderland syndrome, and liver-saving beer
A case of emission and injection
In what might win “Most Bizarre Attempt at Home Medicine” of 2019, a 33-year-old Irish man was hospitalized after injecting himself with his own semen … in his arm … multiple times … to reduce back pain. Whew. Does this count as holistic medicine?
This at-home remedy did not cure his back pain, shockingly enough. The patient instead developed a subcutaneous abscess after a year and a half of monthly intramuscular and intravenous injections, during which the semen has leaked into the soft tissues. He reported to a Dublin hospital after suffering severe back pain and a swollen arm, and eventually revealed to doctors his miracle cure.
The doctors did some Googling and found studies where rats and rabbits were injected with semen – possibly the research that inspired this trailblazer. Or, possibly, this was just an extreme case of reduce, reuse, and recycle.
In case you’re concerned, the man was given a course of more traditional medicine, and his back pain improved greatly. The patient chose to discharge himself before doctors could drain the “local collection” – perhaps he was proud of his work.
Down the rabbit hole
Imagine sitting at your computer when suddenly the icons begin to move off the screen and hover directly in front of your eyes. Your first thought might be that someone spiked your morning coffee with acid – and you’re not far off.
This curious occurrence happened to a 54-year-old man who was diagnosed with the rare perceptual disorder Alice in Wonderland syndrome (AIWS). AIWS causes people to develop a misperception of their body or surrounding space, and can be caused by a number of things, including migraine.
In this case, the man’s LSD-like visions were caused by a glioblastoma in the left temporal-occipital region of the brain. Tumors there can interfere with spatial perception, hence the temporary trip down the rabbit hole for this patient. After chemotherapy and radiation, the tumor was defeated, and the patient is back to feeling happier than the Mad Hatter at a tea party.
Must have been some party
On Dec. 25 in the Vietnamese province of Quang Tri, a 48-year-old man was taken to a hospital with a case of alcohol poisoning. Specifically, his body contained more than 1,000 times the recommended limit of methanol.
While the two types of alcohol, ethanol and methanol, are both toxic to the human body to some degree, the liver processes methanol differently and more slowly, making it far more dangerous than ethanol, the key ingredient in commercially available alcoholic beverages. Methanol is found in bootleg liquor and in such products as gasoline, paint, ink, and cleaning products. It can cause blindness, nervous system depression, and death.
However, there is a happy ending to this story. To save their patient’s life, his doctors hit upon an ingenious solution – one that would make Homer Simpson proud.
They administered cans of beer.
When the man was admitted, the doctors immediately gave him 3 cans’ worth, and then transfused an additional 12 at the rate of 1 can per hour. The liver will always prioritize processing ethanol over methanol. By feeding the patient a steady stream of relatively friendly and ethanol-rich beer, the doctors had enough time to perform dialysis and remove the methanol from the man’s system.
So, as Homer himself might declare, here’s to alcohol – truly the cause of, and solution to, all of life’s problems.
A mistake of the bloody type
Nurse: Mr. Smeggins, I need to clear up some of the answers on your new-patient information form.
Patient: I filled the whole thing out, didn’t I?
Nurse: You did, but a couple of your responses are less than helpful. You do realize that “Helvetica” is not a blood type, right?
Patient: I took a stab at it.
Nurse: You’re not the only one. It turns out that 43% of adults don’t know their blood type, and 62% don’t know their cholesterol level, according to a recent survey by Quest Diagnostics. The 1,004 respondents were more likely to know their bank account balances (75%) or their wifi passwords (74%).
Patient: Hey, that’s right! Mine is Earwiglover122.
Nurse: Great. And can I assume that you’re one of the 30% or so supposedly Web-savvy millennials (ages 20-37 years) who keep lab results in a filing cabinet at home?
Patient: Actually, I have a pile for stuff like that.
Nurse: Fine. Now about your other answers. When we asked about sex, we were not looking for “just last night.”
A case of emission and injection
In what might win “Most Bizarre Attempt at Home Medicine” of 2019, a 33-year-old Irish man was hospitalized after injecting himself with his own semen … in his arm … multiple times … to reduce back pain. Whew. Does this count as holistic medicine?
This at-home remedy did not cure his back pain, shockingly enough. The patient instead developed a subcutaneous abscess after a year and a half of monthly intramuscular and intravenous injections, during which the semen has leaked into the soft tissues. He reported to a Dublin hospital after suffering severe back pain and a swollen arm, and eventually revealed to doctors his miracle cure.
The doctors did some Googling and found studies where rats and rabbits were injected with semen – possibly the research that inspired this trailblazer. Or, possibly, this was just an extreme case of reduce, reuse, and recycle.
In case you’re concerned, the man was given a course of more traditional medicine, and his back pain improved greatly. The patient chose to discharge himself before doctors could drain the “local collection” – perhaps he was proud of his work.
Down the rabbit hole
Imagine sitting at your computer when suddenly the icons begin to move off the screen and hover directly in front of your eyes. Your first thought might be that someone spiked your morning coffee with acid – and you’re not far off.
This curious occurrence happened to a 54-year-old man who was diagnosed with the rare perceptual disorder Alice in Wonderland syndrome (AIWS). AIWS causes people to develop a misperception of their body or surrounding space, and can be caused by a number of things, including migraine.
In this case, the man’s LSD-like visions were caused by a glioblastoma in the left temporal-occipital region of the brain. Tumors there can interfere with spatial perception, hence the temporary trip down the rabbit hole for this patient. After chemotherapy and radiation, the tumor was defeated, and the patient is back to feeling happier than the Mad Hatter at a tea party.
Must have been some party
On Dec. 25 in the Vietnamese province of Quang Tri, a 48-year-old man was taken to a hospital with a case of alcohol poisoning. Specifically, his body contained more than 1,000 times the recommended limit of methanol.
While the two types of alcohol, ethanol and methanol, are both toxic to the human body to some degree, the liver processes methanol differently and more slowly, making it far more dangerous than ethanol, the key ingredient in commercially available alcoholic beverages. Methanol is found in bootleg liquor and in such products as gasoline, paint, ink, and cleaning products. It can cause blindness, nervous system depression, and death.
However, there is a happy ending to this story. To save their patient’s life, his doctors hit upon an ingenious solution – one that would make Homer Simpson proud.
They administered cans of beer.
When the man was admitted, the doctors immediately gave him 3 cans’ worth, and then transfused an additional 12 at the rate of 1 can per hour. The liver will always prioritize processing ethanol over methanol. By feeding the patient a steady stream of relatively friendly and ethanol-rich beer, the doctors had enough time to perform dialysis and remove the methanol from the man’s system.
So, as Homer himself might declare, here’s to alcohol – truly the cause of, and solution to, all of life’s problems.
A mistake of the bloody type
Nurse: Mr. Smeggins, I need to clear up some of the answers on your new-patient information form.
Patient: I filled the whole thing out, didn’t I?
Nurse: You did, but a couple of your responses are less than helpful. You do realize that “Helvetica” is not a blood type, right?
Patient: I took a stab at it.
Nurse: You’re not the only one. It turns out that 43% of adults don’t know their blood type, and 62% don’t know their cholesterol level, according to a recent survey by Quest Diagnostics. The 1,004 respondents were more likely to know their bank account balances (75%) or their wifi passwords (74%).
Patient: Hey, that’s right! Mine is Earwiglover122.
Nurse: Great. And can I assume that you’re one of the 30% or so supposedly Web-savvy millennials (ages 20-37 years) who keep lab results in a filing cabinet at home?
Patient: Actually, I have a pile for stuff like that.
Nurse: Fine. Now about your other answers. When we asked about sex, we were not looking for “just last night.”
A case of emission and injection
In what might win “Most Bizarre Attempt at Home Medicine” of 2019, a 33-year-old Irish man was hospitalized after injecting himself with his own semen … in his arm … multiple times … to reduce back pain. Whew. Does this count as holistic medicine?
This at-home remedy did not cure his back pain, shockingly enough. The patient instead developed a subcutaneous abscess after a year and a half of monthly intramuscular and intravenous injections, during which the semen has leaked into the soft tissues. He reported to a Dublin hospital after suffering severe back pain and a swollen arm, and eventually revealed to doctors his miracle cure.
The doctors did some Googling and found studies where rats and rabbits were injected with semen – possibly the research that inspired this trailblazer. Or, possibly, this was just an extreme case of reduce, reuse, and recycle.
In case you’re concerned, the man was given a course of more traditional medicine, and his back pain improved greatly. The patient chose to discharge himself before doctors could drain the “local collection” – perhaps he was proud of his work.
Down the rabbit hole
Imagine sitting at your computer when suddenly the icons begin to move off the screen and hover directly in front of your eyes. Your first thought might be that someone spiked your morning coffee with acid – and you’re not far off.
This curious occurrence happened to a 54-year-old man who was diagnosed with the rare perceptual disorder Alice in Wonderland syndrome (AIWS). AIWS causes people to develop a misperception of their body or surrounding space, and can be caused by a number of things, including migraine.
In this case, the man’s LSD-like visions were caused by a glioblastoma in the left temporal-occipital region of the brain. Tumors there can interfere with spatial perception, hence the temporary trip down the rabbit hole for this patient. After chemotherapy and radiation, the tumor was defeated, and the patient is back to feeling happier than the Mad Hatter at a tea party.
Must have been some party
On Dec. 25 in the Vietnamese province of Quang Tri, a 48-year-old man was taken to a hospital with a case of alcohol poisoning. Specifically, his body contained more than 1,000 times the recommended limit of methanol.
While the two types of alcohol, ethanol and methanol, are both toxic to the human body to some degree, the liver processes methanol differently and more slowly, making it far more dangerous than ethanol, the key ingredient in commercially available alcoholic beverages. Methanol is found in bootleg liquor and in such products as gasoline, paint, ink, and cleaning products. It can cause blindness, nervous system depression, and death.
However, there is a happy ending to this story. To save their patient’s life, his doctors hit upon an ingenious solution – one that would make Homer Simpson proud.
They administered cans of beer.
When the man was admitted, the doctors immediately gave him 3 cans’ worth, and then transfused an additional 12 at the rate of 1 can per hour. The liver will always prioritize processing ethanol over methanol. By feeding the patient a steady stream of relatively friendly and ethanol-rich beer, the doctors had enough time to perform dialysis and remove the methanol from the man’s system.
So, as Homer himself might declare, here’s to alcohol – truly the cause of, and solution to, all of life’s problems.
A mistake of the bloody type
Nurse: Mr. Smeggins, I need to clear up some of the answers on your new-patient information form.
Patient: I filled the whole thing out, didn’t I?
Nurse: You did, but a couple of your responses are less than helpful. You do realize that “Helvetica” is not a blood type, right?
Patient: I took a stab at it.
Nurse: You’re not the only one. It turns out that 43% of adults don’t know their blood type, and 62% don’t know their cholesterol level, according to a recent survey by Quest Diagnostics. The 1,004 respondents were more likely to know their bank account balances (75%) or their wifi passwords (74%).
Patient: Hey, that’s right! Mine is Earwiglover122.
Nurse: Great. And can I assume that you’re one of the 30% or so supposedly Web-savvy millennials (ages 20-37 years) who keep lab results in a filing cabinet at home?
Patient: Actually, I have a pile for stuff like that.
Nurse: Fine. Now about your other answers. When we asked about sex, we were not looking for “just last night.”
Prescription puppy, China’s commode hospital, Hall of Fame diuretics
Prescription puppies
I’d like a script for a golden retriever who loves fetch and has a super sniffer, please. Turns out, man’s best friend can be especially friendly for patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus.
Dogs have been trained to detect seizures, lead the blind, and even call 9-1-1, and now they are increasingly being used as glycemia monitors for people with diabetes. Obviously, people don’t get a prescription for their helpful furry friends, but one can dream about an all-puppy pharmacy, right?
A recently published study took a look at how glycemia-alert dogs improve the quality of life of people living with type 1 diabetes, and assessed the reliability of the dogs to respond to hypo- and hyperglycemic episodes.
Researchers concluded that, overall, a trained pup’s response to these episodes is more sensitive than previously thought. In addition, researchers also found that 100% of the study participants were extremely good dogs.
Really selective hearing loss
A woman in China is experiencing something straight out of a movie – she woke up one morning and couldn’t hear men’s voices anymore. Some might say this is a tragic loss. Others might contend that she is living the dream.
The woman was diagnosed with reverse-slope hearing loss, a very rare type of hearing loss that makes the patient unable able to hear low-frequency sounds, such as a man’s voice. Only 1 in every 12,000 people with hearing loss has this kind, and it is most often caused by genetics.
In this case, the woman’s stress and extreme fatigue appear to be contributing factors to her newfound superpower. Her doctor expects her to make a full recovery, but I’d milk it for as long as possible: “What’s that? Something about the dishes, honey? Sorry I can’t hear what you’re saying!”
The epitome of crappy design
Here at MDedge News, we approve of all scatologically related humor, and the Guangxi International Zhuangyi Hospital in Nanning, China, certainly fits the bill. In an ode to the digestive system, the Chinese have built a hospital that bears an undeniable resemblance to a toilet.
The building is huge, spread out over 42 acres. The patients are contained in the multistory tank, while the medical departments line the outside of the massive bowl.
According to a local citizen, the hospital was designed this way so patients could go from the main section to the departments without carrying an umbrella. We hope it’s because they have an excellent gastroenterology department they want to show off.
Leaking the news: Hall of Fame edition
Can you name the ultimate prize for a life-saving achievement in medicine? You’re right, it is induction into the National Inventors Hall of Fame!
And that’s just what’s about to happen to the inventors of thiazide diuretics. The NIHF just announced its class of 2019, and it includes pharmacologists John Baer and Karl H. Beyer Jr. and organic chemists Frederick Novello and James Sprague, who developed Diuril (chlorothiazide) while at Merck Sharp & Dohme in the 1950s. (Is it just us, or do you get the feeling that Don Draper and the rest of the Sterling Cooper crew must have handled the Diuril account?)
The honor is, unfortunately, posthumous for all four men, but they were around for the Lasker Foundation Special Public Health Award they received in 1975.
We here at LOTME can’t top either of these commendations, but there’s at least one hypertensive on the staff who will be thinking of these men and their achievement when he experiences his next forced diuresis.
Prescription puppies
I’d like a script for a golden retriever who loves fetch and has a super sniffer, please. Turns out, man’s best friend can be especially friendly for patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus.
Dogs have been trained to detect seizures, lead the blind, and even call 9-1-1, and now they are increasingly being used as glycemia monitors for people with diabetes. Obviously, people don’t get a prescription for their helpful furry friends, but one can dream about an all-puppy pharmacy, right?
A recently published study took a look at how glycemia-alert dogs improve the quality of life of people living with type 1 diabetes, and assessed the reliability of the dogs to respond to hypo- and hyperglycemic episodes.
Researchers concluded that, overall, a trained pup’s response to these episodes is more sensitive than previously thought. In addition, researchers also found that 100% of the study participants were extremely good dogs.
Really selective hearing loss
A woman in China is experiencing something straight out of a movie – she woke up one morning and couldn’t hear men’s voices anymore. Some might say this is a tragic loss. Others might contend that she is living the dream.
The woman was diagnosed with reverse-slope hearing loss, a very rare type of hearing loss that makes the patient unable able to hear low-frequency sounds, such as a man’s voice. Only 1 in every 12,000 people with hearing loss has this kind, and it is most often caused by genetics.
In this case, the woman’s stress and extreme fatigue appear to be contributing factors to her newfound superpower. Her doctor expects her to make a full recovery, but I’d milk it for as long as possible: “What’s that? Something about the dishes, honey? Sorry I can’t hear what you’re saying!”
The epitome of crappy design
Here at MDedge News, we approve of all scatologically related humor, and the Guangxi International Zhuangyi Hospital in Nanning, China, certainly fits the bill. In an ode to the digestive system, the Chinese have built a hospital that bears an undeniable resemblance to a toilet.
The building is huge, spread out over 42 acres. The patients are contained in the multistory tank, while the medical departments line the outside of the massive bowl.
According to a local citizen, the hospital was designed this way so patients could go from the main section to the departments without carrying an umbrella. We hope it’s because they have an excellent gastroenterology department they want to show off.
Leaking the news: Hall of Fame edition
Can you name the ultimate prize for a life-saving achievement in medicine? You’re right, it is induction into the National Inventors Hall of Fame!
And that’s just what’s about to happen to the inventors of thiazide diuretics. The NIHF just announced its class of 2019, and it includes pharmacologists John Baer and Karl H. Beyer Jr. and organic chemists Frederick Novello and James Sprague, who developed Diuril (chlorothiazide) while at Merck Sharp & Dohme in the 1950s. (Is it just us, or do you get the feeling that Don Draper and the rest of the Sterling Cooper crew must have handled the Diuril account?)
The honor is, unfortunately, posthumous for all four men, but they were around for the Lasker Foundation Special Public Health Award they received in 1975.
We here at LOTME can’t top either of these commendations, but there’s at least one hypertensive on the staff who will be thinking of these men and their achievement when he experiences his next forced diuresis.
Prescription puppies
I’d like a script for a golden retriever who loves fetch and has a super sniffer, please. Turns out, man’s best friend can be especially friendly for patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus.
Dogs have been trained to detect seizures, lead the blind, and even call 9-1-1, and now they are increasingly being used as glycemia monitors for people with diabetes. Obviously, people don’t get a prescription for their helpful furry friends, but one can dream about an all-puppy pharmacy, right?
A recently published study took a look at how glycemia-alert dogs improve the quality of life of people living with type 1 diabetes, and assessed the reliability of the dogs to respond to hypo- and hyperglycemic episodes.
Researchers concluded that, overall, a trained pup’s response to these episodes is more sensitive than previously thought. In addition, researchers also found that 100% of the study participants were extremely good dogs.
Really selective hearing loss
A woman in China is experiencing something straight out of a movie – she woke up one morning and couldn’t hear men’s voices anymore. Some might say this is a tragic loss. Others might contend that she is living the dream.
The woman was diagnosed with reverse-slope hearing loss, a very rare type of hearing loss that makes the patient unable able to hear low-frequency sounds, such as a man’s voice. Only 1 in every 12,000 people with hearing loss has this kind, and it is most often caused by genetics.
In this case, the woman’s stress and extreme fatigue appear to be contributing factors to her newfound superpower. Her doctor expects her to make a full recovery, but I’d milk it for as long as possible: “What’s that? Something about the dishes, honey? Sorry I can’t hear what you’re saying!”
The epitome of crappy design
Here at MDedge News, we approve of all scatologically related humor, and the Guangxi International Zhuangyi Hospital in Nanning, China, certainly fits the bill. In an ode to the digestive system, the Chinese have built a hospital that bears an undeniable resemblance to a toilet.
The building is huge, spread out over 42 acres. The patients are contained in the multistory tank, while the medical departments line the outside of the massive bowl.
According to a local citizen, the hospital was designed this way so patients could go from the main section to the departments without carrying an umbrella. We hope it’s because they have an excellent gastroenterology department they want to show off.
Leaking the news: Hall of Fame edition
Can you name the ultimate prize for a life-saving achievement in medicine? You’re right, it is induction into the National Inventors Hall of Fame!
And that’s just what’s about to happen to the inventors of thiazide diuretics. The NIHF just announced its class of 2019, and it includes pharmacologists John Baer and Karl H. Beyer Jr. and organic chemists Frederick Novello and James Sprague, who developed Diuril (chlorothiazide) while at Merck Sharp & Dohme in the 1950s. (Is it just us, or do you get the feeling that Don Draper and the rest of the Sterling Cooper crew must have handled the Diuril account?)
The honor is, unfortunately, posthumous for all four men, but they were around for the Lasker Foundation Special Public Health Award they received in 1975.
We here at LOTME can’t top either of these commendations, but there’s at least one hypertensive on the staff who will be thinking of these men and their achievement when he experiences his next forced diuresis.
Gout’s Golden Globe, resistance is fecal, eucalyptus eulogy
Eucalyptus eulogy
(“Taps” quietly plays in the background ... ) In some sad news, Quincy the diabetic koala has passed on to that great eucalyptus tree in the sky. The furry type 1 diabetic lived in San Diego, where he was recently fitted with a cutting-edge continuous glucose monitor (CGM). This allowed Quincy more time for his favorite activities (chewing and sleeping) and less time spent with pesky skin pricks.
Quincy died of pneumonia, and it is unclear whether his death was diabetes related. All we know is that he will be missed greatly. He was beloved by those with diabetes everywhere, animal or otherwise. Quincy’s successful CGM procedure also gives endocrinologists hope that the technology could eventually be used for similarly fragile humans, like babies. R.I.P., Quincy; we loved you. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to his favorite charity, the Drop Bear Awareness Association.
What’s Latin for ‘poop’?
The study of the human microbiota has become incredibly important in recent years, but there’s no getting away from the fact that it entails experimenting on poop. Remarkably, no one’s come up with a proper technical name for this unsavory activity. However, thanks to a collaboration between a gastroenterologist and a classics professor at the University of North Carolina, that deficiency is no more. You’ve met the in vivo and in vitro study. Now, please welcome the “in vimo” study!
Why in vimo? The term fecal or “in feco” might seem obvious. But the Latin root word never referred to poop, and if there’s one thing scientists can’t have, it’s improper Latin usage. The Romans, it turns out, had lots of words for poop. The root word of laetamen referred to fertility, richness, and happiness – a tempting prospect – but was mostly used to refer to farm animal dung. Merda mostly referred to smell or stench, and stercus shared the same root word as scatology, which refers to obscene literature. Fimus, which specifically refers to manure, was thus the most precise, and it was used by literary giants such as Livy, Virgil, and Tacitus. A clear winner, and the in vimo study flushed the rest of the competition away.
And just in case you think these researchers are no fun, the name they chose for the active enzymes collected from their in vimo samples? Poopernatants. Yes, even doctors enjoy a good poop joke.
The new Breakfast Club
Researchers at the University of Illinois and the University of Texas have collaborated to study something that most of us fear greatly: high school cliques. The researchers, who may or may not have peaked in high school, took a look at high school peer crowds and influences that form those tight-knit bonds that last all of 4 years.
The study found that most of the classic cliques – the jocks, the popular crowd, the brains, the stoners, the loners – are still alive and well in today’s American school system. However, at least one new group has emerged in the last decade: the “anime/manga fans.” Researchers noted that although schools have become much more diverse, racial and ethnic stereotypes are alive and well. Thank God we only have to do high school once.
Resistance is fecal
And now, just in case you were wondering how long it would take to put our newfound knowledge of “in vimo” to use, here comes a study that has “in vimo” written all over it (metaphorically speaking, of course).
Researchers in Sweden and Finland decided to take a look at antibiotic resistance genes in sewage, because “antibiotics consumed by humans and animals are released into the environment in urine and fecal material contained in treated wastewaters and sludge applied to land.” Then they compared the abundance of the mobile antibiotic resistance genes with the abundance of a human fecal pollution marker.
That marker – a virus that infects bacteria in human feces but is rare in other animals – was “highly correlated to the abundance of antibiotic resistance genes in environmental samples,” they said in a separate written statement, which “indicates that fecal pollution can largely explain the increase in resistant bacteria often found in human-impacted environments.” The name of that marker, the virus found in feces, happens to be “crAssphage.” And yes, the A really is capitalized. Really. We are not making this up.
Gout wins a Golden Globe
Gout has a new poster girl: Great Britain’s Queen Anne. She’s been dead for more than 4 centuries, but a Hollywood version of this stout monarch is turning a famously royal affliction into the disease of the moment.
The credit goes to actress Olivia Colman, who just won a Golden Globe award for her brilliant performance in the earthy comedy “The Favourite.” Ms. Colman transforms the pain-wracked Queen Anne into a needy, manipulative, and loopy monarch who still manages to draw our sympathy.
Besides flummoxing American spell-checkers with its title, The Favourite glories in stretching the truth about the queen’s private life. But she really does seem to have had the “disease of kings,” which has long been linked to the rich, fatty diets enjoyed by blue bloods.
Now, there’s talk that high-protein, meat-friendly keto and paleo diets are boosting rates among the young. This theory got an airing last week in a New York Magazine article titled “Why Gout Is Making a Comeback.”
The truth may be more complicated. Over the last few years, researchers have cast doubt on the keto-leads-to-gout theory and suggested that fructose in sugar may be the real culprit. According to this hypothesis, gout afflicted British royals as they developed a communal sweet tooth during the early days of the sugar trade. Gout then spread to the general population as sugar became more accessible.
The gout debate will continue. As for Olivia Colman, she will soon grace smaller screens with her performance as Queen Elizabeth II in Netflix’s series “The Crown.”
QE II isn’t known for having suffered from any major diseases. But at her next checkup, we do think she should have that stiff upper lip looked at.
Eucalyptus eulogy
(“Taps” quietly plays in the background ... ) In some sad news, Quincy the diabetic koala has passed on to that great eucalyptus tree in the sky. The furry type 1 diabetic lived in San Diego, where he was recently fitted with a cutting-edge continuous glucose monitor (CGM). This allowed Quincy more time for his favorite activities (chewing and sleeping) and less time spent with pesky skin pricks.
Quincy died of pneumonia, and it is unclear whether his death was diabetes related. All we know is that he will be missed greatly. He was beloved by those with diabetes everywhere, animal or otherwise. Quincy’s successful CGM procedure also gives endocrinologists hope that the technology could eventually be used for similarly fragile humans, like babies. R.I.P., Quincy; we loved you. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to his favorite charity, the Drop Bear Awareness Association.
What’s Latin for ‘poop’?
The study of the human microbiota has become incredibly important in recent years, but there’s no getting away from the fact that it entails experimenting on poop. Remarkably, no one’s come up with a proper technical name for this unsavory activity. However, thanks to a collaboration between a gastroenterologist and a classics professor at the University of North Carolina, that deficiency is no more. You’ve met the in vivo and in vitro study. Now, please welcome the “in vimo” study!
Why in vimo? The term fecal or “in feco” might seem obvious. But the Latin root word never referred to poop, and if there’s one thing scientists can’t have, it’s improper Latin usage. The Romans, it turns out, had lots of words for poop. The root word of laetamen referred to fertility, richness, and happiness – a tempting prospect – but was mostly used to refer to farm animal dung. Merda mostly referred to smell or stench, and stercus shared the same root word as scatology, which refers to obscene literature. Fimus, which specifically refers to manure, was thus the most precise, and it was used by literary giants such as Livy, Virgil, and Tacitus. A clear winner, and the in vimo study flushed the rest of the competition away.
And just in case you think these researchers are no fun, the name they chose for the active enzymes collected from their in vimo samples? Poopernatants. Yes, even doctors enjoy a good poop joke.
The new Breakfast Club
Researchers at the University of Illinois and the University of Texas have collaborated to study something that most of us fear greatly: high school cliques. The researchers, who may or may not have peaked in high school, took a look at high school peer crowds and influences that form those tight-knit bonds that last all of 4 years.
The study found that most of the classic cliques – the jocks, the popular crowd, the brains, the stoners, the loners – are still alive and well in today’s American school system. However, at least one new group has emerged in the last decade: the “anime/manga fans.” Researchers noted that although schools have become much more diverse, racial and ethnic stereotypes are alive and well. Thank God we only have to do high school once.
Resistance is fecal
And now, just in case you were wondering how long it would take to put our newfound knowledge of “in vimo” to use, here comes a study that has “in vimo” written all over it (metaphorically speaking, of course).
Researchers in Sweden and Finland decided to take a look at antibiotic resistance genes in sewage, because “antibiotics consumed by humans and animals are released into the environment in urine and fecal material contained in treated wastewaters and sludge applied to land.” Then they compared the abundance of the mobile antibiotic resistance genes with the abundance of a human fecal pollution marker.
That marker – a virus that infects bacteria in human feces but is rare in other animals – was “highly correlated to the abundance of antibiotic resistance genes in environmental samples,” they said in a separate written statement, which “indicates that fecal pollution can largely explain the increase in resistant bacteria often found in human-impacted environments.” The name of that marker, the virus found in feces, happens to be “crAssphage.” And yes, the A really is capitalized. Really. We are not making this up.
Gout wins a Golden Globe
Gout has a new poster girl: Great Britain’s Queen Anne. She’s been dead for more than 4 centuries, but a Hollywood version of this stout monarch is turning a famously royal affliction into the disease of the moment.
The credit goes to actress Olivia Colman, who just won a Golden Globe award for her brilliant performance in the earthy comedy “The Favourite.” Ms. Colman transforms the pain-wracked Queen Anne into a needy, manipulative, and loopy monarch who still manages to draw our sympathy.
Besides flummoxing American spell-checkers with its title, The Favourite glories in stretching the truth about the queen’s private life. But she really does seem to have had the “disease of kings,” which has long been linked to the rich, fatty diets enjoyed by blue bloods.
Now, there’s talk that high-protein, meat-friendly keto and paleo diets are boosting rates among the young. This theory got an airing last week in a New York Magazine article titled “Why Gout Is Making a Comeback.”
The truth may be more complicated. Over the last few years, researchers have cast doubt on the keto-leads-to-gout theory and suggested that fructose in sugar may be the real culprit. According to this hypothesis, gout afflicted British royals as they developed a communal sweet tooth during the early days of the sugar trade. Gout then spread to the general population as sugar became more accessible.
The gout debate will continue. As for Olivia Colman, she will soon grace smaller screens with her performance as Queen Elizabeth II in Netflix’s series “The Crown.”
QE II isn’t known for having suffered from any major diseases. But at her next checkup, we do think she should have that stiff upper lip looked at.
Eucalyptus eulogy
(“Taps” quietly plays in the background ... ) In some sad news, Quincy the diabetic koala has passed on to that great eucalyptus tree in the sky. The furry type 1 diabetic lived in San Diego, where he was recently fitted with a cutting-edge continuous glucose monitor (CGM). This allowed Quincy more time for his favorite activities (chewing and sleeping) and less time spent with pesky skin pricks.
Quincy died of pneumonia, and it is unclear whether his death was diabetes related. All we know is that he will be missed greatly. He was beloved by those with diabetes everywhere, animal or otherwise. Quincy’s successful CGM procedure also gives endocrinologists hope that the technology could eventually be used for similarly fragile humans, like babies. R.I.P., Quincy; we loved you. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to his favorite charity, the Drop Bear Awareness Association.
What’s Latin for ‘poop’?
The study of the human microbiota has become incredibly important in recent years, but there’s no getting away from the fact that it entails experimenting on poop. Remarkably, no one’s come up with a proper technical name for this unsavory activity. However, thanks to a collaboration between a gastroenterologist and a classics professor at the University of North Carolina, that deficiency is no more. You’ve met the in vivo and in vitro study. Now, please welcome the “in vimo” study!
Why in vimo? The term fecal or “in feco” might seem obvious. But the Latin root word never referred to poop, and if there’s one thing scientists can’t have, it’s improper Latin usage. The Romans, it turns out, had lots of words for poop. The root word of laetamen referred to fertility, richness, and happiness – a tempting prospect – but was mostly used to refer to farm animal dung. Merda mostly referred to smell or stench, and stercus shared the same root word as scatology, which refers to obscene literature. Fimus, which specifically refers to manure, was thus the most precise, and it was used by literary giants such as Livy, Virgil, and Tacitus. A clear winner, and the in vimo study flushed the rest of the competition away.
And just in case you think these researchers are no fun, the name they chose for the active enzymes collected from their in vimo samples? Poopernatants. Yes, even doctors enjoy a good poop joke.
The new Breakfast Club
Researchers at the University of Illinois and the University of Texas have collaborated to study something that most of us fear greatly: high school cliques. The researchers, who may or may not have peaked in high school, took a look at high school peer crowds and influences that form those tight-knit bonds that last all of 4 years.
The study found that most of the classic cliques – the jocks, the popular crowd, the brains, the stoners, the loners – are still alive and well in today’s American school system. However, at least one new group has emerged in the last decade: the “anime/manga fans.” Researchers noted that although schools have become much more diverse, racial and ethnic stereotypes are alive and well. Thank God we only have to do high school once.
Resistance is fecal
And now, just in case you were wondering how long it would take to put our newfound knowledge of “in vimo” to use, here comes a study that has “in vimo” written all over it (metaphorically speaking, of course).
Researchers in Sweden and Finland decided to take a look at antibiotic resistance genes in sewage, because “antibiotics consumed by humans and animals are released into the environment in urine and fecal material contained in treated wastewaters and sludge applied to land.” Then they compared the abundance of the mobile antibiotic resistance genes with the abundance of a human fecal pollution marker.
That marker – a virus that infects bacteria in human feces but is rare in other animals – was “highly correlated to the abundance of antibiotic resistance genes in environmental samples,” they said in a separate written statement, which “indicates that fecal pollution can largely explain the increase in resistant bacteria often found in human-impacted environments.” The name of that marker, the virus found in feces, happens to be “crAssphage.” And yes, the A really is capitalized. Really. We are not making this up.
Gout wins a Golden Globe
Gout has a new poster girl: Great Britain’s Queen Anne. She’s been dead for more than 4 centuries, but a Hollywood version of this stout monarch is turning a famously royal affliction into the disease of the moment.
The credit goes to actress Olivia Colman, who just won a Golden Globe award for her brilliant performance in the earthy comedy “The Favourite.” Ms. Colman transforms the pain-wracked Queen Anne into a needy, manipulative, and loopy monarch who still manages to draw our sympathy.
Besides flummoxing American spell-checkers with its title, The Favourite glories in stretching the truth about the queen’s private life. But she really does seem to have had the “disease of kings,” which has long been linked to the rich, fatty diets enjoyed by blue bloods.
Now, there’s talk that high-protein, meat-friendly keto and paleo diets are boosting rates among the young. This theory got an airing last week in a New York Magazine article titled “Why Gout Is Making a Comeback.”
The truth may be more complicated. Over the last few years, researchers have cast doubt on the keto-leads-to-gout theory and suggested that fructose in sugar may be the real culprit. According to this hypothesis, gout afflicted British royals as they developed a communal sweet tooth during the early days of the sugar trade. Gout then spread to the general population as sugar became more accessible.
The gout debate will continue. As for Olivia Colman, she will soon grace smaller screens with her performance as Queen Elizabeth II in Netflix’s series “The Crown.”
QE II isn’t known for having suffered from any major diseases. But at her next checkup, we do think she should have that stiff upper lip looked at.
Transplanted food allergies, cavity-check hospital bills, and cancer-blocking houseplants
One lung, please (Hold the food allergy)
Is an organ transplant really worth the risk of developing a food allergy? Probably (er, definitely), but it still totally stinks. A 68-year-old woman suffered an allergic reaction to an innocent peanut butter and jelly sandwich earlier this year, after spending decades of eating peanut butter with no problem. Turns out, her lung transplant donor was allergic to peanuts and unfortunately passed that curse onto her. At least he wasn’t lactose intolerant – can you imagine suddenly being unable to eat cheese?!
Passing on allergies via transplant is extremely rare; there are only about five cases of transplanted peanut allergies. The use of tacrolimus, an immunosuppressive drug, can also increase the risk of contracting food allergies post transplant. Luckily, the woman in question was still in the hospital when she began experiencing symptoms of an allergy attack, and doctors were able to correctly identify and punish the offending sandwich.
A debt of ingratitude
Medical personnel generally don’t get involved in searches for illegal drugs, but physicians at St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center in Syracuse, N.Y., found themselves in just such a position. Because the police had a court order. Because the suspect said that he’d hidden drugs … in his rectum.
An x-ray had shown no evidence of drugs, but physicians there performed a sigmoidoscopy on Torrence Jackson after a hospital lawyer said “that a search warrant required the doctors to use ‘any means’ to retrieve the drugs,” according to a recent Syracuse.com report of the incident, which took place on Oct. 16, 2017. The sigmoidoscopy confirmed the x-ray finding, or lack thereof, and drug charges against Mr. Jackson eventually were thrown out.
The health care system, however, did its part to put a cherry on top of the situation: The hospital billed Mr. Jackson $4,595.12 for the procedure, and then said it would turn the matter over to a debt collector when he refused to pay.
Cancer-blocking plants?
All hail the GMOs! Researchers from the University of Washington have used genetic modification on a houseplant to turn it into a lean, green, chloroform-eatin’ machine. These mad scientists modified devil’s ivy to pull chloroform (found in chlorinated water) and benzene (found in gasoline) from the air and use them for plant growth.
These compounds are often so small they can’t be caught by air filters but can still cause damage – exposure to chloroform and benzene has been linked to cancer. Now, you can lessen your risk of cancer and enjoy some nice greenery in your home. Researchers have also started working on a new genetic modification to remove formaldehyde compounds from the air. It looks like the future of health is all about plants!
It must be true – it’s in a study
There’s untested, widely accepted truth, and then there’s empirically tested truth demonstrated in a rigorous scientific trial. Untested, widely accepted truth in point: Compared with using a simple backpack, parachute use is more likely to prevent death or major traumatic injury when leaping from an aircraft. Of course, no one’s ever done a study to prove it. Because, duh. Also, institutional review boards. Also, lawyers.
Until now.
Robert Yeh, M.D., of Harvard Medical School, and his colleagues began recruiting for just such a research trial while flying commercially. Few seat mates took up their randomized-to-parachute-or-backpack offer. That forced Dr. Yeh to recruit randomized participants from among fellow academics. Twenty-three research-minded souls agreed to make the leap for scientific progress from either a biplane or a helicopter, thereby making the study “Parachute use to prevent death and major trauma when jumping from aircraft: randomized controlled trial” a BMJ-published reality.
The results? “Our groundbreaking study found no statistically significant difference in the primary outcome between the treatment and control arms.”
How can the scientific method explain such a skydiving miracle? Because each and every study participant leaped ... 2 feet. From a parked biplane or helicopter.
“Although we can confidently recommend that individuals jumping from small stationary aircraft on the ground do not require parachutes, individual judgment should be exercised when applying these findings at higher altitudes.” It’s also possible the study authors are suggesting individual judgment should have a parachute, not a backpack, when physicians dive into a study’s scientific methodology.
One lung, please (Hold the food allergy)
Is an organ transplant really worth the risk of developing a food allergy? Probably (er, definitely), but it still totally stinks. A 68-year-old woman suffered an allergic reaction to an innocent peanut butter and jelly sandwich earlier this year, after spending decades of eating peanut butter with no problem. Turns out, her lung transplant donor was allergic to peanuts and unfortunately passed that curse onto her. At least he wasn’t lactose intolerant – can you imagine suddenly being unable to eat cheese?!
Passing on allergies via transplant is extremely rare; there are only about five cases of transplanted peanut allergies. The use of tacrolimus, an immunosuppressive drug, can also increase the risk of contracting food allergies post transplant. Luckily, the woman in question was still in the hospital when she began experiencing symptoms of an allergy attack, and doctors were able to correctly identify and punish the offending sandwich.
A debt of ingratitude
Medical personnel generally don’t get involved in searches for illegal drugs, but physicians at St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center in Syracuse, N.Y., found themselves in just such a position. Because the police had a court order. Because the suspect said that he’d hidden drugs … in his rectum.
An x-ray had shown no evidence of drugs, but physicians there performed a sigmoidoscopy on Torrence Jackson after a hospital lawyer said “that a search warrant required the doctors to use ‘any means’ to retrieve the drugs,” according to a recent Syracuse.com report of the incident, which took place on Oct. 16, 2017. The sigmoidoscopy confirmed the x-ray finding, or lack thereof, and drug charges against Mr. Jackson eventually were thrown out.
The health care system, however, did its part to put a cherry on top of the situation: The hospital billed Mr. Jackson $4,595.12 for the procedure, and then said it would turn the matter over to a debt collector when he refused to pay.
Cancer-blocking plants?
All hail the GMOs! Researchers from the University of Washington have used genetic modification on a houseplant to turn it into a lean, green, chloroform-eatin’ machine. These mad scientists modified devil’s ivy to pull chloroform (found in chlorinated water) and benzene (found in gasoline) from the air and use them for plant growth.
These compounds are often so small they can’t be caught by air filters but can still cause damage – exposure to chloroform and benzene has been linked to cancer. Now, you can lessen your risk of cancer and enjoy some nice greenery in your home. Researchers have also started working on a new genetic modification to remove formaldehyde compounds from the air. It looks like the future of health is all about plants!
It must be true – it’s in a study
There’s untested, widely accepted truth, and then there’s empirically tested truth demonstrated in a rigorous scientific trial. Untested, widely accepted truth in point: Compared with using a simple backpack, parachute use is more likely to prevent death or major traumatic injury when leaping from an aircraft. Of course, no one’s ever done a study to prove it. Because, duh. Also, institutional review boards. Also, lawyers.
Until now.
Robert Yeh, M.D., of Harvard Medical School, and his colleagues began recruiting for just such a research trial while flying commercially. Few seat mates took up their randomized-to-parachute-or-backpack offer. That forced Dr. Yeh to recruit randomized participants from among fellow academics. Twenty-three research-minded souls agreed to make the leap for scientific progress from either a biplane or a helicopter, thereby making the study “Parachute use to prevent death and major trauma when jumping from aircraft: randomized controlled trial” a BMJ-published reality.
The results? “Our groundbreaking study found no statistically significant difference in the primary outcome between the treatment and control arms.”
How can the scientific method explain such a skydiving miracle? Because each and every study participant leaped ... 2 feet. From a parked biplane or helicopter.
“Although we can confidently recommend that individuals jumping from small stationary aircraft on the ground do not require parachutes, individual judgment should be exercised when applying these findings at higher altitudes.” It’s also possible the study authors are suggesting individual judgment should have a parachute, not a backpack, when physicians dive into a study’s scientific methodology.
One lung, please (Hold the food allergy)
Is an organ transplant really worth the risk of developing a food allergy? Probably (er, definitely), but it still totally stinks. A 68-year-old woman suffered an allergic reaction to an innocent peanut butter and jelly sandwich earlier this year, after spending decades of eating peanut butter with no problem. Turns out, her lung transplant donor was allergic to peanuts and unfortunately passed that curse onto her. At least he wasn’t lactose intolerant – can you imagine suddenly being unable to eat cheese?!
Passing on allergies via transplant is extremely rare; there are only about five cases of transplanted peanut allergies. The use of tacrolimus, an immunosuppressive drug, can also increase the risk of contracting food allergies post transplant. Luckily, the woman in question was still in the hospital when she began experiencing symptoms of an allergy attack, and doctors were able to correctly identify and punish the offending sandwich.
A debt of ingratitude
Medical personnel generally don’t get involved in searches for illegal drugs, but physicians at St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center in Syracuse, N.Y., found themselves in just such a position. Because the police had a court order. Because the suspect said that he’d hidden drugs … in his rectum.
An x-ray had shown no evidence of drugs, but physicians there performed a sigmoidoscopy on Torrence Jackson after a hospital lawyer said “that a search warrant required the doctors to use ‘any means’ to retrieve the drugs,” according to a recent Syracuse.com report of the incident, which took place on Oct. 16, 2017. The sigmoidoscopy confirmed the x-ray finding, or lack thereof, and drug charges against Mr. Jackson eventually were thrown out.
The health care system, however, did its part to put a cherry on top of the situation: The hospital billed Mr. Jackson $4,595.12 for the procedure, and then said it would turn the matter over to a debt collector when he refused to pay.
Cancer-blocking plants?
All hail the GMOs! Researchers from the University of Washington have used genetic modification on a houseplant to turn it into a lean, green, chloroform-eatin’ machine. These mad scientists modified devil’s ivy to pull chloroform (found in chlorinated water) and benzene (found in gasoline) from the air and use them for plant growth.
These compounds are often so small they can’t be caught by air filters but can still cause damage – exposure to chloroform and benzene has been linked to cancer. Now, you can lessen your risk of cancer and enjoy some nice greenery in your home. Researchers have also started working on a new genetic modification to remove formaldehyde compounds from the air. It looks like the future of health is all about plants!
It must be true – it’s in a study
There’s untested, widely accepted truth, and then there’s empirically tested truth demonstrated in a rigorous scientific trial. Untested, widely accepted truth in point: Compared with using a simple backpack, parachute use is more likely to prevent death or major traumatic injury when leaping from an aircraft. Of course, no one’s ever done a study to prove it. Because, duh. Also, institutional review boards. Also, lawyers.
Until now.
Robert Yeh, M.D., of Harvard Medical School, and his colleagues began recruiting for just such a research trial while flying commercially. Few seat mates took up their randomized-to-parachute-or-backpack offer. That forced Dr. Yeh to recruit randomized participants from among fellow academics. Twenty-three research-minded souls agreed to make the leap for scientific progress from either a biplane or a helicopter, thereby making the study “Parachute use to prevent death and major trauma when jumping from aircraft: randomized controlled trial” a BMJ-published reality.
The results? “Our groundbreaking study found no statistically significant difference in the primary outcome between the treatment and control arms.”
How can the scientific method explain such a skydiving miracle? Because each and every study participant leaped ... 2 feet. From a parked biplane or helicopter.
“Although we can confidently recommend that individuals jumping from small stationary aircraft on the ground do not require parachutes, individual judgment should be exercised when applying these findings at higher altitudes.” It’s also possible the study authors are suggesting individual judgment should have a parachute, not a backpack, when physicians dive into a study’s scientific methodology.
Cute aggression, a soused super spy, and hospital holiday discharges
I could just eat your little toes!
You know how people are weird around babies and act like they want to squeeze them to death? Yeah, that’s a real phenomenon that goes by the name “cute aggression.” It’s a neural response to adorable stimuli that makes us want to hug and pinch and even bite cute things – baby animals included. A researcher from the University of California, Riverside, took a look at why we do this weird, weird thing.
Using electrophysiology, Katherine Stavropoulos determined that the brain’s reward system plays an integral part in our inexplicable urge to nibble on babies and puppies. She hypothesizes that this may be an evolutionary adaptation, as a way of tempering the feelings of being positively overwhelmed by cuteness. Instead of becoming wholly incapacitated by the sight of your own progeny, your brain responds with some light aggression to snap you out of it and spur you to continue to provide for your young. Reason #12,849 that the human mind is one of the most bizarre things in this universe.
Shaken, not stirred
“No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to imbibe.” A new study published in the Medical Journal of Australia has taken a close look at James Bond’s drinking habits over the past 60 years. Unsurprisingly, researchers reported that 007 “has drunk heavily and consistently across 6 decades.” At least he’s consistent.
Study authors estimated that the secret agent’s peak blood alcohol content reached 0.36 g/dL, high enough to kill some people. Maybe weaker men perhaps, but not our Bond. His postdrinking activities include “fights, driving vehicles, gambling, sex, athletic extremes, and operating complex machinery, or devices.” He’s very good at multitasking. Researchers concluded that Bond has a severe drinking problem, according to DSM-5 criteria for alcohol use disorder. They recommend he seek professional help, and they also suggest that MI6 could be a more responsible employer by offering services for his drinking problem and likely PTSD.
“Home Alone,” with life-threatening injuries
The cinematic holiday hit “Home Alone” features an intrepid 8-year-old left alone to defend his house from the depredations of the two notorious Wet Bandits. While some say “intrepid,” others say “sadistic.” Young Kevin McCallister visits a veritable Spanish Inquisition’s worth of torments upon the iniquitous heads, torsos, and extremities of the larcenous duo: BB gunshots, falling steam irons, paint cans to the brain bucket, and everyone’s favorite theft deterrent, the old blowtorch-to-the-scalp routine.
The slapstick Wet Bandits survived their ordeal to burgle again in an equally painful sequel. But would Marv and Harry’s on-screen survival be possible in the world of real-life Sherman-Williams cans? Dr. Ryan St. Clair of the Weill Cornell Medical College in New York examined their celluloid injuries and offered some real-world diagnoses.
Close-range BB gunshots to the head and groin? They’d break the skin, sure. But the Wet Bandits’ skulls and scrotums would likely remain intact. Ah, but what about a steam iron to the face? Marv could expect a “blowout fracture,” leading to serious disfigurement and debilitating double vision. Paint can to the head? Ten pounds of paint can at the end of a 10-foot rope equals a roughly 2-kN blow to the face. Not only are the pair both out cold, they’re probably sporting toothless grins. And that blowtorch to the scalp? Harry’s now the victim of a full-thickness burn likely to cause skull bone necrosis that demands a transplant.
Dr. St. Clair’s expert medical summation? “This movie was way more believable when I was 8.”
Discharged for the holidays
No one wants to be in the hospital during the Christmas holiday, but the most wonderful time of the year could be the most dangerous time to leave the hospital. Canadian investigators compared a group of patients who were discharged during the 2-week holiday period with patients released during control periods before and after the holiday season.
The analysis revealed that the risk of death or readmission was higher within the next 7 days (odds ratio, 1.16), 14 days (OR, 1.14), and 30 days (OR, 1.09) for the group discharged during the holiday period (BMJ. 2018 Dec 10;363. doi: 10.1136/bmj.k4481). “The holiday period might be a time of reduced access to outpatient care” as caregivers take time off, the investigators suggested, or “patients might prefer to postpone their follow-up visit until their usual physician is available, or until the end of the holiday festivities or travel commitments.”
This hospital-related holiday danger is new information, of course, but maybe it’s not such a surprise. The beloved Christmas characters are, after all, a rather unhealthy bunch: Santa is obese, Rudolf has a stunningly severe case of rosacea, Charlie Brown is depressed, and don’t even get us started on the Grinch and his rapidly expanding heart.
I could just eat your little toes!
You know how people are weird around babies and act like they want to squeeze them to death? Yeah, that’s a real phenomenon that goes by the name “cute aggression.” It’s a neural response to adorable stimuli that makes us want to hug and pinch and even bite cute things – baby animals included. A researcher from the University of California, Riverside, took a look at why we do this weird, weird thing.
Using electrophysiology, Katherine Stavropoulos determined that the brain’s reward system plays an integral part in our inexplicable urge to nibble on babies and puppies. She hypothesizes that this may be an evolutionary adaptation, as a way of tempering the feelings of being positively overwhelmed by cuteness. Instead of becoming wholly incapacitated by the sight of your own progeny, your brain responds with some light aggression to snap you out of it and spur you to continue to provide for your young. Reason #12,849 that the human mind is one of the most bizarre things in this universe.
Shaken, not stirred
“No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to imbibe.” A new study published in the Medical Journal of Australia has taken a close look at James Bond’s drinking habits over the past 60 years. Unsurprisingly, researchers reported that 007 “has drunk heavily and consistently across 6 decades.” At least he’s consistent.
Study authors estimated that the secret agent’s peak blood alcohol content reached 0.36 g/dL, high enough to kill some people. Maybe weaker men perhaps, but not our Bond. His postdrinking activities include “fights, driving vehicles, gambling, sex, athletic extremes, and operating complex machinery, or devices.” He’s very good at multitasking. Researchers concluded that Bond has a severe drinking problem, according to DSM-5 criteria for alcohol use disorder. They recommend he seek professional help, and they also suggest that MI6 could be a more responsible employer by offering services for his drinking problem and likely PTSD.
“Home Alone,” with life-threatening injuries
The cinematic holiday hit “Home Alone” features an intrepid 8-year-old left alone to defend his house from the depredations of the two notorious Wet Bandits. While some say “intrepid,” others say “sadistic.” Young Kevin McCallister visits a veritable Spanish Inquisition’s worth of torments upon the iniquitous heads, torsos, and extremities of the larcenous duo: BB gunshots, falling steam irons, paint cans to the brain bucket, and everyone’s favorite theft deterrent, the old blowtorch-to-the-scalp routine.
The slapstick Wet Bandits survived their ordeal to burgle again in an equally painful sequel. But would Marv and Harry’s on-screen survival be possible in the world of real-life Sherman-Williams cans? Dr. Ryan St. Clair of the Weill Cornell Medical College in New York examined their celluloid injuries and offered some real-world diagnoses.
Close-range BB gunshots to the head and groin? They’d break the skin, sure. But the Wet Bandits’ skulls and scrotums would likely remain intact. Ah, but what about a steam iron to the face? Marv could expect a “blowout fracture,” leading to serious disfigurement and debilitating double vision. Paint can to the head? Ten pounds of paint can at the end of a 10-foot rope equals a roughly 2-kN blow to the face. Not only are the pair both out cold, they’re probably sporting toothless grins. And that blowtorch to the scalp? Harry’s now the victim of a full-thickness burn likely to cause skull bone necrosis that demands a transplant.
Dr. St. Clair’s expert medical summation? “This movie was way more believable when I was 8.”
Discharged for the holidays
No one wants to be in the hospital during the Christmas holiday, but the most wonderful time of the year could be the most dangerous time to leave the hospital. Canadian investigators compared a group of patients who were discharged during the 2-week holiday period with patients released during control periods before and after the holiday season.
The analysis revealed that the risk of death or readmission was higher within the next 7 days (odds ratio, 1.16), 14 days (OR, 1.14), and 30 days (OR, 1.09) for the group discharged during the holiday period (BMJ. 2018 Dec 10;363. doi: 10.1136/bmj.k4481). “The holiday period might be a time of reduced access to outpatient care” as caregivers take time off, the investigators suggested, or “patients might prefer to postpone their follow-up visit until their usual physician is available, or until the end of the holiday festivities or travel commitments.”
This hospital-related holiday danger is new information, of course, but maybe it’s not such a surprise. The beloved Christmas characters are, after all, a rather unhealthy bunch: Santa is obese, Rudolf has a stunningly severe case of rosacea, Charlie Brown is depressed, and don’t even get us started on the Grinch and his rapidly expanding heart.
I could just eat your little toes!
You know how people are weird around babies and act like they want to squeeze them to death? Yeah, that’s a real phenomenon that goes by the name “cute aggression.” It’s a neural response to adorable stimuli that makes us want to hug and pinch and even bite cute things – baby animals included. A researcher from the University of California, Riverside, took a look at why we do this weird, weird thing.
Using electrophysiology, Katherine Stavropoulos determined that the brain’s reward system plays an integral part in our inexplicable urge to nibble on babies and puppies. She hypothesizes that this may be an evolutionary adaptation, as a way of tempering the feelings of being positively overwhelmed by cuteness. Instead of becoming wholly incapacitated by the sight of your own progeny, your brain responds with some light aggression to snap you out of it and spur you to continue to provide for your young. Reason #12,849 that the human mind is one of the most bizarre things in this universe.
Shaken, not stirred
“No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to imbibe.” A new study published in the Medical Journal of Australia has taken a close look at James Bond’s drinking habits over the past 60 years. Unsurprisingly, researchers reported that 007 “has drunk heavily and consistently across 6 decades.” At least he’s consistent.
Study authors estimated that the secret agent’s peak blood alcohol content reached 0.36 g/dL, high enough to kill some people. Maybe weaker men perhaps, but not our Bond. His postdrinking activities include “fights, driving vehicles, gambling, sex, athletic extremes, and operating complex machinery, or devices.” He’s very good at multitasking. Researchers concluded that Bond has a severe drinking problem, according to DSM-5 criteria for alcohol use disorder. They recommend he seek professional help, and they also suggest that MI6 could be a more responsible employer by offering services for his drinking problem and likely PTSD.
“Home Alone,” with life-threatening injuries
The cinematic holiday hit “Home Alone” features an intrepid 8-year-old left alone to defend his house from the depredations of the two notorious Wet Bandits. While some say “intrepid,” others say “sadistic.” Young Kevin McCallister visits a veritable Spanish Inquisition’s worth of torments upon the iniquitous heads, torsos, and extremities of the larcenous duo: BB gunshots, falling steam irons, paint cans to the brain bucket, and everyone’s favorite theft deterrent, the old blowtorch-to-the-scalp routine.
The slapstick Wet Bandits survived their ordeal to burgle again in an equally painful sequel. But would Marv and Harry’s on-screen survival be possible in the world of real-life Sherman-Williams cans? Dr. Ryan St. Clair of the Weill Cornell Medical College in New York examined their celluloid injuries and offered some real-world diagnoses.
Close-range BB gunshots to the head and groin? They’d break the skin, sure. But the Wet Bandits’ skulls and scrotums would likely remain intact. Ah, but what about a steam iron to the face? Marv could expect a “blowout fracture,” leading to serious disfigurement and debilitating double vision. Paint can to the head? Ten pounds of paint can at the end of a 10-foot rope equals a roughly 2-kN blow to the face. Not only are the pair both out cold, they’re probably sporting toothless grins. And that blowtorch to the scalp? Harry’s now the victim of a full-thickness burn likely to cause skull bone necrosis that demands a transplant.
Dr. St. Clair’s expert medical summation? “This movie was way more believable when I was 8.”
Discharged for the holidays
No one wants to be in the hospital during the Christmas holiday, but the most wonderful time of the year could be the most dangerous time to leave the hospital. Canadian investigators compared a group of patients who were discharged during the 2-week holiday period with patients released during control periods before and after the holiday season.
The analysis revealed that the risk of death or readmission was higher within the next 7 days (odds ratio, 1.16), 14 days (OR, 1.14), and 30 days (OR, 1.09) for the group discharged during the holiday period (BMJ. 2018 Dec 10;363. doi: 10.1136/bmj.k4481). “The holiday period might be a time of reduced access to outpatient care” as caregivers take time off, the investigators suggested, or “patients might prefer to postpone their follow-up visit until their usual physician is available, or until the end of the holiday festivities or travel commitments.”
This hospital-related holiday danger is new information, of course, but maybe it’s not such a surprise. The beloved Christmas characters are, after all, a rather unhealthy bunch: Santa is obese, Rudolf has a stunningly severe case of rosacea, Charlie Brown is depressed, and don’t even get us started on the Grinch and his rapidly expanding heart.
Wasp-stung lung bugs, fat clay, Botoxed Vulcans, and ‘GOT’ mortality risk
The wonderful world of wasps
Never thought you’d be thankful for wasps, did you? Neither did we. Using mice as test subjects, scientists at MIT found that a tiny peptide in the venom was able to completely eliminate Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which causes respiratory infections and is often resistant to antibiotics. Now if you’re sick, all you have to do is go outside and get stung by a bunch of wasps!
Wait, no, that’s not right. The researchers at MIT engineered a molecule that can be used to create an antibiotic that’s safe for humans. While most insect venom is chock full of compounds that are toxic to humans, the scientists were able to transform their tiny peptide into a bacteria-defeating machine. This is a big victory in the war against antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Go, wasps!
Live long and Botox
Talk about highly illogical! Botox patients sometimes return for follow-up visits with dermatologist Kelly Stankiewicz, MD, and haven’t noticed they’ve “Spocked,” even though it may be obvious to just about everyone else.
But other Botox patients are most certainly aware that their eyebrows have arched up on the right and left sides – just like those of a certain Vulcan character on “Star Trek.” And they want to be beamed out of that uncomfortable situation pronto.
Dr. Stankiewicz, who works in Park City, Utah, explained the “Spocking” phenomenon in a presentation about facial treatments at the recent Las Vegas Dermatology Symposium. Spocking can occur in patents who get Botox treatment to eliminate the “11 line” – two vertical wrinkles – between the eyebrows, Dr. Stankiewicz said. It occurs “when the middle of the forehead doesn’t move but the outside does,” she said, causing an unsightly outwardly arched eyebrow look.
The solution to Spocking is easy, she said: “Put a tiny bit of Botox in the forehead muscle right where the eyebrow is peaking the most.”
Leonard Nimoy, the original Mr. Spock, is not available for comment, given that he died in 2015. But Dr. Stankiewicz does have a perspective on Mr. Spock’s trademark look: “It’s like the people who drew his brow knew that Botox was on the horizon.”
Add the dirt, lose the fat
Lots of things are supposed to be stronger than dirt, but it looks like obesity might not be one of them. Investigators who were trying to improve drug delivery using a type of clay – spray-dried smectite clay particles, to be exact – discovered that it has “a unique ability to ‘soak up’ fat droplets in the gut,” according to a statement from the University of South Australia, Adelaide.
“Not only were the clay materials trapping the fats within their particle structure, but they were also preventing them from being absorbed by the body, ensuring that fat simply passed through the digestive system,” researcher Tahnee J. Dening said.
In the study, the smectite outperformed the weight-loss drug orlistat in rats fed a high-fat diet for 2 weeks (Pharm Res. 2019;36:21 doi: 10.1007/s11095-018-2552-9). Even better, smectite is already widely used in foods and nutraceuticals and is considered to be safe. Even even better, smectite is a really fun word to say. And with the prevalence of obesity such as it is, we’re sure that physicians will prescribe smectite just so they can say “smectite” to their patients. Smectite.
When you play the game of thrones …
… You conduct an evidence-based analysis of mortality across the Seven Kingdoms. In celebration of the approaching final season, two researchers published a study of mortality and survival in HBO’s “Game of Thrones” series. They examined data on sociodemographic factors and circumstances of death to identify predictors of mortality.
After looking at 330 characters from the show (186 who suffered death), the authors determined that being male, lowborn, and loyal had the highest correlation with mortality. Poor men who never switched their allegiance from one side to the other had the lowest chance of survival. In addition, the probability of dying in the first hour after appearing on screen was 14%. Not a good statistic if you’re trying to become famous in Westeros. And a mortality risk rivaling even that of Mr. Spock’s red-shirted shipmates down in engineering.
Nurse, sand wedge, STAT!
There really is no sport like golf. The wide green spaces, the fresh air, the thrill of launching a 300-yard drive down the fairway, the fun of double-bogeying the last three holes to shoot yet another 93; golf is a noble pursuit, indeed. And a sport everyone knows doctors love. Right?
In research published in the Christmas edition of the BMJ, a group of doctors from Massachusetts sought to find out just how accurate the stereotype was. Their answer? Doctors really do enjoy teeing it up.
Well, male doctors.
Well, old male doctors.
Using a database of about a million physicians, the researchers found that 5.5% of male physicians and 1.3% of female physicians – or 4.1% overall – maintained an official United States Golf Association handicap. Male physicians aged 61-70 years were most likely to play, and female physicians aged 31-35 years were least likely.
However, while golf is certainly a common pastime among doctors, they aren’t exactly very good at it, as the average doctor is actually slightly worse than the average nondoctor. Surgeons presented a notable exception, possessing significantly lower handicaps than their colleagues while, perhaps not coincidentally, also playing more often. We’re sure there’s a joke about overpaid surgeons in narrow specialties having too much time on their hands, and we’ll get right back to you with it after our 12 o’clock tee time.
The wonderful world of wasps
Never thought you’d be thankful for wasps, did you? Neither did we. Using mice as test subjects, scientists at MIT found that a tiny peptide in the venom was able to completely eliminate Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which causes respiratory infections and is often resistant to antibiotics. Now if you’re sick, all you have to do is go outside and get stung by a bunch of wasps!
Wait, no, that’s not right. The researchers at MIT engineered a molecule that can be used to create an antibiotic that’s safe for humans. While most insect venom is chock full of compounds that are toxic to humans, the scientists were able to transform their tiny peptide into a bacteria-defeating machine. This is a big victory in the war against antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Go, wasps!
Live long and Botox
Talk about highly illogical! Botox patients sometimes return for follow-up visits with dermatologist Kelly Stankiewicz, MD, and haven’t noticed they’ve “Spocked,” even though it may be obvious to just about everyone else.
But other Botox patients are most certainly aware that their eyebrows have arched up on the right and left sides – just like those of a certain Vulcan character on “Star Trek.” And they want to be beamed out of that uncomfortable situation pronto.
Dr. Stankiewicz, who works in Park City, Utah, explained the “Spocking” phenomenon in a presentation about facial treatments at the recent Las Vegas Dermatology Symposium. Spocking can occur in patents who get Botox treatment to eliminate the “11 line” – two vertical wrinkles – between the eyebrows, Dr. Stankiewicz said. It occurs “when the middle of the forehead doesn’t move but the outside does,” she said, causing an unsightly outwardly arched eyebrow look.
The solution to Spocking is easy, she said: “Put a tiny bit of Botox in the forehead muscle right where the eyebrow is peaking the most.”
Leonard Nimoy, the original Mr. Spock, is not available for comment, given that he died in 2015. But Dr. Stankiewicz does have a perspective on Mr. Spock’s trademark look: “It’s like the people who drew his brow knew that Botox was on the horizon.”
Add the dirt, lose the fat
Lots of things are supposed to be stronger than dirt, but it looks like obesity might not be one of them. Investigators who were trying to improve drug delivery using a type of clay – spray-dried smectite clay particles, to be exact – discovered that it has “a unique ability to ‘soak up’ fat droplets in the gut,” according to a statement from the University of South Australia, Adelaide.
“Not only were the clay materials trapping the fats within their particle structure, but they were also preventing them from being absorbed by the body, ensuring that fat simply passed through the digestive system,” researcher Tahnee J. Dening said.
In the study, the smectite outperformed the weight-loss drug orlistat in rats fed a high-fat diet for 2 weeks (Pharm Res. 2019;36:21 doi: 10.1007/s11095-018-2552-9). Even better, smectite is already widely used in foods and nutraceuticals and is considered to be safe. Even even better, smectite is a really fun word to say. And with the prevalence of obesity such as it is, we’re sure that physicians will prescribe smectite just so they can say “smectite” to their patients. Smectite.
When you play the game of thrones …
… You conduct an evidence-based analysis of mortality across the Seven Kingdoms. In celebration of the approaching final season, two researchers published a study of mortality and survival in HBO’s “Game of Thrones” series. They examined data on sociodemographic factors and circumstances of death to identify predictors of mortality.
After looking at 330 characters from the show (186 who suffered death), the authors determined that being male, lowborn, and loyal had the highest correlation with mortality. Poor men who never switched their allegiance from one side to the other had the lowest chance of survival. In addition, the probability of dying in the first hour after appearing on screen was 14%. Not a good statistic if you’re trying to become famous in Westeros. And a mortality risk rivaling even that of Mr. Spock’s red-shirted shipmates down in engineering.
Nurse, sand wedge, STAT!
There really is no sport like golf. The wide green spaces, the fresh air, the thrill of launching a 300-yard drive down the fairway, the fun of double-bogeying the last three holes to shoot yet another 93; golf is a noble pursuit, indeed. And a sport everyone knows doctors love. Right?
In research published in the Christmas edition of the BMJ, a group of doctors from Massachusetts sought to find out just how accurate the stereotype was. Their answer? Doctors really do enjoy teeing it up.
Well, male doctors.
Well, old male doctors.
Using a database of about a million physicians, the researchers found that 5.5% of male physicians and 1.3% of female physicians – or 4.1% overall – maintained an official United States Golf Association handicap. Male physicians aged 61-70 years were most likely to play, and female physicians aged 31-35 years were least likely.
However, while golf is certainly a common pastime among doctors, they aren’t exactly very good at it, as the average doctor is actually slightly worse than the average nondoctor. Surgeons presented a notable exception, possessing significantly lower handicaps than their colleagues while, perhaps not coincidentally, also playing more often. We’re sure there’s a joke about overpaid surgeons in narrow specialties having too much time on their hands, and we’ll get right back to you with it after our 12 o’clock tee time.
The wonderful world of wasps
Never thought you’d be thankful for wasps, did you? Neither did we. Using mice as test subjects, scientists at MIT found that a tiny peptide in the venom was able to completely eliminate Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which causes respiratory infections and is often resistant to antibiotics. Now if you’re sick, all you have to do is go outside and get stung by a bunch of wasps!
Wait, no, that’s not right. The researchers at MIT engineered a molecule that can be used to create an antibiotic that’s safe for humans. While most insect venom is chock full of compounds that are toxic to humans, the scientists were able to transform their tiny peptide into a bacteria-defeating machine. This is a big victory in the war against antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Go, wasps!
Live long and Botox
Talk about highly illogical! Botox patients sometimes return for follow-up visits with dermatologist Kelly Stankiewicz, MD, and haven’t noticed they’ve “Spocked,” even though it may be obvious to just about everyone else.
But other Botox patients are most certainly aware that their eyebrows have arched up on the right and left sides – just like those of a certain Vulcan character on “Star Trek.” And they want to be beamed out of that uncomfortable situation pronto.
Dr. Stankiewicz, who works in Park City, Utah, explained the “Spocking” phenomenon in a presentation about facial treatments at the recent Las Vegas Dermatology Symposium. Spocking can occur in patents who get Botox treatment to eliminate the “11 line” – two vertical wrinkles – between the eyebrows, Dr. Stankiewicz said. It occurs “when the middle of the forehead doesn’t move but the outside does,” she said, causing an unsightly outwardly arched eyebrow look.
The solution to Spocking is easy, she said: “Put a tiny bit of Botox in the forehead muscle right where the eyebrow is peaking the most.”
Leonard Nimoy, the original Mr. Spock, is not available for comment, given that he died in 2015. But Dr. Stankiewicz does have a perspective on Mr. Spock’s trademark look: “It’s like the people who drew his brow knew that Botox was on the horizon.”
Add the dirt, lose the fat
Lots of things are supposed to be stronger than dirt, but it looks like obesity might not be one of them. Investigators who were trying to improve drug delivery using a type of clay – spray-dried smectite clay particles, to be exact – discovered that it has “a unique ability to ‘soak up’ fat droplets in the gut,” according to a statement from the University of South Australia, Adelaide.
“Not only were the clay materials trapping the fats within their particle structure, but they were also preventing them from being absorbed by the body, ensuring that fat simply passed through the digestive system,” researcher Tahnee J. Dening said.
In the study, the smectite outperformed the weight-loss drug orlistat in rats fed a high-fat diet for 2 weeks (Pharm Res. 2019;36:21 doi: 10.1007/s11095-018-2552-9). Even better, smectite is already widely used in foods and nutraceuticals and is considered to be safe. Even even better, smectite is a really fun word to say. And with the prevalence of obesity such as it is, we’re sure that physicians will prescribe smectite just so they can say “smectite” to their patients. Smectite.
When you play the game of thrones …
… You conduct an evidence-based analysis of mortality across the Seven Kingdoms. In celebration of the approaching final season, two researchers published a study of mortality and survival in HBO’s “Game of Thrones” series. They examined data on sociodemographic factors and circumstances of death to identify predictors of mortality.
After looking at 330 characters from the show (186 who suffered death), the authors determined that being male, lowborn, and loyal had the highest correlation with mortality. Poor men who never switched their allegiance from one side to the other had the lowest chance of survival. In addition, the probability of dying in the first hour after appearing on screen was 14%. Not a good statistic if you’re trying to become famous in Westeros. And a mortality risk rivaling even that of Mr. Spock’s red-shirted shipmates down in engineering.
Nurse, sand wedge, STAT!
There really is no sport like golf. The wide green spaces, the fresh air, the thrill of launching a 300-yard drive down the fairway, the fun of double-bogeying the last three holes to shoot yet another 93; golf is a noble pursuit, indeed. And a sport everyone knows doctors love. Right?
In research published in the Christmas edition of the BMJ, a group of doctors from Massachusetts sought to find out just how accurate the stereotype was. Their answer? Doctors really do enjoy teeing it up.
Well, male doctors.
Well, old male doctors.
Using a database of about a million physicians, the researchers found that 5.5% of male physicians and 1.3% of female physicians – or 4.1% overall – maintained an official United States Golf Association handicap. Male physicians aged 61-70 years were most likely to play, and female physicians aged 31-35 years were least likely.
However, while golf is certainly a common pastime among doctors, they aren’t exactly very good at it, as the average doctor is actually slightly worse than the average nondoctor. Surgeons presented a notable exception, possessing significantly lower handicaps than their colleagues while, perhaps not coincidentally, also playing more often. We’re sure there’s a joke about overpaid surgeons in narrow specialties having too much time on their hands, and we’ll get right back to you with it after our 12 o’clock tee time.
Potty pathogens in space, fundus photos, and ethnic microbiomes
The earth is not enough
Earthly competitors have proved to be unworthy, so this week, Bacteria vs. the World visits the International Space Station, which – and we double-checked this – is in space. It’s a pretty exclusive location, and admission is by invitation only. Unless, of, course, you happen to be the ultimate hitchhiker. Four samples taken from the toilet of the ISS (and one from a piece of exercise equipment) were found to contain unknown strains of antibiotic-resistant Enterobacter bugandensis, investigators reported (BMC Microbiol. 2018 Nov 23;18[1]:175).
These bacterial stowaways were not virulent, lead author Nitin Singh, PhD, of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory said in a separate statement. But an analysis conducted by the team “reveals that the ISS isolates have a 79% probability of being a human pathogen.”
So, what does this mean for future space exploration? Cue the “Star Trek” music: “Space … the final frontier. These are the voyages of the bacterial transport ship Enterprise.”
Putting the FUN in fundus photos
You just got even more dependent on your phone: The American Academy of Opthalmology has published guidelines on how to use smartphones to take fundus photography, a.k.a. photographs of the back of the eye.
Advancement in smartphone optical quality has turned them into an important clinical tool, especially for specialists in low-funded or rural areas who don’t have access to imaging systems. Doctors can purchase special lenses and phone software to take these photos and then can easily upload the images to their Instagram accounts. (Even doctors need likes.)
An eye hospital in India has taken fundus accessibility a step further and posted a video on YouTube showing how to make a functional fundus camera that costs only 100 rupees. All you need in some cardboard, a water bottle, and a lens. “MacGyver: Chennai Edition.”
I feel it in my gut
Whoever said “inside, we’re all the same” clearly wasn’t considering the gut. A study from Vanderbilt University comprising 1,700 American subjects found that differences in gut microbiomes are most consistently linked with ethnicity. Vanderbilt biologist Seth Bordenstein emphasized how changing the gut microbiome can lead to curing illness but that it’s imperative that medical professionals understand how the gut differs across ethnicities.
Researchers found 12 types of bacteria that vary in abundancy by ethnicity. No comment on whether this was linked to differences in cuisine, but this writer fervently hopes new research arrives proving that tacos produce the healthiest gut microbiome.
F-bombing blood cancer
Call it a tale of two Toms.
TV newsman Tom Brokaw, who has multiple myeloma, says he’s become the “poster boy” for blood cancer. At first, though, he kept his diagnosis secret from just about everyone. But occasionally he let his emotions get the best of him. Especially when he’d see a Manhattan bus stop ad spotlighting the chiseled body of another Tom: the quarterback named Brady.
As he explained in a presentation at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology, he found it harder to get around because of back problems, which are common in multiple myeloma. As a result, he couldn’t manage to get to the office.
Still, “every day I’d force myself to leave the walker at home,” he recalled. “In that cold and sleety fall, I’d walk half a block to the coffee shop to get a bagel. There was this enormous new bus stop, with an animated advertisement board. Looking right at me was Tom Brady, advertising Ugg boots. I’d look down 79th Street at every inch of Tom Brady, and all the little old ladies were mooning over him as they were getting on the bus.”
Brokaw knew just what to do to make himself feel better. “I’d hobble over and look at him and drop the F-bomb on him every morning. Frankly, it was therapeutic for me.”
Later, he met the New England Patriots quarterback and told him the story, replacing “F-bomb” with the real word. “He had this little posse with him, and they roared. They said nobody talks to Tom like that.”
Brokaw still resists pleas to slow down from concerned loved ones, such as his emergency physician daughter. “My birth certificate says I’m 78 years old,” he said, “but I still think I’m 38 anchoring the news.” And still tossing tight-spiral F-bombs at cancer and gridiron G.O.A.T.s alike.
The earth is not enough
Earthly competitors have proved to be unworthy, so this week, Bacteria vs. the World visits the International Space Station, which – and we double-checked this – is in space. It’s a pretty exclusive location, and admission is by invitation only. Unless, of, course, you happen to be the ultimate hitchhiker. Four samples taken from the toilet of the ISS (and one from a piece of exercise equipment) were found to contain unknown strains of antibiotic-resistant Enterobacter bugandensis, investigators reported (BMC Microbiol. 2018 Nov 23;18[1]:175).
These bacterial stowaways were not virulent, lead author Nitin Singh, PhD, of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory said in a separate statement. But an analysis conducted by the team “reveals that the ISS isolates have a 79% probability of being a human pathogen.”
So, what does this mean for future space exploration? Cue the “Star Trek” music: “Space … the final frontier. These are the voyages of the bacterial transport ship Enterprise.”
Putting the FUN in fundus photos
You just got even more dependent on your phone: The American Academy of Opthalmology has published guidelines on how to use smartphones to take fundus photography, a.k.a. photographs of the back of the eye.
Advancement in smartphone optical quality has turned them into an important clinical tool, especially for specialists in low-funded or rural areas who don’t have access to imaging systems. Doctors can purchase special lenses and phone software to take these photos and then can easily upload the images to their Instagram accounts. (Even doctors need likes.)
An eye hospital in India has taken fundus accessibility a step further and posted a video on YouTube showing how to make a functional fundus camera that costs only 100 rupees. All you need in some cardboard, a water bottle, and a lens. “MacGyver: Chennai Edition.”
I feel it in my gut
Whoever said “inside, we’re all the same” clearly wasn’t considering the gut. A study from Vanderbilt University comprising 1,700 American subjects found that differences in gut microbiomes are most consistently linked with ethnicity. Vanderbilt biologist Seth Bordenstein emphasized how changing the gut microbiome can lead to curing illness but that it’s imperative that medical professionals understand how the gut differs across ethnicities.
Researchers found 12 types of bacteria that vary in abundancy by ethnicity. No comment on whether this was linked to differences in cuisine, but this writer fervently hopes new research arrives proving that tacos produce the healthiest gut microbiome.
F-bombing blood cancer
Call it a tale of two Toms.
TV newsman Tom Brokaw, who has multiple myeloma, says he’s become the “poster boy” for blood cancer. At first, though, he kept his diagnosis secret from just about everyone. But occasionally he let his emotions get the best of him. Especially when he’d see a Manhattan bus stop ad spotlighting the chiseled body of another Tom: the quarterback named Brady.
As he explained in a presentation at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology, he found it harder to get around because of back problems, which are common in multiple myeloma. As a result, he couldn’t manage to get to the office.
Still, “every day I’d force myself to leave the walker at home,” he recalled. “In that cold and sleety fall, I’d walk half a block to the coffee shop to get a bagel. There was this enormous new bus stop, with an animated advertisement board. Looking right at me was Tom Brady, advertising Ugg boots. I’d look down 79th Street at every inch of Tom Brady, and all the little old ladies were mooning over him as they were getting on the bus.”
Brokaw knew just what to do to make himself feel better. “I’d hobble over and look at him and drop the F-bomb on him every morning. Frankly, it was therapeutic for me.”
Later, he met the New England Patriots quarterback and told him the story, replacing “F-bomb” with the real word. “He had this little posse with him, and they roared. They said nobody talks to Tom like that.”
Brokaw still resists pleas to slow down from concerned loved ones, such as his emergency physician daughter. “My birth certificate says I’m 78 years old,” he said, “but I still think I’m 38 anchoring the news.” And still tossing tight-spiral F-bombs at cancer and gridiron G.O.A.T.s alike.
The earth is not enough
Earthly competitors have proved to be unworthy, so this week, Bacteria vs. the World visits the International Space Station, which – and we double-checked this – is in space. It’s a pretty exclusive location, and admission is by invitation only. Unless, of, course, you happen to be the ultimate hitchhiker. Four samples taken from the toilet of the ISS (and one from a piece of exercise equipment) were found to contain unknown strains of antibiotic-resistant Enterobacter bugandensis, investigators reported (BMC Microbiol. 2018 Nov 23;18[1]:175).
These bacterial stowaways were not virulent, lead author Nitin Singh, PhD, of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory said in a separate statement. But an analysis conducted by the team “reveals that the ISS isolates have a 79% probability of being a human pathogen.”
So, what does this mean for future space exploration? Cue the “Star Trek” music: “Space … the final frontier. These are the voyages of the bacterial transport ship Enterprise.”
Putting the FUN in fundus photos
You just got even more dependent on your phone: The American Academy of Opthalmology has published guidelines on how to use smartphones to take fundus photography, a.k.a. photographs of the back of the eye.
Advancement in smartphone optical quality has turned them into an important clinical tool, especially for specialists in low-funded or rural areas who don’t have access to imaging systems. Doctors can purchase special lenses and phone software to take these photos and then can easily upload the images to their Instagram accounts. (Even doctors need likes.)
An eye hospital in India has taken fundus accessibility a step further and posted a video on YouTube showing how to make a functional fundus camera that costs only 100 rupees. All you need in some cardboard, a water bottle, and a lens. “MacGyver: Chennai Edition.”
I feel it in my gut
Whoever said “inside, we’re all the same” clearly wasn’t considering the gut. A study from Vanderbilt University comprising 1,700 American subjects found that differences in gut microbiomes are most consistently linked with ethnicity. Vanderbilt biologist Seth Bordenstein emphasized how changing the gut microbiome can lead to curing illness but that it’s imperative that medical professionals understand how the gut differs across ethnicities.
Researchers found 12 types of bacteria that vary in abundancy by ethnicity. No comment on whether this was linked to differences in cuisine, but this writer fervently hopes new research arrives proving that tacos produce the healthiest gut microbiome.
F-bombing blood cancer
Call it a tale of two Toms.
TV newsman Tom Brokaw, who has multiple myeloma, says he’s become the “poster boy” for blood cancer. At first, though, he kept his diagnosis secret from just about everyone. But occasionally he let his emotions get the best of him. Especially when he’d see a Manhattan bus stop ad spotlighting the chiseled body of another Tom: the quarterback named Brady.
As he explained in a presentation at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology, he found it harder to get around because of back problems, which are common in multiple myeloma. As a result, he couldn’t manage to get to the office.
Still, “every day I’d force myself to leave the walker at home,” he recalled. “In that cold and sleety fall, I’d walk half a block to the coffee shop to get a bagel. There was this enormous new bus stop, with an animated advertisement board. Looking right at me was Tom Brady, advertising Ugg boots. I’d look down 79th Street at every inch of Tom Brady, and all the little old ladies were mooning over him as they were getting on the bus.”
Brokaw knew just what to do to make himself feel better. “I’d hobble over and look at him and drop the F-bomb on him every morning. Frankly, it was therapeutic for me.”
Later, he met the New England Patriots quarterback and told him the story, replacing “F-bomb” with the real word. “He had this little posse with him, and they roared. They said nobody talks to Tom like that.”
Brokaw still resists pleas to slow down from concerned loved ones, such as his emergency physician daughter. “My birth certificate says I’m 78 years old,” he said, “but I still think I’m 38 anchoring the news.” And still tossing tight-spiral F-bombs at cancer and gridiron G.O.A.T.s alike.
Legos for lunch, saliva-sterilized pacifiers, and a healthy personality
Legos for lunch
As any parent, teacher, or teenage babysitter knows, children try to eat everything. Six intrepid researchers from Australia and the United Kingdom decided to put their lives – or, at least, their intestines – on the line by swallowing Lego pieces to determine “typical transit times” for the commonly ingested toy. The things people do in the name of science.
The study participants first measured their bowel habits by the Stool Hardness and Transit (SHAT) score, and then measured the Found and Retrieved Time (FART) score once the Lego was ... expelled. The researchers found that the average FART score was 1.71 days.
At this point, all involved stopped to have a hearty laugh and a round of high-fives. Parents can rest assured that their little progeny who swallow Legos are safe. Everything is awesome.
Don’t wash that pacifier!
If you want to clean your child’s pacifier, you should consider passing on the sink and pop it into your own mouth instead. That’s the story from research presented at the annual scientific meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology.
In a survey of 128 mothers over an 18-month period, 41% of those whose child was currently using a pacifier reported cleaning by sterilization, and 72% reported hand washing their child’s pacifier. (We will henceforth refer to these mothers as “normal people.”) Just over 10% of mothers reported cleaning through parental pacifier sucking.
Before you cringe too much, the children of these mothers had significantly lower IgE levels than the children of normal people, indicating they were at a lower risk of developing allergies or asthma.
The study authors hypothesized that exposure to adult saliva may transfer healthy microorganisms to their children, and they advocated for further study into the subject. We suggest getting the pediatricians from the Lego study involved – they’ll eat anything for science.
One camel latte, please
An unlikely partnership between a Saudi entrepreneur and Amish farmers might lead to a brand-new dairy market in the United States. Walid Abdul-Wahub is on a mission to put camel milk on the shelves of every grocery store in America.
Middle Eastern residents have been drinking camel milk for centuries, so it’s only a matter of time until some hipster coffee shop co-opts it and starts selling camel milk lattes for $9. On the plus side, camel milk has a different protein than cow milk, making it more similar to human milk than bovine milk. This could be a godsend for people with milk allergies and need alternatives to that god-awful almond milk. One camel milkshake, coming right up.
How healthy is your personality?
It’s a question bipedal hominins have pondered since our days scrounging for snacks in the Olduvai Gorge: Is my personality why no one wants to hunt and gather with me?
Homo sapiens researchers from the University of California, Davis, and elsewhere believe they have the answer. In fact, it is your personality that leaves you scavenging for baobab alone.
What’s a healthy personality? The Scientia sapiens split personality into five factors: agreeableness, conscientiousness, extroversion, neuroticism, and openness to experience. They then surveyed scientists and college students to construct the consensus Dream Date – er, healthy personality: low levels of neuroticism, sprinkled with lots of agreeable straightforwardness, openness to feelings, positive emotions, and warmth. It wouldn’t hurt to ease up on the Old Spice, either.
The taste of deprivation
At one time or another, you’ve probably seen someone who was pretty much physically attached to his or her phone and wondered about the owner’s personal priorities and where the phone fit into them.
Wonder no more.
In a study conducted at the University at Buffalo (N.Y.), 76 students were deprived of food for 3 hours and their smartphones for 2 hours, and then given a computer task that would earn them a serving of their favorite snack or use of their phone. To make things more interesting, the amount of work needed to earn food or phone time increased as the subjects completed their tasks.
“We knew that students would be motivated to gain access to their phones, but we were surprised that, despite modest food deprivation, smartphone reinforcement far exceeded food reinforcement,” lead investigator Sara O’Donnell said in a written statement.
Recruiting subjects for the next step in this line of research – choosing between phones and breathing – could get a little tricky. But we have to admire the creative solution that got one participant disqualified from the current study: He tried to eat his phone.
Legos for lunch
As any parent, teacher, or teenage babysitter knows, children try to eat everything. Six intrepid researchers from Australia and the United Kingdom decided to put their lives – or, at least, their intestines – on the line by swallowing Lego pieces to determine “typical transit times” for the commonly ingested toy. The things people do in the name of science.
The study participants first measured their bowel habits by the Stool Hardness and Transit (SHAT) score, and then measured the Found and Retrieved Time (FART) score once the Lego was ... expelled. The researchers found that the average FART score was 1.71 days.
At this point, all involved stopped to have a hearty laugh and a round of high-fives. Parents can rest assured that their little progeny who swallow Legos are safe. Everything is awesome.
Don’t wash that pacifier!
If you want to clean your child’s pacifier, you should consider passing on the sink and pop it into your own mouth instead. That’s the story from research presented at the annual scientific meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology.
In a survey of 128 mothers over an 18-month period, 41% of those whose child was currently using a pacifier reported cleaning by sterilization, and 72% reported hand washing their child’s pacifier. (We will henceforth refer to these mothers as “normal people.”) Just over 10% of mothers reported cleaning through parental pacifier sucking.
Before you cringe too much, the children of these mothers had significantly lower IgE levels than the children of normal people, indicating they were at a lower risk of developing allergies or asthma.
The study authors hypothesized that exposure to adult saliva may transfer healthy microorganisms to their children, and they advocated for further study into the subject. We suggest getting the pediatricians from the Lego study involved – they’ll eat anything for science.
One camel latte, please
An unlikely partnership between a Saudi entrepreneur and Amish farmers might lead to a brand-new dairy market in the United States. Walid Abdul-Wahub is on a mission to put camel milk on the shelves of every grocery store in America.
Middle Eastern residents have been drinking camel milk for centuries, so it’s only a matter of time until some hipster coffee shop co-opts it and starts selling camel milk lattes for $9. On the plus side, camel milk has a different protein than cow milk, making it more similar to human milk than bovine milk. This could be a godsend for people with milk allergies and need alternatives to that god-awful almond milk. One camel milkshake, coming right up.
How healthy is your personality?
It’s a question bipedal hominins have pondered since our days scrounging for snacks in the Olduvai Gorge: Is my personality why no one wants to hunt and gather with me?
Homo sapiens researchers from the University of California, Davis, and elsewhere believe they have the answer. In fact, it is your personality that leaves you scavenging for baobab alone.
What’s a healthy personality? The Scientia sapiens split personality into five factors: agreeableness, conscientiousness, extroversion, neuroticism, and openness to experience. They then surveyed scientists and college students to construct the consensus Dream Date – er, healthy personality: low levels of neuroticism, sprinkled with lots of agreeable straightforwardness, openness to feelings, positive emotions, and warmth. It wouldn’t hurt to ease up on the Old Spice, either.
The taste of deprivation
At one time or another, you’ve probably seen someone who was pretty much physically attached to his or her phone and wondered about the owner’s personal priorities and where the phone fit into them.
Wonder no more.
In a study conducted at the University at Buffalo (N.Y.), 76 students were deprived of food for 3 hours and their smartphones for 2 hours, and then given a computer task that would earn them a serving of their favorite snack or use of their phone. To make things more interesting, the amount of work needed to earn food or phone time increased as the subjects completed their tasks.
“We knew that students would be motivated to gain access to their phones, but we were surprised that, despite modest food deprivation, smartphone reinforcement far exceeded food reinforcement,” lead investigator Sara O’Donnell said in a written statement.
Recruiting subjects for the next step in this line of research – choosing between phones and breathing – could get a little tricky. But we have to admire the creative solution that got one participant disqualified from the current study: He tried to eat his phone.
Legos for lunch
As any parent, teacher, or teenage babysitter knows, children try to eat everything. Six intrepid researchers from Australia and the United Kingdom decided to put their lives – or, at least, their intestines – on the line by swallowing Lego pieces to determine “typical transit times” for the commonly ingested toy. The things people do in the name of science.
The study participants first measured their bowel habits by the Stool Hardness and Transit (SHAT) score, and then measured the Found and Retrieved Time (FART) score once the Lego was ... expelled. The researchers found that the average FART score was 1.71 days.
At this point, all involved stopped to have a hearty laugh and a round of high-fives. Parents can rest assured that their little progeny who swallow Legos are safe. Everything is awesome.
Don’t wash that pacifier!
If you want to clean your child’s pacifier, you should consider passing on the sink and pop it into your own mouth instead. That’s the story from research presented at the annual scientific meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology.
In a survey of 128 mothers over an 18-month period, 41% of those whose child was currently using a pacifier reported cleaning by sterilization, and 72% reported hand washing their child’s pacifier. (We will henceforth refer to these mothers as “normal people.”) Just over 10% of mothers reported cleaning through parental pacifier sucking.
Before you cringe too much, the children of these mothers had significantly lower IgE levels than the children of normal people, indicating they were at a lower risk of developing allergies or asthma.
The study authors hypothesized that exposure to adult saliva may transfer healthy microorganisms to their children, and they advocated for further study into the subject. We suggest getting the pediatricians from the Lego study involved – they’ll eat anything for science.
One camel latte, please
An unlikely partnership between a Saudi entrepreneur and Amish farmers might lead to a brand-new dairy market in the United States. Walid Abdul-Wahub is on a mission to put camel milk on the shelves of every grocery store in America.
Middle Eastern residents have been drinking camel milk for centuries, so it’s only a matter of time until some hipster coffee shop co-opts it and starts selling camel milk lattes for $9. On the plus side, camel milk has a different protein than cow milk, making it more similar to human milk than bovine milk. This could be a godsend for people with milk allergies and need alternatives to that god-awful almond milk. One camel milkshake, coming right up.
How healthy is your personality?
It’s a question bipedal hominins have pondered since our days scrounging for snacks in the Olduvai Gorge: Is my personality why no one wants to hunt and gather with me?
Homo sapiens researchers from the University of California, Davis, and elsewhere believe they have the answer. In fact, it is your personality that leaves you scavenging for baobab alone.
What’s a healthy personality? The Scientia sapiens split personality into five factors: agreeableness, conscientiousness, extroversion, neuroticism, and openness to experience. They then surveyed scientists and college students to construct the consensus Dream Date – er, healthy personality: low levels of neuroticism, sprinkled with lots of agreeable straightforwardness, openness to feelings, positive emotions, and warmth. It wouldn’t hurt to ease up on the Old Spice, either.
The taste of deprivation
At one time or another, you’ve probably seen someone who was pretty much physically attached to his or her phone and wondered about the owner’s personal priorities and where the phone fit into them.
Wonder no more.
In a study conducted at the University at Buffalo (N.Y.), 76 students were deprived of food for 3 hours and their smartphones for 2 hours, and then given a computer task that would earn them a serving of their favorite snack or use of their phone. To make things more interesting, the amount of work needed to earn food or phone time increased as the subjects completed their tasks.
“We knew that students would be motivated to gain access to their phones, but we were surprised that, despite modest food deprivation, smartphone reinforcement far exceeded food reinforcement,” lead investigator Sara O’Donnell said in a written statement.
Recruiting subjects for the next step in this line of research – choosing between phones and breathing – could get a little tricky. But we have to admire the creative solution that got one participant disqualified from the current study: He tried to eat his phone.
Probative pee, Pilgrim obesity, and med school baked bribes
He tweets, he (doesn’t) score!
We all know that less sleep equals poor job performance. Up way too late on a Sunday night means you might fall face first into your keyboard the next morning and accidentally send an email that ends with “hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.” So, yeah, sleep is important.
It’s especially important when you are a professional athlete and your entire livelihood depends on you being in tip-top shape. Researchers from the State University of New York at Stony Brook studied the performance of NBA players in relation to their late-night Twitter binges. Unsurprisingly, tweeting in the wee hours correlated with fewer points and fewer rebounds in the next day’s game. We’re sure coaches are just thrilled to hear about their players spending precious night hours @-ing random trolls on Twitter. Does this mean less tweeting and more sleep means anyone can be the next LeBron? Or, um, the next @KingJames? Probably not … but give it a try.
Poppy seeds and probative pee
As you tuck into your Thanksgiving leftovers, give a thought to a valiant physician who ate and drank – and peed – for science. Not just once, but twice.
At the recent Pain Care for Primary Care symposium in San Diego, Mount Sinai Beth Israel addiction specialist Edwin Salsitz, MD, gave a presentation about drug screening and mentioned his own homegrown investigation into two reputed sources of false positives.
A few years ago, a patient tested positive for opiates and, like many before him, blamed his fondness for poppy-seed bagels. Dr. Salsitz asked the patient to buy him a poppy bagel from his usual source, then the doctor went home and ate it on a Sunday prior to collecting his own pee. The doctor’s subsequent urine test was positive for opiates, and the patient was off the hook. (For more about the poppy-seed menace to accurate opiate testing, check this clinical update from the Aegis testing company.)
Later, it was time to check another possible urban legend. Dr. Salsitz got some mate de coca tea from a friend who’d returned from South America. Again, he took time out of a Sunday, this time to enjoy a hot beverage, mate de coca style, and collect his own pee. The urine test was positive this time, too – for cocaine.
The moral of the story? If you have a drug test looming, be safe and just stick to a croissant and coffee.
Psst … want a cookie?
In medical school, the best and brightest sacrifice their bodies and social lives to absorb knowledge like human sponges. Or maybe it’s where they absorb cookies in exchange for positive end-of-course evaluations.
Investigators from the University of Münster (Germany) decided to give 118 of the school’s third-year medical students a little test. During a course on emergency medicine, some groups were given access to free chocolate cookies (Discus deliciosum spp.) in their sessions, and some groups were not. When it came time to fill out their “student evaluations of teaching” at the end of the semester, the “cookie group” was more generous in its ratings of the course material and gave significantly higher scores to the teachers and to the course overall, compared with the control group (Med Educ. 2018 Oct;52[10]:1064-72).
This all seemed a little suspicious, so we did a little digging. Turns out that the cookie group – the one that provided all that warm, chocolatey positive reinforcement – was chock full of the usual suspects: Ernie the elf, Mrs. Fields, Famous Amos, and Mr. Big himself, Cookie Monster.
Why Myles Standish wasn’t fat
In the autumn of 1621, obesity didn’t dine with the 53 Pilgrims who gave culinary thanks for surviving their first disappointing Boston Bruins season. Er, for their first harvest after a brutal New England winter. Why was that first Thanksgiving such a svelte affair, free of the high-BMI epidemic that afflicts so many Bruins faithful nearly 4 centuries later? Was it the free-range turkey? The lean venison? The Wampanoag guests’ demands for a DASH-diet dinner?
A modern study may help reveal the historical truth: 17th century Plymouth Plantation wasn’t yet bisected by the 21st century Cape Cod traffic snarling the Pilgrims Highway, a.k.a. Massachusetts Route 3.
It was Spanish researchers, not English Puritans, who unbuckled the portly puzzle’s Pilgrim hat. Investigators with the Barcelona Institute for Global Health examined the link between traffic noise exposure and obesity markers among a group of Swiss adults. The verdict? Those exposed to the highest levels of traffic noise ran the greatest risk of becoming obese. Specifically, every 10-decibel rise in road noise packed on another 17% increase in obesity. Seems tractor-trailer downshifts and honking horns may disturb sleep, gridlocking glucose metabolism and diverting everyone to the nearest drive-thru.
Next on the Spaniards’ research to-do list: Can your New England uncle’s annual Turkey Day tales of Red Sox triumphs trigger psychosis among familial Yankees fans?
He tweets, he (doesn’t) score!
We all know that less sleep equals poor job performance. Up way too late on a Sunday night means you might fall face first into your keyboard the next morning and accidentally send an email that ends with “hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.” So, yeah, sleep is important.
It’s especially important when you are a professional athlete and your entire livelihood depends on you being in tip-top shape. Researchers from the State University of New York at Stony Brook studied the performance of NBA players in relation to their late-night Twitter binges. Unsurprisingly, tweeting in the wee hours correlated with fewer points and fewer rebounds in the next day’s game. We’re sure coaches are just thrilled to hear about their players spending precious night hours @-ing random trolls on Twitter. Does this mean less tweeting and more sleep means anyone can be the next LeBron? Or, um, the next @KingJames? Probably not … but give it a try.
Poppy seeds and probative pee
As you tuck into your Thanksgiving leftovers, give a thought to a valiant physician who ate and drank – and peed – for science. Not just once, but twice.
At the recent Pain Care for Primary Care symposium in San Diego, Mount Sinai Beth Israel addiction specialist Edwin Salsitz, MD, gave a presentation about drug screening and mentioned his own homegrown investigation into two reputed sources of false positives.
A few years ago, a patient tested positive for opiates and, like many before him, blamed his fondness for poppy-seed bagels. Dr. Salsitz asked the patient to buy him a poppy bagel from his usual source, then the doctor went home and ate it on a Sunday prior to collecting his own pee. The doctor’s subsequent urine test was positive for opiates, and the patient was off the hook. (For more about the poppy-seed menace to accurate opiate testing, check this clinical update from the Aegis testing company.)
Later, it was time to check another possible urban legend. Dr. Salsitz got some mate de coca tea from a friend who’d returned from South America. Again, he took time out of a Sunday, this time to enjoy a hot beverage, mate de coca style, and collect his own pee. The urine test was positive this time, too – for cocaine.
The moral of the story? If you have a drug test looming, be safe and just stick to a croissant and coffee.
Psst … want a cookie?
In medical school, the best and brightest sacrifice their bodies and social lives to absorb knowledge like human sponges. Or maybe it’s where they absorb cookies in exchange for positive end-of-course evaluations.
Investigators from the University of Münster (Germany) decided to give 118 of the school’s third-year medical students a little test. During a course on emergency medicine, some groups were given access to free chocolate cookies (Discus deliciosum spp.) in their sessions, and some groups were not. When it came time to fill out their “student evaluations of teaching” at the end of the semester, the “cookie group” was more generous in its ratings of the course material and gave significantly higher scores to the teachers and to the course overall, compared with the control group (Med Educ. 2018 Oct;52[10]:1064-72).
This all seemed a little suspicious, so we did a little digging. Turns out that the cookie group – the one that provided all that warm, chocolatey positive reinforcement – was chock full of the usual suspects: Ernie the elf, Mrs. Fields, Famous Amos, and Mr. Big himself, Cookie Monster.
Why Myles Standish wasn’t fat
In the autumn of 1621, obesity didn’t dine with the 53 Pilgrims who gave culinary thanks for surviving their first disappointing Boston Bruins season. Er, for their first harvest after a brutal New England winter. Why was that first Thanksgiving such a svelte affair, free of the high-BMI epidemic that afflicts so many Bruins faithful nearly 4 centuries later? Was it the free-range turkey? The lean venison? The Wampanoag guests’ demands for a DASH-diet dinner?
A modern study may help reveal the historical truth: 17th century Plymouth Plantation wasn’t yet bisected by the 21st century Cape Cod traffic snarling the Pilgrims Highway, a.k.a. Massachusetts Route 3.
It was Spanish researchers, not English Puritans, who unbuckled the portly puzzle’s Pilgrim hat. Investigators with the Barcelona Institute for Global Health examined the link between traffic noise exposure and obesity markers among a group of Swiss adults. The verdict? Those exposed to the highest levels of traffic noise ran the greatest risk of becoming obese. Specifically, every 10-decibel rise in road noise packed on another 17% increase in obesity. Seems tractor-trailer downshifts and honking horns may disturb sleep, gridlocking glucose metabolism and diverting everyone to the nearest drive-thru.
Next on the Spaniards’ research to-do list: Can your New England uncle’s annual Turkey Day tales of Red Sox triumphs trigger psychosis among familial Yankees fans?
He tweets, he (doesn’t) score!
We all know that less sleep equals poor job performance. Up way too late on a Sunday night means you might fall face first into your keyboard the next morning and accidentally send an email that ends with “hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.” So, yeah, sleep is important.
It’s especially important when you are a professional athlete and your entire livelihood depends on you being in tip-top shape. Researchers from the State University of New York at Stony Brook studied the performance of NBA players in relation to their late-night Twitter binges. Unsurprisingly, tweeting in the wee hours correlated with fewer points and fewer rebounds in the next day’s game. We’re sure coaches are just thrilled to hear about their players spending precious night hours @-ing random trolls on Twitter. Does this mean less tweeting and more sleep means anyone can be the next LeBron? Or, um, the next @KingJames? Probably not … but give it a try.
Poppy seeds and probative pee
As you tuck into your Thanksgiving leftovers, give a thought to a valiant physician who ate and drank – and peed – for science. Not just once, but twice.
At the recent Pain Care for Primary Care symposium in San Diego, Mount Sinai Beth Israel addiction specialist Edwin Salsitz, MD, gave a presentation about drug screening and mentioned his own homegrown investigation into two reputed sources of false positives.
A few years ago, a patient tested positive for opiates and, like many before him, blamed his fondness for poppy-seed bagels. Dr. Salsitz asked the patient to buy him a poppy bagel from his usual source, then the doctor went home and ate it on a Sunday prior to collecting his own pee. The doctor’s subsequent urine test was positive for opiates, and the patient was off the hook. (For more about the poppy-seed menace to accurate opiate testing, check this clinical update from the Aegis testing company.)
Later, it was time to check another possible urban legend. Dr. Salsitz got some mate de coca tea from a friend who’d returned from South America. Again, he took time out of a Sunday, this time to enjoy a hot beverage, mate de coca style, and collect his own pee. The urine test was positive this time, too – for cocaine.
The moral of the story? If you have a drug test looming, be safe and just stick to a croissant and coffee.
Psst … want a cookie?
In medical school, the best and brightest sacrifice their bodies and social lives to absorb knowledge like human sponges. Or maybe it’s where they absorb cookies in exchange for positive end-of-course evaluations.
Investigators from the University of Münster (Germany) decided to give 118 of the school’s third-year medical students a little test. During a course on emergency medicine, some groups were given access to free chocolate cookies (Discus deliciosum spp.) in their sessions, and some groups were not. When it came time to fill out their “student evaluations of teaching” at the end of the semester, the “cookie group” was more generous in its ratings of the course material and gave significantly higher scores to the teachers and to the course overall, compared with the control group (Med Educ. 2018 Oct;52[10]:1064-72).
This all seemed a little suspicious, so we did a little digging. Turns out that the cookie group – the one that provided all that warm, chocolatey positive reinforcement – was chock full of the usual suspects: Ernie the elf, Mrs. Fields, Famous Amos, and Mr. Big himself, Cookie Monster.
Why Myles Standish wasn’t fat
In the autumn of 1621, obesity didn’t dine with the 53 Pilgrims who gave culinary thanks for surviving their first disappointing Boston Bruins season. Er, for their first harvest after a brutal New England winter. Why was that first Thanksgiving such a svelte affair, free of the high-BMI epidemic that afflicts so many Bruins faithful nearly 4 centuries later? Was it the free-range turkey? The lean venison? The Wampanoag guests’ demands for a DASH-diet dinner?
A modern study may help reveal the historical truth: 17th century Plymouth Plantation wasn’t yet bisected by the 21st century Cape Cod traffic snarling the Pilgrims Highway, a.k.a. Massachusetts Route 3.
It was Spanish researchers, not English Puritans, who unbuckled the portly puzzle’s Pilgrim hat. Investigators with the Barcelona Institute for Global Health examined the link between traffic noise exposure and obesity markers among a group of Swiss adults. The verdict? Those exposed to the highest levels of traffic noise ran the greatest risk of becoming obese. Specifically, every 10-decibel rise in road noise packed on another 17% increase in obesity. Seems tractor-trailer downshifts and honking horns may disturb sleep, gridlocking glucose metabolism and diverting everyone to the nearest drive-thru.
Next on the Spaniards’ research to-do list: Can your New England uncle’s annual Turkey Day tales of Red Sox triumphs trigger psychosis among familial Yankees fans?