Have you come across the Lying Down Game?
It’s the latest bizarre internet phenomenon that’s sweeping the world, causing people to, well, basically, lie down in the strangest places, including the engine of a jumbo jet (engine off, on the ground)
There’s only one rule – you must have your palms flat against their sides and tips of your toes touching the ground.
No place is out of bounds. And the more public the better. Pictures posted on the Facebook site have people lying down in front of tanks, on roads, on roofs…
In one British hospital, the medical staff on night shift in …read more

Meet the Hip Hop Docs
They are doctors aiming to get the message to kids through hip hop.
There’s Rani G Whitfield, a board certified family doctor in Baton Rouge, Louisiana who wants to  empower young people to change unhealthly lifestyles.
By hip hop…
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And then there’s Dr John Clarke from New York City who does the medical rap, writing his own lyrics about ssthma, diabetes, and HIV.
Dr Clarke has just entered the 2009 Flu Prevention PSA Contest with his song about Swine  H1N1 Flu.
You can vote for Dr Clarke’s entry or any of the other 9 entries at the flu.gov contest site.
 

Here’s a study you can use.
Swearing apparently plays an important role in relieving pain.
The study, published last month in the NeuroReport journal, tested this theory on college students. Students are required to immerse their hands in cold water for as long as they could. While the hands were in the cold water, they were encouraged to either repeat a swear word of their choice or chant a neutral non-swear word.
The students who used sweat words reported less pain during the exercise and were also able to keep their hands in the cold water for at least 40 seconds longer.
While the …read more

Japanese scientists, always at the forefront of robotic innovation, created a robot suit that they say improves mobility and also allow the wearer to carry more.
The hybrid assistance limb, otherwise known as HAL, was developed with the goal of helping the injured and the weak get around.
Made by Japanese robotics company Cyberdyne, the exoskeleton is a 10 kilogram (22 pound) machine that belts at the waist and has a battery and computer system at the back.
HAL’s bio-electrical sensors, which are attached to the body, are able to capture electromyogram signals on the person’s skin control the way someone walks.
As a …read more

I don’t know about you but I always respond better to someone who is smiling, be it family, friend, or stranger.
But can we expect everyone to smile all the time. Is that even possible? And would we really want to be constantly surrounded by smiling faces?
One Japanese company, Omron, thinks so and has created the Smile Scan to help people rate their smiles.
Consisting of a video camera and sensor unit that connected to computer software, the Smile Scan scans a person’s face, rendering a 3D image and evaluates critical spots such as mouth and eyes to see if the person …read more

Feeling in the need of a little inspiration. Then take some time to watch this couple who are not letting age get in their way of having a good time. This impromptu musical interlude took place at the Mayo Clinic last year.
Vaudeville players back in the 1920’s and 1930’s, it’s easy to see that for Fran & Marlo Cowan (married 62 years), the show still goes on.
Learn more about their story here.
(another great find from  Seeing Good)

Last month, over 350 medical professionals, computer experts and entrepreneurs gathered for the fifth annual Games for Health Conference in Boston and discussed out topics such as how computer games could boost patients’ health.
There were even sessions that specifically focused on the relationship between gaming and cognitive health and whether games can help change behavior and/or improve balance for people with neurodegenerative diseases.
Me – I’m all for the idea that games can help maintain cognitive health as well as possibly improve memory.
And with that in mind, I’d like to introduce you to my latest find – Chocolatier: Decadence by Design.
Seriously, …read more

Well, here’s your chance…
Have a go at Open Heart Surgery. Definitely not for the faint of heart. With a simulated heart monitor beeping away, the pressure is on to perform. There’s a choice of three levels – intern, surgeon, and specialist. I should have chosen intern but I wanted to be the top gun. Bad move. As a specialist, I killed the patient within seconds. I was advised to ‘call my lawyer’.
Or maybe something a little less challenging – performing open heart surgery on a stuffed bunny . Easy you think! Think again! You have 60 seconds to shock the heart, …read more

If you’re like me and spend way too much time in front of the computer, you might want to consider livening up the area surrounding the computer with a cactus or two.
According to the daily green, some Swiss researchers in the mid-1980s did some tests and found that people ‘who used to suffer from headaches and tiredness felt better after working for two years with a cactus next to their monitors.’
Why?
One theory is that the cacti, which grows in areas of extreme heat and dryness, is able to counter the effects of harsh solar radiation.
My theory – the cactus simply …read more

These days, you never know what’s around the corner. But the last thing that most of these commuters was expecting was the railway speaker’s blasting out ‘Do-Re-Mi’ from the Sound of Music and seeing, one by one, people joining in and singing and dancing to the music.
But that’s what happened earlier this year at Antwep’s Grand Central Station. Yes, it was a promotional stunt for a reality show. But that doesn’t matter – just think of how many lives it must have brightened up for a minute or two.
(found via Seeing Good)
(image source)