Fraudsters are like cockroaches – they are unwelcome and we do what we can to get rid of them, but they keep coming back. It doesn’t take long for fraudsters to jump on something that plays on people’s fears and they use that to prey on their new victims.
With the H1N1 virus and the Internet, fraudsters have a good venue to find some of these new victims. Products that claim to prevent the virus or claim to heal you are making their way into people’s homes. These products are not only ripping people off of money, they are potentially very …read more

I’m afraid I have to admit, I am not a fan of pierced tongues. I think that they cause a lot of problems, such as broken teeth and I can’t say I see the point. But, that doesn’t mean it’s wrong, just not for me. The thing is though, if people do things to their body that can cause harm in the long run, then I do become interested because I strongly believe that we need to take care of our body as much as we can.
Ok, so what’s this about? It’s about a news story I just read about …read more

No – you shouldn’t take antibiotics because you have a cold. And no, you don’t automatically need antibiotics for a sore throat either. No, antibiotics aren’t harmless. What do you need antibiotics for? Bacterial infections and bacterial infections only.
Seriously folks – use of antibiotics today has gotten so out of control that now we have super-bugs that are stronger than us. They can beat us because we don’t have a medicine that can beat them. And, if other bacteria end up mutating to the point that they can’t be killed by our antibiotics either, then we’re in big trouble. And …read more

Italian scientists have created a new procedure to turn blocks of wood into artificial bones.
It starts with taking a block of wood  and heat it up until it turns to pure carbon (in other words charcoal). 
They then spray calcium over the carbon thereby creating calcium carbide. Further chemical and physical steps will convert the calcium carbide into carbonated hydroxyapatite which is then able to be implanted and used as the artificial bone.
According to the scientists, the wood-derived bone substitute will let live bones to heal faster and more securely after a break than currently available titanium and ceramic implants.
But using wood to create artifical bone is still a work in …read more

Looks like smoking soldiers might just be a thing of the past if Pentagon health experts have anything to do with it. They are recommending that Defense Secretary Robert Gates adopt a phased-in smoking ban in the military over a period of years.
This proposal is based on the results of recent federal study done by the Institute of Medicine that shows increased tobacco use among soldiers.
 The study found that…

one in three servicemembers use tobacco.
tobacco use in the military has increased since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan started.
troops dealing with repeated deployments are often relying on cigarettes as a form of ‘stress …read more

Hospital mattresses are soft and pliable. Great for the patient who wants to be comfortable. But not so great for medical staff if they have to perform CPR.
Performing compressions on someone lying in a soft and pliable mattress will only result in the force going into the mattress and not the body. The standard answer is to get the patient on a crash board first but that requires extra time to roll the patient and position the board. Extra time that is often critical.
But a group of innovative students at Michigan Tech may just have the answer. They have been …read more

Based on numerous research studies that illustrated the unique benefits of marijuana in counteracting the pain, nausea and  the “wasting-effect” that often often occurs in the late stages of AIDS and cancers, Californian’s voted in 1996 to legalize medical marijuana.
The state even went as far as providing marijuana vending machines to supply those who were in need and medical qualified to have it.
Now the state lawmakers have decided that, while it’s of medical benefit to treat side effects of serious illnesses, it possibly can cause cancer.
That doesn’t mean that medical marijuana will now be banned. Instead, the plan is to have …read more

It’s not all textbooks and anatomy labs for medical students these days. Advances in computer technology has opened up many new ways to help these future doctors.
Take for example this pilot study by the University of Florida, the Medical School of Georgia, and a couple of other universities.
They are using a ‘mixed reality human’ consisting of a life size computer avatar on a flat screen TV and a mannequin with a prosthetic breast.
Her name is Amanda Jones and her job is to help teach students how to perform breast exams, an intimate procedure that once could only be learned ‘on …read more

It looks like a real heart. It acts like a real heart. But in reality, it’s only a  super-realistic computer model.
Created by a team of doctors from the Heart Hospital in London, this virtual heart is perfect for medical students to get indepth knowledge of the heart’s anatomy.
It sure beats staring at a dull anatomy textbook or static model.
It can be viewed from both inside and out, rotated around any axis with a simple flick or click of the computer mouse or keyboard.  It can even be made to simulate irregular heart beats and mirror the effects of various conditions …read more

Medical students learn not only by textbook and labs, but also by being challenged by medical riddle offered up by their professors and lecturers.
Once, medical students would have to “formulate hypotheses, go to the book, research and eliminate possibilities . . . and come to the answer” making the medical riddle a valuable learning tool.
But these days, with google, this process is almost defunct. Students can simple keyword the riddle into google search and come up with the answer in a matter of seconds.
 
Stanford’s Abraham Verghese now adds to a caveat to all his medical riddles – Don’t google it.
Here’s …read more