MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'acquisition'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 01:59:58 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5069820&cid=t_103010_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FAz6PCNoGg6Q%2F The Kentucky attorney general has filed a lawsuit in a state court alleging that McKesson, one of the largest distributors, and First DataBank, which publishes a database for prescription drug prices, conspired to artificially inflate wholesales prices for more than 1,800 brand-name meds and, consequently, cost state taxpayers tens of millions of dollars in Medicaid reimbursements. Specifically, Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway alleges the companies concocted a scheme in which they “fraudulently inflated” the average wholesale prices published by First DataBank for the drugs, because they knew the Kentucky Medicaid program was required by law to use the inflated prices to calculate reimbursement to pharmacies and other providers. The lawsuit alleges the wholesale acquisi... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5069820 Wed, 27 Jul 2011 11:45:30 +0100 5069820 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5050812&cid=t_103010_113_f&fid=35744&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Fe-CareManagement%2F%7E3%2Fjm_ArodpnyU%2F I doubt it. IMHO, the recent acquisition by Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield of West Penn Allegheny Health System (WPAHS) for $475 M is unique to local market conditions. It was done as a last resort and should not be taken as a signal that health plans are starting a hospital buying binge. Why are hospitals unattractive investments for health plans: (more…) Tags: acquisition, hospital (Source: e-CareManagement) e-CareManagement blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5050812 Mon, 18 Jul 2011 19:00:17 +0100 5050812 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5008268&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2011%2F07%2F05%2Fafter-the-storm-salvaging-the-collections-at-medical-museion%2F Who would have thought that the torrential rain during the dramatic storms seen in Copenhagen this weekend would have had such devastating consequences? The collection stores here at Medical Museion bore the brunt of it. In some places the water rose to 90 cm.  Dedicated members of the team arrived on Saturday and worked in the evening while the rooms were pumped. On Sunday, many others arrived to plough through the black gooey sludge and salvage more precious boxes. On Monday, we were organized into groups, some carrying heavy boxes filled with flood damaged artefacts that still remained in the basements. Water was still leaking out of the soaking walls and the humidity did not help the situation. Others have been removing bones from sodden boxes, attempting to dry them a little and repa... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5008268 Tue, 05 Jul 2011 08:05:17 +0100 5008268 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4997586&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2011%2F07%2F04%2Fcollection-impossible-distributed-curatorship-as-an-alternative-to-centralised-acquisitioning%2F I thought of sending this abstract to the Artefacts meeting in the Museum Boerhaave, Leiden, 25-27 September (this year’s theme is ‘Conceptualizing, Collecting and Presenting Recent Science and Technology’): COLLECTION IMPOSSIBLE: Distributed curatorship as an alternative to centralised acquisitioning Centralised collecting of the artefacts from contemporary science, technology and medical (STM) visual and material culture seems to have rather bleak prospects. The looming financial and social global crisis is not conducive to centralized efforts by big museums to save the contemporary STM heritage, not least because the modern state-subsidised museum institution is running out of funding (at least in the West). What can curators then do to uphold their professional obligation to ... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4997586 Mon, 04 Jul 2011 10:00:04 +0100 4997586 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4911823&cid=t_103010_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FDdUeRDT_Nxc%2F The Michigan attorney general has filed a lawsuit in a state court alleging that McKesson, one of the largest distributors, and the Hearst media conglomerate, which owns the First DataBank and its drug database, conspired to artificially inflate wholesales prices and, consequently, cost taxpayers millions of dollars in Medicaid reimbursements. The companies allegedly violated the Michigan Medicaid False Claims Act and common law by knowingly publishing false average wholesale prices for certain meds - including Lipitor, Zyprexa, Allegra, Celebrex and Advair - between 2001 and 2009, according to the lawsuit. During this time, Michigan Medicaid spent nearly $2 billion on 890 brand-name drugs, as well as approximately $80 million on approximately 1,900 generics. The lawsuit alleges the wholes... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4911823 Tue, 07 Jun 2011 12:35:11 +0100 4911823 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4709236&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2011%2F04%2F13%2Fcollecting-the-voices-and-materials-of-genomics%2F I haven’t been to an interesting scholarly meeting for a long time — so it was pretty frustrating to realise that two meetings on some of my favourite research and curatorial interests are taking place at the same time. The first meeting (which I’ve already signed up for as a contributor) is a small workshop on “collecting genomics”, 12-14 May. It’s organised by John Durant at the MIT Museum and Liba Taub at HPS Cambridge and there are only going to be 15-20 people around the table; a perfect setting for in-depth discussions about one of the crucial challenges to science, technology and medical museums in the future: how to document, collect and make sense of one of the most important developments in late 20th century ST&M. The other meeting i... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4709236 Wed, 13 Apr 2011 13:00:24 +0100 4709236 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4615262&cid=t_103010_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2FI6O2P1izyjA%2F Fetuses and newborns react preferentially to their mother’s voice. A recent study looked for the first time at what is going on in a newborn brain when hearing his mother’s voice and a stranger’s voice. Results showed that not only newborns process their mother’s voice more actively than that of a stranger but they also process it differently. Researchers looked at the brain activity in response to voices (mother and female stranger) in 16 newborn babies (mean age: 21 hours), by applying electrodes to their heads while they were sleeping. Both the mother and a female nurse (who had visited the mother several times before the birth) were asked to make the short ‘A’ vowel sound. The mother’s voice processing initially activated the left posterior temporal lobe, an area particul... SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4615262 Mon, 21 Mar 2011 16:36:55 +0100 4615262 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4615186&cid=t_103010_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F03%2F21%2Funderstanding-research-methodology%2F In order to fully appreciate and apply the knowledge that has been acquired through the scientific process, it is imperative to have a basic understanding of scientific research methodology. Methodology: scientific techniques used to collect and evaluate data. This is the first in a series of articles that will shed light on scientific research methods.  It is important to understand that all research methods play an important role in leading us to tentative conclusions concerning how things work in the observable universe.  But, it also important to realize different types of research should be interpreted and applied in a different manner. As an example, the primary goal of correlation research is prediction, while the primary goal of experimental research is explanation/understanding.... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4615186 Mon, 21 Mar 2011 11:43:47 +0100 4615186 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4489715&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2011%2F02%2F16%2Fa-manifesto-for-creating-science-technology-and-medicine-exhibitions%2F Two weeks ago I mentioned that the Museums Journal had published Ken Arnolds and my Dogme 95-style manifesto for creating science, technology and medicine exhibitions, first presented last September at a conference organised by Medical Museion in Copenhagen. We have now received the journal’s permission to publish the full version of the manifesto. Enjoy and/or criticize! Just over 15 years ago, Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg spearheaded Dogme 95, a manifesto to purify the art of film-making. The aim was to engage audiences more profoundly and make sure they weren’t distracted by over-production. The Dogme manifesto ruled out special effects, post-production changes and other tricks in order to focus on the story and the performances. Since then, writer... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4489715 Wed, 16 Feb 2011 21:43:31 +0100 4489715 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4324816&cid=t_103010_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F01%2F08%2Fthe-state-of-e-therapy-2011%2F Colleagues, acquaintances, e-patients, media and others often ask me, “What’s the state of online therapy? Does it have a future?” My answer hasn’t changed significantly in the past decade, for good reason — very little has changed in the field. For folks who may be unawares, I’ve been a part of the mental health landscape and online therapy since the early 1990s, and e-therapy specifically when it started to hit the scene hard in the late 1990s. In fact, I coined the term “e-therapy” to describe online psychotherapy — a specific modality of psychotherapy that utilizes many techniques and features of traditional face-to-face psychotherapy. In 1999, I joined an e-therapy startup — HelpHorizons.com — as the industry’s y... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4324816 Sat, 08 Jan 2011 13:55:25 +0100 4324816 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4294781&cid=t_103010_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2010%2F12%2F21%2Fwatch-for-emr-company-consolidation-but-not-emr-software-consolidation%2F I’ve regularly talked about my belief that there isn’t just one major EMR market. Instead, I firmly believe that there are a number of EMR markets that are divided by clinic size, medical specialty, and possibly even location. In fact, there’s likely even other factors. There are just far too many EHR companies for this to not be the case. I think this was also well illustrated in this blog post on Kevin MD about the “Perfect EMR Traits.” Here’s the perfect EMR trait #1: Perfect EMR Trait #1: The ideal medical record would be tailored to the specific needs of a clinician, only exposing them to portions of the record which are relevant to their work. Knowledge within healthcare is rapidly changing. Possibly more so than another other industry. Techniques ... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4294781 Tue, 21 Dec 2010 19:24:58 +0100 4294781 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4214170&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2010%2F11%2F30%2Fthe-history-of-microplate-technology%2F One of my favourite objects for acquisition and display from the world of biomedical and clinical laboratories is the microplate (microtiter plate, microwell plate). A microplate is simply a series of small test tubes (’wells’) arranged in a regular matrix pattern on a plastic plate, usually made from transparent polystyrene. The little plate makes it possible to handle many samples in parallell—the most common size is 96 wells, but there are plates with several thousand wells—and the results can be read in an automated plate reader. In addition, the small size of the wells reduces sample volumes (from milliliter scale to nanoliter scale), which in turn saves money spent on reagents, like enzymes, which can be forbiddingly expensive. So it’s simple, ... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4214170 Tue, 30 Nov 2010 09:00:41 +0100 4214170 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4183323&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2010%2F11%2F19%2Fviews-of-ageing-rollator-drawings-part-2%2F Rollator drawings, 30th September – 4th October 2010: Continuing my appreciation of the aesthetics of seemingly ugly and mundane artefacts we associate with ageing, I investigated a second rollator. This was a contemporary model. It had a clear plastic tray, a wire shopping basket and four wheels rather than three for extra stability. It was squatter, sturdier and in some ways even uglier than the earlier three wheel model. The hidden complexities and detailing within the design meant it took much longer to draw than I had anticipated.  I intentionally drew it from the position someone would see it if they were approaching it to use it. The moulded plastic on the handles had been textured for extra grip and had an organic quality. The bolts and connections remained evident but were mor... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4183323 Fri, 19 Nov 2010 09:00:41 +0100 4183323 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4175749&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2010%2F11%2F17%2Fviews-of-ageing-rollator-drawings-part-1%2F Rollator drawings  27th–28th, 28th–29th September 2010: When I began drawing the rollator I asked myself why I was drawing something that was so boring, so ugly with no interesting features. I was reminded of the talk Nurin Veis, Deputy Head Sciences – Science Communication and Senior Curator of Human Biology and Medicine at Museum Victoria, Australia, gave at the EAMHMS conference. In her talk about issues in displaying the cochlear implant, Nurin stated that the problem lies with our insistence in seeing the ‘black box’ item as ugly and not suitable as a museum artefact. Rather than trying to avoid it, rewrite it change or replace it with something explaining something about it, she asked why couldn’t we just accept it and learn to appreciate it? Maybe it is our job to see... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4175749 Wed, 17 Nov 2010 09:18:41 +0100 4175749 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4155258&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2010%2F11%2F11%2Fcollecting-contemporary-medicine%2F One of the sessions at the September conference dealt with the problems and challenges in collecting contemporary medicine. Judy M. Chelnick presented the challenges of collecting today as being mainly lack of space, and the difficulty in trying to guess what objects will be historically valuable to your collections in the future. Read Judy’s full abstract here. James Edmonson went on to talk about the importance of collecting the advertising and marketing strategies of contemporary medicine as well as the products themselves, because money plays such a major role in the medical industry of today. Read James’ full abstract here. The last speaker of the session John Durant suggested the need to further develop our relationships with researchers and scientists, who despite their commitm... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4155258 Thu, 11 Nov 2010 10:27:09 +0100 4155258 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4077283&cid=t_103010_101_f&fid=38969&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftheemtspot.com%2F2010%2F10%2F17%2Fthe-protocol-skill-breakthrough%2F Once you understand the protocol / skill connection you might come to see a host of problems with the way we develop, use and teach our protocols. I’d like to tell you about two biggies. As we explained in the protocol / skill connection, we are dependent on our protocols to different degrees at different levels of skill development. This is defined by the Dreyfus model of skill acquisition. Misunderstanding this concept leads to some predictable problems. The problem with our protocols is that they were written with the expectation that everyone would use them the same way. The problem with our field education is that proficient and expert field providers teach novice and advanced beginner students. These two groups think differently about their protocols. Let’s look at both o... The EMT Spot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4077283 Sun, 17 Oct 2010 19:35:00 +0100 4077283 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4077284&cid=t_103010_101_f&fid=38969&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftheemtspot.com%2F2010%2F10%2F15%2Fskill-acquisition-and-protocols%2F Part one of a two part series. (Part two is here.) If you’ve ever grown plants in pots you know that selecting the right size pot for the plant is essential. Put a plant in a pot that’s too large for it and the new life will struggle to find water and nutrients. Place the same plant in a pot that’s too small and it will struggle to find space to grow. Such is the nature of growing things. It works the same way with you and your skills and your protocols. Your relationship with your protocols is going to change as your knowledge and skill grow. It’s going to happen. This isn’t my opinion. It’s called the Dreyfus model of skill acquisition. And when you understand how it relates to you and your medical skills, you’re bound to have one of those ah-... The EMT Spot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4077284 Fri, 15 Oct 2010 17:18:05 +0100 4077284 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4074108&cid=t_103010_101_f&fid=38969&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftheemtspot.com%2F2010%2F10%2F15%2Fskill-acquisition-and-protocols%2F If you’ve ever grown plants in pots you know that selecting the right size pot for the plant is essential. Put a plant in a pot that’s too large for it and the new life will struggle to find water and nutrients. Place the same plant in a pot that’s too small and it will struggle to find space to grow. Such is the nature of growing things. It works the same way with you and your skills and your protocols. Your relationship with your protocols is going to change as your knowledge and skill grow. It’s going to happen. This isn’t my opinion. It’s called the Dreyfus model of skill acquisition. And when you understand how it relates to you and your medical skills, you’re bound to have one of those ah-ha moments. Here’s how it works. Stuart and ... The EMT Spot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4074108 Fri, 15 Oct 2010 17:18:05 +0100 4074108 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3743545&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2010%2F07%2F11%2Fwould-european-museums-be-able-to-co-operate-around-the-preservation-of-the-contemporary-medical-heritage%2F In four earlier posts (# 1 here, #2 here, #3 here, and #4 here), I’ve argued for a more proactive practice with respect to the preservation of the contemporary medical scientific and technological heritage. The posts were provoked by Christian Sichau’s negative attitude (quoted here). There is no space for the new acquisitions, he claimed, and the exhibition curators receive all the museum money anyway. So forget about collecting. I don’t agree. In my last post I made an argument for distributed curatorial expertise as a way of solving the space problem. Here I’ll argue for another way to overcome the space and resource problem, namely to strengthen the co-operation between museums across the European borders. Sichau’s pessimistic view is quite understa... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3743545 Sun, 11 Jul 2010 09:50:29 +0100 3743545 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3729904&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2010%2F07%2F06%2Fcreating-a-distributed-curatorial-expertise-for-acquisitioning-the-contemporary-medical-heritage-2%2F In three earlier posts (here, here, and here), I’ve argued in favour of a more proactive acquisition practice with respect to the contemporary medical scientific and technological heritage. Against some curators who believe we need to restrict acquisitioning (for economic, space etc. reasons), I suggest that we should rather open up the sluice gates for collecting as much contemporary stuff as possible. Immediately, this sounds like an impossibility. All science, medical and technology museums have limited staff and resources. How could we ever dream of acquiring, keeping and managing the tsunami of images, documents and used artefacts that would arrive from the contemporary world of medicine? The solution, as I see it, is to begin re-thinking museum acquisition and curating practice... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3729904 Tue, 06 Jul 2010 17:54:07 +0100 3729904 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3448892&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2010%2F04%2F08%2Freading-artefacts-do-we-really-read-them-2%2F I just got a mail saying that the Canada Science and Technology Museum is organising a summer institute in material culture research on the theme ‘Reading Artefacts’, in Ottawa, 16-20 August. Anyone interested in material research and museum artefacts — grad students, postdocs, faculty “teaching history through artifacts” and historians who are “looking to expand their research methods” — are welcome to attend. Because of the venue, there will probably be a lot of focus on sci, tech and med museum artefacts. Great initative. My only hesitation is the title — Reading Artefacts. What do the organisers actually mean by reading an artefact? In my understanding of reading, there is a text to be read. But an artefact is not a text (unless the... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3448892 Thu, 08 Apr 2010 09:18:35 +0100 3448892 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3411114&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2010%2F03%2F27%2Fopen-the-sluice-gates-for-contemporary-collecting%2F A couple of days ago, I argued against Christian Sichau’s restrictive acquisition policy for museums of science, technology and medicine. I suggested, not only to actively promote the acquisition of visual, material, and textual objects from contemporary laboratories and storage rooms, but indeed to open up the sluice gates for collecting as much contemporary stuff as possible. An optimistic ‘‘Yes, please’’ policy is nicer and wiser than a pessimistic ‘‘Nein’’ policy. My argument is based on my experiences from Medical Museion’s integrated research and curatorial program ‘‘Biomedicine on Display’’. The program was launched in 2005 with the explicit intention to lay the research foundation for the acquisition and public outreach of the visual and material cu... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3411114 Sat, 27 Mar 2010 14:38:04 +0100 3411114 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3386895&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2010%2F03%2F21%2Fnew-acquisitions-no-thank-you-or-yes-please%2F In an article titled ‘Einstein, interaktiv und zum Anfassen. Oder: die drohende Auflösung des Museums?’ in NTM: Zeitschrift für Geschichte der Naturwissenschaften, Technik und Medizin (vol. 17, 85–92, 2009), Christian Sichau has argued for a severely restrictive attitude to new acquisitions. He develops his argument for a next-to-zero collecting policy in opposition to a short appeal made by the historian Klaus Hentschel in Physik Journal in March 2008 (’Bitte nicht wegwerfen! Allzu oft werden Quellen der Physikgeschichte achtlos entsorgt, statt sie zu sichern’). Here Hentschel gave a chilling example of the accidental destruction of some of the important sources for the history of early German solid state physics. Hentschel called on physicists to be more awar... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3386895 Sun, 21 Mar 2010 08:00:07 +0100 3386895 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3385371&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2010%2F03%2F20%2Fhow-shall-science-technology-and-medicine-museums-handle-the-problem-of-new-acquisitions%2F The journal NTM: Zeitschrift für Geschichte der Naturwissenschaften, Technik und Medizin is currently running a series of articles about university collections and museums. These articles raise a number of interesting issues, which are otherwise rarely brought up in discussions about the historiography of science, technology, and medicine. In nr 4/2008, Anke te Heesen (Tübingen) pointed to the often forgotten fact that university collections are an integral part of many fields of university research and teaching; this active role of the collections in these primary functions of the university is therefore an important parameter to take into account when developing acquisition and exhibition agendas for university museums. In the following issue (nr 1/2009), Christian Sichau (Deutsches Mu... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3385371 Sat, 20 Mar 2010 11:00:15 +0100 3385371 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3374163&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2010%2F03%2F17%2Fis-this-the-death-of-the-sciencemedical-museum-collections-as-we-know-them%2F Nanowerk reports that researchers at the Micro and Nanosystems Department, Instituto de Microelectrónica de Barcelona have recently demonstrated that it is possible to produce and place small silicon chips inside living HeLa cells by means of different techniques, like lipofection, phagocytosis or microinjection. 90% of the cells remained alive and healthy for a week. We’re talking about quite ordinary (but extraordinarily small) silicon chips that are made of a normal semiconductor material and produced by usual manufacturing methods. The chips that can be used as intracellular sensors and the possibilites are endless — for example, characterization, quantification and IRT monitoring of molecular processes at the single cell level. This sounds like a promising route ... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3374163 Wed, 17 Mar 2010 08:00:46 +0100 3374163 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3314644&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2010%2F02%2F27%2Fsaving-the-papers-of-21st-century-science-for-future-historians%2F Besides the preservation and display of the contemporary medical heritage, one of my major research interests is the methodology of writing the history of contemporary science (see, e.g., The Historiography of Contemporary Science and Technology (1997) and The Historiography of Contemporary Science, Technology and Medicine: Writing Recent Science (with Ron Doel, 2006)). Now I am beginning to think about a third volume in the ’series’ to catch up with new trends in science historiography. One of the most interesting issues — both from a museological and historiographical point of view — is how historians should deal with the growing avalanche of scientific digital documents. I.e., how to preserve, utilise, and make sense of the enormous output of digital... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3314644 Sat, 27 Feb 2010 08:00:01 +0100 3314644 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3283563&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2010%2F02%2F18%2Fcontemporary-bodies-new-technologies-new-collections%2F A few months ago, I advertised the meeting ‘KörperGegenwart, neue Technologien, neue Sammlungen’ to be held at the Deutsches Hygiene-Museum in Dresden, 22-24 April. Now the program has been finalised — and it looks very good! After a plenary discussion on ‘Schauplätze der Schönheit: Klinik, Kunst, Medien und Museen’ on Thursday evening, there follows two days of presentations, most of which seem to be very relevant for the future of medical and science museums: ‘Körperspuren im Deutschen Hygiene-Museum. Strategien und Objekte’ (Susanne Roeßiger, Deutsches Hygiene-Museum, Dresden) ‘Auf Biegen und Brechen. Zur (In)Formierung des Körpers’ (Stefan Rieger, Ruhr-Universität Bochum) ‘Der Körper und seine Teile. Vom Präparat ... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3283563 Thu, 18 Feb 2010 08:00:30 +0100 3283563 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3220091&cid=t_103010_77_f&fid=37259&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.horizonpress.com%2Fblogger%2F2010%2F01%2Firon-in-yeasts.html Yeasts take up iron by three main mechanisms. In the reductive uptake mechanism, specialized flavo-hemoproteins (Fre) dissociate extracellular ferric complexes by reduction involving trans-plasma membrane electron transfer. The resulting free iron is then imported by a high-affinity permease system (Ftr), coupled to a copper-dependent oxidase (Fet), which channels iron through the plasma membrane. As a consequence, iron uptake by this mechanism is dependent on the availability of copper. In the siderophore-mediated mechanism, siderophores excreted by the cells or produced by other bacterial or fungal species are taken up without prior dissociation, via specific, copper-independent high-affinity receptors. The iron is then dissociated from the siderophores intracellularly, probably by reduc... Microbiology Blog: The weblog for microbiologists. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3220091 Thu, 28 Jan 2010 13:52:00 +0100 3220091 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3220092&cid=t_103010_77_f&fid=37259&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.horizonpress.com%2Fblogger%2F2010%2F01%2Firon-in-staphylococci.html Staphylococcus aureus causes a significant amount of human morbidity and mortality. The ability of S. aureus to cause disease is dependent upon its acquisition of iron from the host. S. aureus can obtain iron from various sources during infection, including heme and transferrin. The most abundant iron source in humans is heme-iron bound by hemoglobin contained within erythrocytes. S. aureus is known to lyse erythrocytes through secretion of pore-forming toxins, providing access to host hemoglobin. Proteins of the iron-regulated surface determinant (Isd) system bind host hemoproteins, remove the heme cofactor, and shuttle heme into the cytoplasm for use as a nutrient iron source. Deletion of Isd system components decreases staphylococcal virulence, underscoring the importance of heme-iron a... Microbiology Blog: The weblog for microbiologists. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3220092 Thu, 28 Jan 2010 13:51:00 +0100 3220092 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3220093&cid=t_103010_77_f&fid=37259&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.horizonpress.com%2Fblogger%2F2010%2F01%2Firon-in-bacillus.html Bacillus subtilis is a metabolically versatile soil microbe and Gram-positive model organism that displays a sophisticated adaptive response to conditions of iron limitation. The endogenous siderophore of B. subtilis is bacillibactin, a trimeric catecholate siderophore similar in structure to enterobactin. In addition to bacillibactin, B. subtilis can obtain iron from several xenosiderophores, ferric citrate, heme, and through a newly discovered elemental iron permease. The regulation of iron homeostasis in B. subtilis is complex and involves a ferric uptake regulator (Fur) protein as master regulator and at least two subsidiary regulatory systems. The most significant of these is an iron-sparing/prioritization response controlled by the small RNA FsrA and three auxiliary proteins (FbpABC)... Microbiology Blog: The weblog for microbiologists. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3220093 Thu, 28 Jan 2010 13:50:00 +0100 3220093 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3220095&cid=t_103010_77_f&fid=37259&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.horizonpress.com%2Fblogger%2F2010%2F01%2Firon-in-campylobacter.html Iron is known to catalyze a wide range of biochemical reactions essential for most living organisms, including Campylobacter jejuni. Paradoxically, this iron reactivity is also responsible for the generation of hydroxyl radicals (·OH), which are particularly biotoxic. In order to avoid iron toxicity, microorganisms must achieve an effective iron homeostasis by tightly regulating the expression of genes encoding the proteins involved in iron acquisition, metabolism and oxidative stress defences in response to iron availability. Interestingly, in addition to the classical ferric uptake regulator Fur, C. jejuni carries another member of the Fur family of metalloregulators, PerR. PerR is a peroxide-sensing regulator and typically regulates peroxide stress response in Gram-positive bacteri... Microbiology Blog: The weblog for microbiologists. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3220095 Thu, 28 Jan 2010 13:49:00 +0100 3220095 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3220094&cid=t_103010_77_f&fid=37259&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.horizonpress.com%2Fblogger%2F2010%2F01%2Firon-in-cyanobacteria.html Cyanobacteria are dependent on but can also be compromised by metals such as iron. On the one hand the demand for iron for photosystem functionality represents a challenge for the iron uptake machinery in iron limiting environments. On the other hand intoxication by iron causes a severe problem for growth and reproduction. To overcome this dilemma cyanobacteria have developed a regulatory network controlling iron uptake. They produce siderophores, which are distinct from that of other bacteria. Furthermore, the iron metabolism is linked to the nitrogen metabolism as documented for example in Anabaena sp. PCC 7120.Further reading: Iron Uptake and Homeostasis in MicroorganismsFull range of books on microbiology at Microbiology Books (Source: Microbiology Blog: The weblog for microbiologists.... Microbiology Blog: The weblog for microbiologists. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3220094 Thu, 28 Jan 2010 13:49:00 +0100 3220094 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3220096&cid=t_103010_77_f&fid=37259&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.horizonpress.com%2Fblogger%2F2010%2F01%2Firon-in-bacteroides.html Bacteroides spp. have an essential requirement for heme and non-heme iron. They cannot synthesize the tetrapyrrole macrocycle ring due to a lack of genes for the heme biosynthetic pathway. It is remarkable that heme-dependent organisms outnumber heme-independent organisms in the lower intestinal tract suggesting that heme biosynthesis is not essential for colonization of the colonic environment. However, this colonization advantage may be due to the fact that under anaerobic conditions in the presence of heme, B. fragilis can generate nearly the double amount of ATP than Escherichia coli per mol of glucose. This high energy yield is linked to a rudimentary heme-induced fumarate reductase and cytochrome b-dependent electron transport energy metabolism pathway which uses fumarate as the term... Microbiology Blog: The weblog for microbiologists. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3220096 Thu, 28 Jan 2010 13:48:00 +0100 3220096 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3220097&cid=t_103010_77_f&fid=37259&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.horizonpress.com%2Fblogger%2F2010%2F01%2Firon-in-francisella.html Francisella tularensis is unusual among Gram-negative bacteria in that its genome does not encode orthologs for TonB, ExbB and ExbD that typically energize the uptake of iron across the outer membrane. This organism secretes however a siderophore similar in structure to rhizoferrin. The fsl operon of six genes encodes functions for biosynthesis and uptake of the siderophore. Two of these genes encode a siderophore synthetase belonging to the nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS)-independent synthetase (NIS)-family and a protein belonging to the pyridoxyl phosphate-dependent decarboxylase family, and both are required for siderophore production. Siderophore utilization involves the product of the fslE gene, a protein unique to Francisella species that could function as a siderophore recept... Microbiology Blog: The weblog for microbiologists. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3220097 Thu, 28 Jan 2010 13:47:00 +0100 3220097 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3220098&cid=t_103010_77_f&fid=37259&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.horizonpress.com%2Fblogger%2F2010%2F01%2Firon-in-vibrio-and-aeromonas.html Vibrio and Aeromonas species are ubiquitous bacteria in aquatic environments worldwide. Many of the species are important pathogens for humans and/or aquatic animals. Several iron acquisition strategies have been developed by vibrios and aeromonads in order to get this essential element for surviving in their host and in aquatic habitats. All species studied so far have the ability to synthesize siderophores to sequester iron from the cell environment and transport it through their respective cognate outer membrane receptors. It has been demonstrated that this capacity is a relevant virulence factor for human and animal pathogens. Furthermore, all species studied can utilize exogenous siderophores, made by other bacteria. Another iron acquisition system described in both genera involves th... Microbiology Blog: The weblog for microbiologists. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3220098 Thu, 28 Jan 2010 13:46:00 +0100 3220098 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3220101&cid=t_103010_77_f&fid=37259&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.horizonpress.com%2Fblogger%2F2010%2F01%2Firon-in-bordetella.html Upon colonization of the mammalian respiratory epithelium by mucosal pathogens of the genus Bordetella, the host-pathogen interaction causes inflammatory changes, immune activation, and host cell injury. In this dynamic environment, Bordetella cells scavenge the nutritional iron necessary for growth. The three classical Bordetella species produce the siderophore alcaligin. In addition, they can utilize xenosiderophores that could be produced by commensals or other microbes that transiently inhabit the nasopharynx. As infection progresses, extravasation of immune cells, erythrocytes and serum to the mucosal surface can occur, exacerbated by the damaging action of Bordetella toxins, thus providing iron sources such as transferrin and heme compounds to the microbe. The three characterized Bor... Microbiology Blog: The weblog for microbiologists. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3220101 Thu, 28 Jan 2010 13:42:00 +0100 3220101 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3220104&cid=t_103010_77_f&fid=37259&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.horizonpress.com%2Fblogger%2F2010%2F01%2Firon-uptake-and-homeostasis-in.html Iron is essential for almost all living organisms as it is involved in a wide variety of important metabolic processes. However, iron is not readily available and microorganisms therefore employ various iron uptake systems to secure sufficient supplies from their surroundings. There is considerable variation in the range of iron transporters and iron sources utilised by different microbial species. Pathogens, in particular, require efficient iron acquisition mechanisms to enable them to compete successfully for iron in the highly iron-restricted environment of the host's tissues and body fluids.Further reading: Iron Uptake and Homeostasis in MicroorganismsFull range of books on microbiology at Microbiology Books (Source: Microbiology Blog: The weblog for microbiologists.) Microbiology Blog: The weblog for microbiologists. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3220104 Thu, 28 Jan 2010 13:39:00 +0100 3220104 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3142601&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2010%2F01%2F05%2Fsyringe-quiz%2F A couple of friends who know about my interest in the history of disease recently gave me a historical syringe as a gift. They bought it in a flea marked, so unfortunately I don’t have any information about its provenance. Ion Meyer (conservator and head of collections here at the Medical Museion) suggests, with some help from catalouges of medical equipment, that it might have been made in 1940’s or 1950’s, but unfortunately we could not get any closer. And this is where you, dear reader, might be of assistance: Where and when is it from? How comon was this particular type of syringe? When did it go out of style? The syringe is marked JS and is easily dismantled as seen below. This quiz will continue until January 31. There will be small prize (a guide... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3142601 Tue, 05 Jan 2010 16:32:10 +0100 3142601 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3075538&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2009%2F12%2F09%2Fcontemporary-medical-science-and-technology-as-a-challenge-for-museums-copenhagen-16-19-september-2010%2F Here’s the announcement for a conference to be held here at Medical Museion next September: Contemporary medical science and technology as a challenge for museums Copenhagen, 16-19 September, 2010 The 15th biannual conference of the European Association of Museums for the History of Medical Sciences (EAMHMS) will be held at Medical Museion, University of Copenhagen, Denmark, Thursday 16 – Saturday 19 September, 2010. The image of medicine that emerges from most museum galleries and exhibitions is still dominated by pre-modern and modern understandings of an anatomical and physiological body, and by the diagnostic and therapeutical methods and instruments used to intervene with the body at the ‘molar’ and tangible level — limbs, organs, tissues, etc. The rapid transition i... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3075538 Wed, 09 Dec 2009 16:03:49 +0100 3075538 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3071195&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2009%2F12%2F09%2Fcontemporary-medical-science-and-technology-as-a-challenge-for-museums-copenhagen-16-19-september-2010%2F Here’s the announcement for a conference to be held here at Medical Museion next September: Contemporary medical science and technology as a challenge for museums Copenhagen, 16-19 September, 2010 The 15th biannual conference of the European Association of Museums for the History of Medical Sciences (EAMHMS) will be held at Medical Museion, University of Copenhagen, Denmark, Thursday 16 – Saturday 19 September, 2010. The image of medicine that emerges from most museum galleries and exhibitions is still dominated by pre-modern and modern understandings of an anatomical and physiological body, and by the diagnostic and therapeutical methods and instruments used to intervene with the body at the ‘molar’ and tangible level — limbs, organs, tissues, etc. The rapid transition i... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3071195 Wed, 09 Dec 2009 16:03:49 +0100 3071195 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3063280&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2009%2F12%2F07%2Fthe-recent-history-of-medical-technology-piecing-it-together-from-memoirs-and-reminiscences%2F One of the challenges for a museum of medicine intent on collecting recent and contemporary medical artefacts is to get an overview of the historical development of medical instruments, medical technological systems and the medical device industry. Trade shows and their catalogues (published or online) are excellent sources. But memoirs and reminiscences of people who have been engaged in the trade show business can also be useful —  they add a more personal perspective to the dry historical data, they are more fun to read than catalogues, and you can probably construct a useful picture of trends by piecing their more or less idiosyncratic stories together. Take for example Wolfgang Albath, a pioneer in laboratory medicine and one of the founding organisers of the world`s larg... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3063280 Mon, 07 Dec 2009 11:00:31 +0100 3063280 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3035905&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2009%2F11%2F28%2Fis-biomedicine-making-the-body-invisible-and-immaterial-and-uncollectable%2F Is it really the case that almost all museum exhibitions dealing with medical themes these days are displaying DNA-images and colourful neuroscanning pictures? Well, at least this is what the organisers of a meeting in Dresden next April seem to be suggesting. I think they are exaggerating a bit :-). But that said, the theme of the meeting — KörperGegenwart, neue Technologien, neue Sammlungen [contemporary bodies, new technologies, new collections] — is right on the spot. The point of departure for the meeting — jointly organised by Zentrum für Literatur- und Kulturforschung in Berlin and Deutsches Hygiene-Museum in Dresden — is that the colonisation of the body by means of the life sciences has resulted in a gradual retreat from the immediately visible and materi... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3035905 Sat, 28 Nov 2009 07:34:13 +0100 3035905 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2931010&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2009%2F10%2F27%2Flab-toys-on-display-please%2F Laboratory equipment for rats or mice have begun to fascinate me more and more. Not in the way the rat guillotine was fascinating, but more in the way of how lab equipment can show so many things about biomedical practices, contexts and knowledge production. The picture above is from an article in the October issue of The Scientist, which Thomas has referred me to, called ‘Lab Toys – How does cage enrichment affect rodents?’. It is a really interesting article (as he knew I would think) about, well, lab toys – and their consequences for lab practices. For instance the article illustrates one of the aspects about the use of laboratory animals that you seldom think about: the everyday life in the lab where humans and animals interact. Rats, for example, are not only i... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2931010 Tue, 27 Oct 2009 07:00:45 +0100 2931010 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2803949&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2009%2F09%2F17%2Fsignificant-medical-objects-ii%2F A couple of weeks ago I proposed a significant-medical-objects game — a sort of crowdsourcing/museum 2.0 procedure for the acquisition of objects for medical museums. Turns out there is a website called, yes, Significant Objects, which has a host of exciting writers attached. The site’s objective is different from my little game. It’s based on the books Buying In (2008) and Taking Things Seriously (2007), in which Rob Walker and Joshua Glenn examined the ways in which we invest inanimate objects with significance. With the Significant Objects site they have set up an curating experiment in which the ’significance’ of objects bought in thrift stores and similar places are ’artificially cooked up under controlled conditions’. Sort of gre... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2803949 Thu, 17 Sep 2009 07:00:52 +0100 2803949 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2691539&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2009%2F08%2F12%2Fartefacts-meeting-at-science-museum-20-22-september%2F The program for the Artefacts meeting at Science Museum, 20-22 September, has been finalised. It looks great! Medical Museion’s former senior curator Søren Bak-Jensen (now at the Copenhagen City Museum) will present some of the ideas behind the current exhibition ‘Split+Splice: Fragments from the Age of Biomedicine’. Here is the whole list of papers for the meeting: Bruce Lewenstein, Cornell University. Can museum visitors learn about the relation of science and technology in museums? Peter Donhauser, Vienna Museum of Technology. Science versus technology in a museum’s display. Changes in the Vienna Museum. Benjamin Gross, Princeton University. “The Antithesis of the Attic”: Historical Artifacts, “Interactive” Exhibits, and the Presentation of Science a... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2691539 Wed, 12 Aug 2009 07:00:57 +0100 2691539 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2606033&cid=t_103010_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2009%2F07%2F16%2Fwhy-relationships-change-after-marriage-and-why-loyalty-brings-happiness%2F A recent Northwestern University study found that what makes a person a good dating partner might not determine who is a suitable spouse. For couples in both a dating relationship and a marriage, an important contributor to a satisfying relationship is an understanding that a partner will help the other achieve his/her dreams. That’s huge for married couples, too, but in the married relationship, it is even more substantial that the partner upholds his/her part of the commitment pledged before taking vows. Explains Daniel Molden, assistant professor at Northwestern University and lead author of the study: In other words, the feelings of being loved and supported that people use to judge who makes a good girlfriend or boyfriend may not be completely trustworthy in deciding who makes... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2606033 Thu, 16 Jul 2009 11:56:36 +0100 2606033 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2584199&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2009%2F07%2F09%2Flaboratory-guillotines-rules-and-procedures-for-the-use-of-commercial-small-animal-euthanasia-machines%2F Inspired by Morten’s post on the ‘rat guillotine’ that we collected during our first ’Archaeology of Contemporary Biomedicine Garbage Day’ exercise in 2007, I asked the rete list “if there are other ’rat guillotines’ around or if this is a unique Copenhagen death machine?” — and immediately received some interesting answers: Dartmouth anatomist Frank Manasek responds that these weren’t necessarily rat guillotines, but rather general small-animal guillotines: In the US they were available commercially at least in the 1960s when I used one for several years decapitating hamsters. My commercial model looked just like the one illustrated except it didn’t have constraint tubes. Rich Paselk, who heads the Scientific ... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2584199 Thu, 09 Jul 2009 07:52:30 +0100 2584199 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2510988&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2009%2F06%2F16%2Feye-catchers-and-swagger-images-a-new-exhibition-about-scientific-posters%2F In addition to Split and Splice, we have recently opened another and smaller exhibition in the reception hall — Eye Catchers and Swagger Images: Research in Poster Format (Danish: Blikfang og blærebilleder: forskning i posterformat) — with a selection of our collection of scientific posters, from the mid-1980s to the present. The idea behind the exhibition goes back to August 2007, when we had a specialist workshop on Biomedicine and Aesthetics in a Museum Context here at Medical Museion, followed by a conference on Biomedicine and Art. One of the speakers at the Biomedicine and Art conference was James Elkins (the Art Institute of Chicago), who spoke about the new impulses for art theory and visual studies presented by science, technology and medicine. Rikke Vindberg,... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2510988 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 08:00:08 +0100 2510988 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2464088&cid=t_103010_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FfzQdyydGzdE%2F Congressman Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.) has a fairly radical proposal for reforming defense acquisition in Politico. Cooper wants to put the military services’ acquisition staffs under the direct control of the Secretary of Defense. The idea is to liberate the staffs from the parochial perspectives that cause various pathologies in acquisition programs. The oped implicitly blames large and consistent cost overruns in weapons programs on the services’ interests, which manifest in excessive requirements for platforms. For example, the Air Force’s religious attachment to the over-designed and thus wildly expensive F-22 has its origin in a peculiar self-image, one that sees the establishment of air superiority for strategic bombing as the Air Force’s main mission. You can t... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2464088 Mon, 08 Jun 2009 20:06:51 +0100 2464088 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2312709&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2009%2F04%2F01%2Fmedical-museion-puts-all-its-collections-on-twitter%2F The Director’s office of Medical Museion at the University of Copenhagen announced today that the museum will put all its collections on Twitter. Hundreds of thousands of material artefacts (from electron microscopes to conjoined twins in pickles), tens of thousands of medical historical images, and hundreds of shelf meters of archival documents will be compressed, catalogued and publicly communicated in the Twitter format. “This is a revolution in museum collection management”, says the Director of Medical Museion, Thomas Söderqvist. “We have considered a number of systems for putting our rich medical historical collections online — but they were either too complicated, or too expensive. Twitter solves all our problems”.  Putting collections... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2312709 Wed, 01 Apr 2009 11:00:10 +0100 2312709 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2296740&cid=t_103010_133_f&fid=35129&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwhitterer-autism.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F03%2Fmy-bottom-is-too-thick.html Get the code:-Cut and pastefrom this littleboxy thing below five broken!5 out of 42More accurately, the differential between the foot /bottom is too thick by comparison to the rim / top = I need to be more bold in the trimming department.Meanwhile, on a happier note since this is Smiley Saturday too, above you'll see my son's bed. Granted it is a little messy and may not obviously strike you as being 'made,' however, it is indeed 'made,' by his very own fair hands without prompting, which scores a ten out of ten in my book. Addendum:-On another quite stunning note, here is a piccy of another quite ordinarily tiny huge accomplishment. I could remind you about lung capacity, lip closure, co-ordination not to say motivation but you know all that stuff already. Pretty darned impressive for an ... Whitterer on Autism blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2296740 Sat, 28 Mar 2009 06:57:00 +0100 2296740 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2249121&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2009%2F03%2F08%2Fcollecting-and-gathering-as-world-making-and-claim-staking%2F Collecting in museums runs the risk of becoming a rather pedestrian and academically uninteresting activity unless informed by and contributing to some wider theoretical perspectives. The one-day interdisciplinary conference on ‘Collecting and Gathering: Making Worlds and Staking Claims’ at Columbia University, 23 May, might be helpful to develop the discourse around museum collecting and acquisitioning. As the organizers (graduate students at the Dept of Archeology) say: Practices, institutions and ideas centered around collections and collecting offer a fruitful area for interdisciplinary enquiry in the humanities and social sciences. Whether in the processes through which collections come to be formed, or the ways in which existing collections are experienced by a var... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2249121 Sun, 08 Mar 2009 15:48:25 +0100 2249121 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2205036&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2009%2F02%2F22%2Frete%2F For some reason I have until recently been unaware of rete, a mailing list for curators, historians, students, collectors, dealers, etc, interested in the history of scientific instruments. The archives (from June 2003 onwards) are available online. The list owner (the Museum of the History of Science in Oxford) will not accept messages for commercial purposes like announcing instruments for sale, etc., but otherwise all messages for academic and museum purposes are welcome. To join, send a blank message to rete-subscribe@maillist.ox.ac.uk. (thanks to Gustav for the tip) (Source: Biomedicine on Display) Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2205036 Sun, 22 Feb 2009 13:02:01 +0100 2205036 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2177521&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2009%2F02%2F11%2Fthe-collective-biomedical-memory%2F is notoriously short. It resides mainly in daily anecdotes and small stories provided by the older members of the laboratory/clinic. You acquire snippets of the past in the coffee breaks or in the bar after working hours, through the introductory chapters of standard textbooks and anthologies, or by reading the memoirs of biomedical celebrities (like Craig Venter). You collect fragments that slowly coalesce in your mind as a more or less vague narrative about the past. The chances are high that most biomedical scientists are creating rather similar versions of a fairly standardized historical narrative. The ‘truth’ about the historical past is a strong social construct (much more social than scientific constructs, in spite of what many science studies peo... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2177521 Wed, 11 Feb 2009 16:06:16 +0100 2177521 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2152934&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2009%2F02%2F03%2Fdigital-lives-not-yet-20-but-maybe-soon%2F One of my longheld convictions is that the individual life trajectory is both one of the most neglected and most exciting aspects of biomedicine, not least when it comes to collecting and displaying biomedicine in museum exhibitions. Documents, images and objects from individual scientists, doctors, engineers and patients is a rich resource for museum curators — the individual and personal perspective in exhibitions adds a dimension of engagement similar to how biographical writing engages readers in a way that other forms of historical writing don’t.   Therefore I was quite curious when I read about The Digital Lives Research Conference that will be held at the British Library, London, next week (9-11 February). The aim of the meeting is to bring archivists and ... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2152934 Tue, 03 Feb 2009 06:00:14 +0100 2152934 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2137586&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2009%2F01%2F27%2Fpreannouncement-for-artefacts-meeting-at-science-museum-in-september%2F I have written about the Artefacts meeting series before (here, here and here). The 14th meeting will be hosted by Science Museum in London on 20-22 September 2009. The topic will be “The relations of science and technology as portrayed in museums”. Reserve the dates. Deadline will be around 1 April, but we’ll be back with a more formal and detailed announcement. (Source: Biomedicine on Display) Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2137586 Tue, 27 Jan 2009 16:26:18 +0100 2137586 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2110628&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2009%2F01%2F16%2Four-new-muscle-man%2F To satisfy those of our readers (such as our colleagues at Street Anatomy) who are hungry for more classical, anatomical stuff, we’re making this short interruption in the steady flow of contemporary biomedicine-on-display material. Today we acquired a new anatomy-related art object — a plaster of Paris copy of a full-sized male ecorché (representing a flogged muscle man), originally made in 1869 by the Danish sculpturer Theobald Stein (1829-1901) and later cast in bronze. Placed in the entrance hall of Medical Museion, the muscle man is not only a major attraction in itself — it also symbolizes our interest in connecting art and medicine in all possible ways, not only the contemporary art-biomedicine arena, but also in its classical (or in this case neo-neocla... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2110628 Fri, 16 Jan 2009 23:18:53 +0100 2110628 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2107743&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2009%2F01%2F15%2Freflections-on-science-and-medical-collections-in-universities%2F I’ve already mentioned the launch of the new University Museums and Collections Journal. The first issue has just been released online — there are two articles of potential interest for reflecting medical museums: In one of them, Sébastien Soubiran asks “What makes scientific communities think the preservation of their heritage is important?”, and answers the question through a historical analysis of the various role that were conferred to university collections and museums within the University Louis Pasteur of Strasbourg for the last thirty years. In the other, “‘The Sound of Silver’: Collaborating art, science and technology at Queen’s University, Belfast”, Karen Brown presents an interesting exhibition approach, viz., an exhibition of s... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2107743 Thu, 15 Jan 2009 16:15:00 +0100 2107743 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2084023&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2009%2F01%2F07%2Fthe-relation-between-amateur-and-professional-medical-collectors%2F Here’s a conference which looks interesting for medical museum people: “Amateur Passions / Professional Practice: ethnography collectors and collections”, to be held 2-3 April 2009 at the Department of Archaeology, University of Bristol (organized by Museum Ethnographers Group in UK). The point of departure for the conference is the historical trend over the last centuries of an increasing professionalism in museum collecting, Yet ‘amateurs’ have always been, and still are, important in the collecting practice. So how do amateur collecting practices differ from professional? The meeting will address issues like the changing role of the amateur collector, the amateur-professional divide, the historic context of collecting (from cabinets of curiosities to ... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2084023 Wed, 07 Jan 2009 06:17:52 +0100 2084023 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2005786&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2008%2F12%2F02%2Fnew-paper-from-our-research-team-susanne-bauer-on-epidemiology-as-a-practice-of-collecting%2F Just to let you know that postdoc Susanne Bauer in our ‘Biomedicine on Display’ research group has published a new paper on data mining in epidemiology. “Mining data, gathering variables and recombining information: the flexible architecture of epidemiological studies” is available in the December issue of the journal Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, vol. 39 (4): 415-428 (2008). Here’s the opening paragraph of the conclusion: This paper has approached epidemiology as a practice of collecting and traced selected data trajectories of a large-scale cohort study. The analysis of two re-assemblages of data from the Østerbro study—in aetiological studies of breast cance... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2005786 Tue, 02 Dec 2008 16:08:58 +0100 2005786 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1984869&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2008%2F11%2F23%2Fconference-give-aways-as-medical-ephemera%2F Øystein Horgmo (The Sterile Eye) reports from a medical conference that he attended the other day. How, instead of listening to yet another lecture on laparoscopy, he walked around the industrial exhibition area scooping up a variety of freebies. “What is knowledge compared to all the free stuff I bagged from the pharmaceutical company stands?!”, he says. The foray resulted in an LED flashlight, a wireless PC mouse, two teddy mooses, a laser pointer, a magnetic clip, several notepads, some toothpaste, and the usual: chewing gum, small juice packages, mints, lip balm, key chains — and pens, pens, pens, and again pens. From a museological point of view, Øystein has just established a new subcategory of medical artefacts, namely medical conference ephe... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1984869 Sun, 23 Nov 2008 10:51:21 +0100 1984869 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1980661&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2008%2F11%2F21%2Fgalaxy-zoo-obama-campaign-a-medical-heritage-curatorial-movement%2F For dyed-in-the-wool academics it can sometimes be hard to understand what it feels to be a science amateur. So last spring I decided to become a member of Galaxy Zoo, i.e., one among many thousands of enthusiastic astronomy amateurs who spend hours in front of their computer screens, classifying about 900.000 images, provided by a project called the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, of far-away galaxies. The real astronomers (RA) have assured us that as a group we, the citizen scientists, are making some serious contributions; six scientific papers have been completed (I’m NOT a co-author :-); in addition, one of us, a school teacher in the Netherlands, once discovered a curious cosmological object which the RAs marvelled over for weeks. Even though the Galaxy Zoo community is ... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1980661 Fri, 21 Nov 2008 11:00:01 +0100 1980661 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1963958&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2008%2F11%2F17%2Fcurating-medical-artifacts-with-an-eye-to-the-future%2F The acquisition of medical museum artifacts is usually seen as a job for specialists (curators) with historical training. To curate a collected artifact for later use in exhibitions, you are supposed to know where it came from, how it was produced and used, what meanings were attributed to it, what role it played in medical practice, how it related to other things, and so forth. In other words, curating museum artifacts is, as a rule, always already a historical practice. The future doesn’t seem to be of any immediate interest for the curator. Yet the future creeps into the equation, whether the curator wants it or not. When curators handle artifacts from the past, the future of these past times is an integral part of the curatorial practice. The description of, say, ... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1963958 Mon, 17 Nov 2008 07:00:01 +0100 1963958 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1960696&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2008%2F11%2F14%2Fmuseums-and-biographies%2F I’ve always found it difficult to bring together my two core professional interest. On the one hand, I’ve spent many years working on scientific biography and engaged in scholarly discussions about scientific auto/biography as a genre (see, e.g., this book). I’m fascinated in how texts, memories, interviews and personal (self)knowledge can be used construct the life-course of scientists. On the other hand I’ve been engaged in museum business for some years now and have very much enjoyed discussions about the museological problems in the science/technology/medicine segment of the museum world, for example, how physical artefacts and visual materials can be used to construct images of scientific practice. But so far these two fields of interests have remain... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1960696 Fri, 14 Nov 2008 16:32:12 +0100 1960696 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1933215&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2008%2F11%2F05%2Fis-biomedicine-on-display-a-metamedical-object%2F “Can something that exists with no physical form be considered an object?”, asks Amber Arnold on Sev Fowles’s Columbia University “Thing theory” class web site. The answer is ‘yes, of course’. Computer people operate with virtual ‘objects’ all the time. Amber’s conclusion — “Although blogs are virtual things in the electronic world, their role in the often emotional conversations of society cement their identity as an object and their importance in our lives” — reminds me that blogs and websites devoted to discussing the acquisition and display of museum objects, are museum objects too. How to tag this kind of object — a museum object that comments on other museum objects — in our reg... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1933215 Wed, 05 Nov 2008 07:53:10 +0100 1933215 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1870697&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2008%2F10%2F13%2Fcollecting-medical-artefacts-as-a-public-private-enterprise%2F During the medical garbage collecting day in late May, we brought in a number of wonderful and interesting medical artefacts to our collections, including this plastic mannequin from the Department of Odontology (it’s Camilla to the left). Now Vanessa tells us that Steve Erenburg (a.k.a. radio-guy), a New York based artefact dealer, has this dental mennequin called Dentman — an aluminum head sittoing on a cast iron lab stand — for sale for $750! Those $750 would have financed the whole medical garbage collection day! Which gives me an idea. The Ministry of Science in this country wants its universities to engage more in private enterprise. So maybe we should begin to think in terms of collecting medical items for sale! Actually, as a university museum under ... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1870697 Mon, 13 Oct 2008 06:16:31 +0100 1870697 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1840955&cid=t_103010_113_f&fid=34695&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmedicalconnectivity.com%2F2008%2F09%2F30%2Fge-healthcare-acquires-agility-healthcare%2F A unit of GE Healthcare’s global Diagnostic Imaging Services business acquired Agility Healthcare Solutions today for an undisclosed sum. This is the same group that did the deal with Anywhere several years ago, and most recently signed a distribution deal with CenTrak, which was announced at HIMSS 2008 (press release). What started as a straight on asset management strategy has grown in scope. “Any hospital administrator knows about the daily headaches caused by the logistical coordination of providing patient care. For each and every patient interaction, patient, clinician, staff, space, assets & supplies must come together at the same time. Agility’s visualization system is the one tool we’ve found that lets us visualize these interactions to predict and... Medical Connectivity Consulting blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1840955 Tue, 30 Sep 2008 22:50:54 +0100 1840955 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1825653&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2008%2F09%2F25%2Fthe-geography-of-the-medical-heritage-a-touch-of-history-in-the-clinic%2F We use to think of hospitals and clinics as almost history-free zones. But sometimes medical historical images, artefacts and records show up in the most unexpected medical spaces. Like last week, when I spent a couple of days with our daughter in the neonatal clinic at the Danish National Hospital, i.e., where they care for babies that are born too early (down to 24th gestation week!) and other newborns with more or less serious medical conditions (fortunately ours was a less serious case). The neonatal clinic is a really fascinating place for an historian of contemporary medicine and museum curator. It’s packed with monitoring systems that measure the basic vital parameters and all kinds of high-tech electronic gadgets — incubators, CPAPs, automatic infusion pump... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1825653 Thu, 25 Sep 2008 08:00:47 +0100 1825653 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1794408&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2008%2F09%2F16%2Fin-our-series-of-awesome-mri-scanners%2F … check out these pics from the installation of the brand new 32 tons heavy 7 Tesla experimental whole-body MRI at the Charité Hospital in Berlin (via Medgadget). Note the caption to the third image: the only thing the blogpost-writer knows about the guy inside the magnet is that he didn’t wear his nipple rings that particular day :-) These super-machines support the ’contemporary-medical-museum doctrine’, which I presented to a conference group on contemporary medical museums in the Boerhaave Museum in Leiden some years ago (and which some of my colleagues thought was baloney). On the one hand significant medical objects are becoming smaller and smaller (nanomedicine), on the other hand some instruments are becoming bigger and bigger (like these scann... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1794408 Tue, 16 Sep 2008 08:00:14 +0100 1794408 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1763916&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2008%2F09%2F05%2Fideas-for-a-home-made-pathological-museum%2F Ever thought about building your own collection of medical wet specimens? Spending your evenings and gloomy sleepless nights in the garage putting your family’s and friends’ pickled organs and body parts in jars? Founding a clandestine horror show? Well, it’s not for real. Yet. It’s another Halloween idea:               (from I Make Projects.com; thanks to Paul at NMHM for the tip) (Source: Biomedicine on Display) Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1763916 Fri, 05 Sep 2008 02:44:44 +0100 1763916 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1739145&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2008%2F08%2F28%2Fthe-bottomless-pit-of-confusion-that-is-the-biomedical-material-heritage%2F National Museum of Health and Medicine’s Mike Rode (’A Repository for Bottled Monsters’) writes in a comment to Søren’s post the other day that he ”feels good about” the fact that our storage problems “amazingly enough, appears worse” than theirs. I’m glad he says “amazingly enough” :-). Thus, medical museums-in-arms we are, struggling to glean nuggets from the bottomless pit of confusion that is the biomedical material heritage (today’s favourite expression, paraphrased from Theresa Atwood, in turn borrowed from a manuscript by Susanne). (Source: Biomedicine on Display) Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1739145 Thu, 28 Aug 2008 14:21:45 +0100 1739145 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1689010&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2008%2F08%2F08%2Fa-spinning-ct-scanner-as-a-cool-museum-artefact%2F One of the problems for museums that want to display contemporary medicine is that many medical devices are hopeless as museum artefacts because they are so damned anonymous. Take CT scanners for example: huge white or light blue plastic/metal boxes, that’s all. People who have been scanned for some serious condition may have strong personal feelings about such artefacts — but for the rest of us, they are pretty lousy museum objects. No immediate presence effects. But yesterday’s post on Imre Kissík’s and András Székely’s ‘Indulge in the fascinating world of radiology and nuclear medicine’ blog almost makes me change my mind. They display a YouTube movie that shows the inner, rapidly spinning parts of a CT scanner in operati... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1689010 Fri, 08 Aug 2008 09:53:24 +0100 1689010 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1674864&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2008%2F08%2F02%2Fare-you-interested-in-human-remains-then-this-could-be-your-path-to-a-dream-job%2F The Hunterian Museum in London is looking for an assistant curator to develop the cataloguing and storage of its big odontological reserve collection. Successful candidates are supposed to have “a good working knowledge of primate anatomy and taxonomy, and the motivation and enthusiasm to realise the potential of a world-class research collection” + a relevant degree + some previous experience of working with collections. The pay is pretty limited (£20,000 pa), and it’s only an 18 month contract, but it’s nevertheless a good starting point for someone who wants to have a career in medical or natural history history collections. More info on the Hunterian Museum website. Closing date is 15 September. (via Simon Chaplin) (Source: Biomedicine on Display) Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1674864 Sat, 02 Aug 2008 07:00:56 +0100 1674864 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1668414&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2008%2F07%2F30%2Fhuman-remains-from-anatomical-collections-to-objects-of-worship%2F How to handle human remains is a key issue for us and for other (medical) museums (see earlier post here, here, here and here). Last February, the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris organised a series of round-table discussions about the ethics of collecting and displaying human remains. Now the full text of the discussions have been published (in French and English) — see here. (thanks to Haidy L. Geismar, Material World, for the tip) (Source: Biomedicine on Display) Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1668414 Wed, 30 Jul 2008 14:00:09 +0100 1668414 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1508365&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2008%2F06%2F11%2Fdump-or-display-the-panum-institute-garbage-day-2008%2F The annual clean-out day at the Panum Institute, which houses the Medical Faculty of the University of Copenhagen, took place last week. With the sun shining from at clear blue sky and temperatures rising to the high twenties, employees at the Panum Institute went on a building-wide cleaning spree. And just like last year, Medical Museion was in position, lurking around garbage containers, ready to rescue the cultural heritage of recent biomedicine from certain destruction.     The clean-out day in 2007 produced in excess of 48 tons of waste. The numbers from this year are not in yet, but it is clear that we were nowhere near that amount. For Medical Museion, the day also resulted in the acquisition of fewer objects. One reason was that we were much more critical this year about what to... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1508365 Wed, 11 Jun 2008 14:56:17 +0100 1508365 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1475174&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2008%2F05%2F29%2Fcybernetic-heritage%2F Suggestive calls for papers to interesting seminars and conferences appear in the inbox almost daily. Usually I understand what these messages mean, but sometimes I’m in doubt. For example, I just received one for “Thinking and Making Connections: Cybernetic Heritage in the Social and Human Sciences and Beyond”, a conference to be held at Södertörn University College in Sweden, 10-11 November. ‘Cybernetic heritage’ — sounds good, but what is it? Didn’t find any info on the department’s website, then tried to google it (25 hits today, 26 tomorrow :-), but didn’t become wiser. Is it about the acquisition and preservation of robots in museums? Or the lingering-on of old cybernetic ideas in the social sciences and humanities? Bo... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1475174 Thu, 29 May 2008 14:19:17 +0100 1475174 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1442863&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2008%2F05%2F14%2Fwhat-makes-these-things-medical-objects%2F What makes these everyday things—a food storage container, a measuring cup, a cake keeper, a beverage bottle, etc—potential contemporary medical museum objects? Well, it turns out they all contain bisphenol A, a rather simple organic molecule used as a key monomer in the production of polycarbonate plastics. In addition to being a very useful hard plastic ingredient, however, BPA is also a biologically active molecule, having the spooky effect of being an estrogen receptor antagonist; in other words it disturbs the endocrine system. The effects of endocrine disruptors are debated. But most pundits seem to support a better-safe-than-sorry policy (see, for example, this interesting interview on the Stanford School of Medicine website with emeritus endocrinologist Davi... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1442863 Wed, 14 May 2008 05:59:11 +0100 1442863 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1439565&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2008%2F05%2F13%2Fmedicoprisen-2008-the-annual-award-of-the-danish-medical-industry-organisation-to-medical-museion%2F If I were an American I would probably have rushed to my computer already last Tuesday night to proudly announce on this blog that I and Medical Museion had been given Medicoprisen. The prize has been awarded annually by the industry organisation for medical devices in Denmark (Medicoindustrien) since 2001. The industry exports for more than 40 billion DKK per year, which is quite hefty, given the small size of this country (population 5,5 mill). This year, the award was given for the work we have done here at Medical Museion to collect, preserve and display the medical industrial heritage. As you may have noticed, some of the collected artefacts have been displayed on this blog over the last couple of years (some of them are also displayed on our official website; in Danish o... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1439565 Tue, 13 May 2008 08:52:33 +0100 1439565 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1423197&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2008%2F05%2F06%2Fwe-produce-buttons-therefore-we-are-a-subculture%2F For more than a century, buttons (and badges and pins) have been carried to signal political or ideological allegiance. The appearance of a button tells us (to use Hegelian jargon) that a group of people an sich is becoming a movement or subculture für sich. If you have a political case to make, then produce a button. Here’s the first example I’ve found of biomedical buttons. The folks behind easternblot are selling these buttons with the blog’s erlenmeyer flask logo. They are made in two colours – not simply red and blue, of course, but ’Ponceau S Red’ and ‘Bromophenol Blue’: Easternblot say they have received ”a great response from scientists and non-scientists, from children and adults, from button-fanatics and button-... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1423197 Tue, 06 May 2008 03:44:55 +0100 1423197 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1420445&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2008%2F05%2F05%2Fbiomedicine-on-display-via-the-participatory-web%2F I’ve promised to write a chapter with the provisional title ‘Biomedical curating and the participatory web’ for our planned joint project anthology with the (also provisional) title Curating Biomedicine: Collecting, writing and displaying contemporary medicine. Here’s the abstract of the chapter (to be included in the book proposal; we haven’t found a publisher yet): For more than a decade, museums in general have been exploiting the Internet for making their collections and exhibition available online. In the last 4-5 years museums have also begun to explore the potentials of the participatory web (web 2.0) for drawing users more actively into the production of the heritage. In this chapter I will explore, one the one hand, how museums actively promote th... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1420445 Mon, 05 May 2008 17:10:22 +0100 1420445 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1414900&cid=t_103010_113_f&fid=34695&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmedicalconnectivity.com%2F2008%2F05%2F01%2Fhospira-acquires-sculptor%2F Today Hospira announced they have acquired Sculptor Developmental Technologies (press release). A subsidiary of St. Clair Health Corporation, Sculptor was a software engineering company formed by St. Clair Hospital in 1993 to create solutions that St. Clair couldn’t buy from vendors. Sculptor’s solutions include a barcode meds administration system, an enterprise report print management application, advanced printing for Eclipsys, fax distribution software and similar tools. Sculptor has an installed base of more than 125 hospitals in North America. The deal includes St. Clair Hospital serving as a development and test site for Hospira medication management products. Obligatory chest thumping: “This acquisition brings together two leaders in healthcare IT — Hospira ... Medical Connectivity Consulting blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1414900 Fri, 02 May 2008 03:33:08 +0100 1414900 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2523009&cid=t_103010_97_f&fid=34618&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmHouse%2F%7E3%2FaNvzjmAIWqs%2Franbaxy-solrex-orchid-hostile-takeover.html When Mr Raghavendra Rao of Orchid Pharmaceuticals completed the formalities of its new subsidiary Orchid Japan KK and started relaxing, he was in for a shock. A particular syndicate of investors led by Solrex Pharmaceuticals had started gathering the Orchid shares and Orchid was at the brink of a takeover.Solrex is believed to be backed by the promoters of Ranbaxy. A look into the recent trading of Orchid shares showed conclusively the way Solrex is buying in last 3-4 months. Solrex bought close to 3.5% recently when a major institutional promoter (Bear Stearns) of Orchid liquidated its holdings in March. That buy-out ups the total holdings of Solrex close to 12%.Soon everyone figured out the happenings in backdrops and entered the frenzy in market. This resulted in Orchid witnessing 52 we... Pharm House blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2523009 Sat, 19 Apr 2008 06:35:00 +0100 2523009 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1354005&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2008%2F04%2F06%2Fbiomedicine-aesthetics-and-garbage-at-shot-2008%2F The program committee of the Society for the History of Technology 2008 Annual Meeting has kindly accepted my proposed paper on ‘Biomedicine, Aesthetics, History, and Garbage: Engagements with the materialities of recent medical technology’. The conference will take place in Lisbon on 10-14 October and marks the second and final leg of the celebrations of SHOT’s fiftieth anniversary. The program comimittee made a call for papers “that concern the history of technology as it may or ought to be practiced in the future. Papers or sessions devoted to the question of how we shall write the history of technology in the future are particularly encouraged”. I thought the activities at the Medical Museion, especially our attempts to integrate the historiography and ... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1354005 Sun, 06 Apr 2008 20:11:21 +0100 1354005 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1316658&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2008%2F03%2F20%2Fconnecting-history-of-medicine-and-medical-curatorship%2F Emm Barnes has just summarised the ‘Communicating Medicine: Objects and Objectives’ workshop in Manchester, Friday 7 March. Her report focuses on the relation between medical history scholarship and medical curatorship. Read it here. (For an earlier report, see here.) (Source: Biomedicine on Display) Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1316658 Thu, 20 Mar 2008 20:16:44 +0100 1316658 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1303271&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2008%2F03%2F14%2Fheartmate%2F This HeartMate XVE, a first-generaltion implantable LVAD (Left Ventricular Assist Device), was developed in the 1980s and cleared for use in the US and Europe in the mid-1990s. In Denmark, this so-called “mechanical heart” was first used at the Heart Center at Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen in 1998. In 2006, Rigshospitalet shifted to the much smaller HeartMate 2, and by that time at total of 28 patients with severely impaired heart function had been equipped with a HeatMate in order to bridge the gap between the failure of their own heart and a cardiac transplant. The HeartMate, which is basically a titanium electromechanical pump weighing around 1.6 kilos, is implanted into the abdomen of the patient. The two upper hoses are attached to the left ventricle and aorta, and ... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1303271 Fri, 14 Mar 2008 10:05:41 +0100 1303271 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1297722&cid=t_103010_113_f&fid=34695&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmedicalconnectivity.com%2F2008%2F03%2F12%2Fmindray-acquires-datascope-patient-monitoring%2F Today Chinese medical device manufacturer Mindray announced that they reached agreement with Datascope to acquire Datascope’s patient monitoring business (PMB). The acquisition will launch Mindray into the ranks of leading international medical device vendors and create the third-largest player in the global patient monitoring device industry. Mindray is paying Datascope $202 million cash, plus Datascope retains approximately $38 million of receivables generated by the patient monitoring business for a total of $250 million (I’m not sure about that extra $10 million, but these are Mindray’s numbers). The Datascope PMB did $161.3 million in sales in 2007. Mindray expects around $30 million of run-rate synergies in manufacturing, SG&A and R&D within 3 years. Mindra... Medical Connectivity Consulting blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1297722 Wed, 12 Mar 2008 19:22:55 +0100 1297722 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1294385&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2008%2F03%2F11%2Fanonymous-philanthropist-donates-200-human-kidneys-to-hospital%2F Some of our readers believe that this blog is one the most serious biomedicine-on-display blogs that exist. To balance this (clearly erroneous) view, I wish to draw your attention to this recent news from my favourite online channel, Onion News Network: Anonymous Philanthropist Donates 200 Human Kidneys To Hospital. (Source: Biomedicine on Display) Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1294385 Tue, 11 Mar 2008 19:15:28 +0100 1294385 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1289287&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2008%2F03%2F09%2Facquisitions-are-the-lifeblood-of-museums%2F Formerly announced workshop ’Communicating Medicine: Objects and Objectives’—held Friday 7 March at the Centre for History of Science, Technology and Medicine (CHSTM) in Manchester—gathered over 40 scholars and curators, mainly from the UK. There were nine presentations in all. One each from Science Museum (London), Museum Boerhaave (Leiden), the Wellcome Collection (London), and the Sedgwick Museum (Cambridge), and another five from us here at Medical Museion (Copenhagen): by Søren Bak-Jensen, Susanne Bauer, Jan Eric Olsén, Camilla Mordhorst and myself (see full programme here and here).  (Susanne Bauer) Altogether this was a varied and inspiring day about medical museum exhibitions and collections. I’m afraid I was a trifle too involved in the discussions to b... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1289287 Sun, 09 Mar 2008 14:55:09 +0100 1289287 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1280744&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2008%2F03%2F05%2Fnext-artefacts-meeting-the-relationship-between-art-science-and-technology%2F “Artefacts” is a network of academic and museum-based historians of science, technology and medicine who are interested in promoting the use of objects in scholarly work. The network started in 1997, and recent meetings have dealt with “Exploration” (Oslo 2007; see also here), “Constructing and Deconstructing Icons of Achievement in Science and Technology” (Stockholm 2006), “Globalization” (Washington 2005), and “Scientific Instruments as Artefacts” (Utrecht,2004). Six proceedings volumes have been published so far. The 2008 meeting will be held in Washington DC, October 5-7. The subject for this year’s meeting is the relationship between art and science/technology, broadly understood (not medicine? I thought we agr... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1280744 Wed, 05 Mar 2008 10:11:24 +0100 1280744 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1270556&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2008%2F03%2F01%2Fmundane-laboratory-artefacts%2F When I walk around our own collections—or when I visit other (history of) science and medicine museums—I’m often struck by the relative lack of mundane biomedical laboratory artefacts. The acquisition of lab artefacts tends to focus on high-tech things like gene sequencers, PET scanners, PCR machines, knock-out mice, etc. Curators are fond of them, perhaps because these are the kinds of artefacts that the donators (lab people) spontaneously come to think of when asked for potential museum items. As a consequence much ephemeral and mundane laboratory equipment—like cover slips, tissue grinders, disposable gloves, plastic tubing, cups and flasks, filtering equipment, petri dishes, cell spreaders, and so forth—are largely absent in museum collectio... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1270556 Sat, 01 Mar 2008 13:18:33 +0100 1270556 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1258147&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2008%2F02%2F26%2Fthe-virulence-of-material-objects-in-the-historiography-of-science%2F It probably hasn’t escaped anyone that the really material (and not just talking-about-it material) culture of science has become a hot area. For example, I just saw this message about the newly formed TRAFIK working group for cultural studies (’Kulturwissenschaft’) in Vienna which will hold its first meeting 16 May on ‘the virulence of material objects in the current historiography of knowledge’ (’Virulenz materieller Gegenstände in der aktuellen Historiographie des Wissens’). The workshop format is pretty innovative too (and here is where the ‘really material’ comes in). Participants are invited to bring a small object (small enough to fit into a pack of cigarettes) which they believe ‘organises, infects, structures’ their own research.... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1258147 Tue, 26 Feb 2008 16:06:13 +0100 1258147 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1251750&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2008%2F02%2F23%2Fa-blog-repository-for-bottled-monsters-and-medical-curiosities%2F I’ve just received an incoming link from a newly founded medical museum blog called ’A Repository for Bottled Monsters‘, edited by Mike Rhode, chief archivist of the Otis Historical Archives which is one of collecting divisions of the National Museum of Health and Medicine in the northern suburbs of Washington DC: The title emanates from one of NMHM’s former curator-pathologists who wished to avoid having the museum (then the Army Medical Museum) seen as ”a repository for bottled monsters and medical curiosities”, emphasising instead its role as a serious institution for pathological consultations. (I guess the identity of being a bottled-monsters-and-medical-curiosities-museum is one that all classical medical museums are facing whet... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1251750 Sat, 23 Feb 2008 16:55:42 +0100 1251750 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1247880&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2008%2F02%2F21%2Fextreme-collecting-acquiring-ephemeral-objects%2F In continuation of our earlier (here and here) discussion about ephemeral biomedical objects, I’d like to draw everyone’s attention to the workshop on ‘Scale, Size and the Ephemeral’ at British Museum, next Thursday, 28 February 2008, 1-6pm: The wealth of models, miniatures and dioramas in museum collections provide collecting paradigms modelled on numismatics and library ephemera. At one level these seem to be forms of ‘easy collecting’, at another they represent best practice. Size and scale give rise to portability, control and management of objects but conversely, allow for compelling evidence of the limitations and fragmentary nature of the collecting process. Moreover, large objects have important expressive functions in terms of place and architect... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1247880 Thu, 21 Feb 2008 13:22:24 +0100 1247880 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1207359&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2008%2F02%2F05%2Fthe-body-and-soul-of-medical-and-health-care-collections%2F Collections is the body and soul, nay the life blood of museums! Accordingly, the Medical & Healthcare Subject Specialist Network in UK organizes a two-day conference and training seminar titled ‘The body and soul of medical collections’ to be held at the Thackray Museum in Leeds, 10-11 March.  The announced aim of the meeting is to inspire museums, libraries and archives to make better use of their medical and healthcare collections. Topics include audience development, collection rationalisation, collections care and access, education resources, engaging public debate, gallery refurbishment and redisplay, and oral history. Keynote speakers are Almut Grüner (Thackray Museum) and Nick Winterbotham (Millennium Point & Thinktank) and the other speakers are ... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1207359 Tue, 05 Feb 2008 21:04:21 +0100 1207359 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1146339&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2008%2F01%2F11%2Fcfp-the-body-simulacra-and-simulation-models-interventions-and-prosthetics-edinburgh-september-2008%2F The European Association of Museums of the History of Medical Sciences (EAMHMS) is holding its 14th congress at The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, 17–21 September 2008. The congress theme is ‘The Body: Simulacra and Simulation: models, interventions, and prosthetics’. Here’s the synopsis: Models in wax or plastic, wood or metal, plaster or papier-mâché are held in almost every medical museum in the world; while the development of surgical interventions and prosthetics has also led to a range of materials being used to replicate and imitate external and internal parts and movements of the body. Congress 2008 will explore aspects of the use, culture, history, art and manufacture of models, surgical interventions and prosthetics. It is hoped that the conferenc... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1146339 Fri, 11 Jan 2008 15:16:51 +0100 1146339 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1133868&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2008%2F01%2F08%2Fyet-another-near-miss-transforming-museums-seattle-15-16-may-2008%2F Our otherwise sensitive antennae seem to be prette insensitive right now — or why else did we miss the deadline for the interdisciplinary conference ‘Transforming Museums: Bridging Theory and Practice’ at the University of Washington, Seattle, 15-16 May? Here’s the brief for the meeting – organized by The Museology Student Committee for Professional Development at the University of Washington: Museums are institutions steeped in tradition but surrounded by constant change. “Transforming Museums” seeks to find ways that professionals can meet these changes deliberately and thoughtfully instead of being swept along their currents. Building on the overwhelming success of last year’s “Rethinking Museums” conference, we now turn t... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1133868 Tue, 08 Jan 2008 00:01:19 +0100 1133868 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1134005&cid=t_103010_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F212770529%2F The trade groups representings both independents and chains object to a proposed class settlement with First DataBank, which publishes prescription drug prices, according to the Pharmaceutical Law & Industry Report*. The publisher was accused of illegally conspiring to raise markups between what pharmacies pay wholesalers and reimbursement paid to pharmacies by health plans and insurers. The Pharmaceutical Care Management Association and the National Community Pharmacists Association, which aren’t parties to the case, say the proposed deal will drastically alter the marketplace. “It took a very, very wrong-headed proposal for NCPA and PCMA to unite in opposition,” John Rector, the NCPA’s general counsel and senior vice president for government affairs, told the... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1134005 Mon, 07 Jan 2008 20:07:49 +0100 1134005 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1129384&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2008%2F01%2F04%2Ftowards-a-museum-of-garbage-culture-integrating-blogging-archive-creation-artefact-collection-and-exhibition-making%2F Apropos our former discussion about blogs and exhibitions – here’s another way of integrating the two genres: In yesterday’s Material World blog, Haidy Geismar, an anthropologist at New York University, relays the experiences of teaching a class in material culture studies together with Robin Nagle, an anthropologist-in-residence at the New York Department of Sanitation (DSNY). Titled “Making a Museum: Materializing Regimes of Value with the New York Department of Sanitation”, the class worked closely with the DSNY to collect and curate material that could be used for a future museum of sanitation. The DSNY archive was restricted to ”a series of mouldy cardboard boxes” and the artefacts were scattered all around, so the students collected archi... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1129384 Fri, 04 Jan 2008 06:54:41 +0100 1129384 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1106259&cid=t_103010_97_f&fid=35050&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmaGazette%2F%7E3%2F202980056%2Fglaxosmithkline_acquires_relia.html GlaxoSmithKline(NYSE:GSK) has acquired Reliant Pharmaceuticals following the US Federal Trade Commission's early termination of the waiting period required by U.S. anitrust law.The acquisition adds Reliant's cardiovascular drugs to the GlaxoSmithKline pipeline. These include Lovaza (omega-3-acid ethyl esters) and FDA approved treatment for adults with a very high level of triglycerides.Reliant was acquired for $1.65 billion cash and GSK expects the acquisition will add slightly to earnings in 2008, excluding integration costs, and will created additional revenue in following years. The purchase gives GSK marketing rights to Lovaza in the U.S. and Puerto Rico."We're eager to begin building on Reliant's success with Lovaza," said Chris Viehbacher, President, US Phar... PharmaGazette blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1106259 Wed, 19 Dec 2007 17:00:16 +0100 1106259 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1097663&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2007%2F12%2F16%2Fthe-aesthetic-dimension-in-clinical-objects-and-practices-and-in-museum-objects%2F Our collection and display activities are again and again putting the issue of aesthetics on the medical museum agenda. How do we handle the ’aesthetic dimension’ of medical objects in curatorial practices? I came to think of this question again when I read yet another laudatory review of Sansernes Hospital [Hospital of the Senses] by renowned Danish architect journal editor Kim Dirckinck-Holmfeld and professor Lars Heslet, former head of the intensive care unit at the Danish National Hospital (Rigshospitalet), published by the Danish Architectural Press a few weeks ago. The basic claim of this lavishly illustrated coffee-table format book is that it is high time to throw out the predominant brutalist functionalist architecture that has dominated hospital environ... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1097663 Sun, 16 Dec 2007 21:26:30 +0100 1097663 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1091343&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2007%2F12%2F13%2Fpillcameras-acquired%2F Medical Museion has recently acquired four different models of the wireless capsule endoscope, more commonly known as the pillcamera. Shortly after its announcement in 2000, capsule endoscopy was introduced in clinical medicine as a non-invasive technique for visualizing the gastrointestinal tract. Instead of having a flexible endoscope inserted through the mouth or the rectum, the patient swallows the capsule endoscope, which measures about 26 mm in length, 11 mm in diameter, weighs 3.7 grams and is equipped with lens, image sensor, transmitter and batteries.   As it makes its way through the alimentary canal, the capsule endoscope takes up to 14 images per second, approximately 60.000 images all in all. The images are first transmitted to a portable receiver attached to the patient’s ... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1091343 Thu, 13 Dec 2007 13:16:03 +0100 1091343 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1068685&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2007%2F12%2F04%2Fcurating-and-preserving-medical-software-inspiration-from-computer-history%2F Software collecting as part of curating recent science is controversial among museum curators. At the Medical Museion we have started collecting first software items such as epidemiological risk assessment tools. This raises the issue of how to classify and preserve these objects (s. previous post). Just 20 years from now, hardware availability will be critical in order to run today’s software. As to the practical challenges, historians of computing and computer technology museums will probably be able to help us in preserving medical software for the future. There are a number of museums dedicated to the history of computers and computing: In our case, potential partners could include Danmarks Teknologisk Museum in Helsingør, which currently has a special exhibition about Den... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1068685 Tue, 04 Dec 2007 12:57:31 +0100 1068685 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1035593&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2007%2F11%2F19%2Fdoctors-patients-scientists-and-their-seductive-objects-tokens-of-affection-and-devotion%2F Yet another nearly missed conference: the Design Research Group (Anna Moran, Sorcha O’Brien and Ciáran Swan) are organising a one-day conference titled “Love Objects: Engaging Material Culture” on the relationships between people and their objects, to be hosted by the Faculty of Visual Culture, National College of Art and Design, Dublin, 14 February 2008. Dead-line for papers was last Friday – but maybe one can attend without a contributed paper? Here is the aim of the conference: The relationship between people and their objects is a complex and multifaceted one, which is continually negotiated between the material and the immaterial. Objects are used as tokens of affection, symbolic gestures and statements of devotion and can be represented, employed and appropr... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1035593 Mon, 19 Nov 2007 07:50:03 +0100 1035593 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1030138&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2007%2F11%2F15%2Fwhat-does-user-generated-content-actually-mean-in-a-museum-context%2F Joanna Marchant reminds us (on Digital Heritage) that many museums are busy creating on-line catalogues and other digital access points, but that this is a slow process and that few institutions are utilising the full potential of digitalisation. However, she says, a current research project by Suzanne Keene (formerly Head of Collections at Science Museum, now at UCL),  hints that attention should be turned towards mobilising the current fad of user generated content pages to the cause. If museums are to fully utilise digital technologies to widen access then they should seriously consider how they can tap into sites such as Flickr, YouTube, Wikipedia and interactive gaming. I’m all in favor of using Flickr, YouTube, Wikipedia etc. for museum purposes. But utilising the... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1030138 Thu, 15 Nov 2007 19:37:28 +0100 1030138 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1015773&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2007%2F11%2F09%2Fcurating-recent-technology-a-user-generated-project-for-the-collection-of-oralwritten-sources-and-artefacts-from-information-technology-of-the-near-past%2F It’s not directly history of contemporary medicine — but we could nevertheless learn much from the curation project “Från matematikmaskin till IT” (translation probably not necessary :-) initiated in 2004 by the Swedish Computer Association (Dataföreningen i Sverige) together with the Department of History of Technology and Science at The Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. The project focuses on generating new historical source material through interviews, witness seminars and autobiographical narratives. They are also collecting and curating images, artefacts and archival material relating to computers and information technology from the last 50 years. The scope and size of the project is impressive, as is the enthusiasm and the logistics. Read... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1015773 Fri, 09 Nov 2007 07:11:36 +0100 1015773 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1002271&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2007%2F11%2F03%2Fhow-to-disencourage-the-public-to-visit-a-medical-history-museum%2F Some medical (history) museums and exhibitions — like the Wellcome Collection in London — are easy to find and have a welcoming (!) attitude to visitors. Others are more of a challenge. Last Tuesday I went to the (US) National Museum of Health and Medicine for a visit behind the public area. Curator Alan Hawk guided me around their rich collections, and personally I felt taken very well care of. But for the general public a visit to the NMHM is mildly off-putting. Located in the northern part of Washington DC the museum is quite difficult to reach by means of public transport. It is placed on the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, there are no signs to help you find it, and visitors have to undergo two security checks: first at the campus gates and then again�... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1002271 Sat, 03 Nov 2007 13:39:12 +0100 1002271 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=914094&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2007%2F09%2F29%2Fcurators-using-their-sense-of-touch%2F Continuing on Søren’s post (and Adam’s comment) and further on last week’s post about the short paper that Jan Eric Olsén and I gave at the Artefacts XII meeting at the Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology in Oslo, 17-18 September: In the second part of the presentation we asked two participants to join us in a demonstration to illustrate the importance of touch. Here are some photos from the session. To the left I explain the demonstration procedure to the audience while the two blindfolded volonteers (Gerard Alberts, Universiteit te Amsterdam, and Robert Bud, Science Museum, London) are waiting to give sensory evidence (Jan Eric stands in the background). On the table in the right picture you can see two of the enigmatic instruments: a rectoscope (ouch!) and ... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=914094 Sat, 29 Sep 2007 13:41:25 +0100 914094 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=896073&cid=t_103010_97_f&fid=35050&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmaGazette%2F%7E3%2F160772396%2Fbristolmeyer_squibb_acquires_a.html It was announced today that Bristol-Meyer Squibb and Adnexus Therapeutics have an agreement where Bristol-Meyers will acquire Adnexus. Adnexus Therapeutics, a privately held company, is the developer of a new therapeutic class of biologics called Adnectins."Bringing Adnexus into the Bristol-Myers Squibb family builds upon a successful and productive collaboration between the two companies in oncology and is an important step in accelerating the strategic transformation of our pharmaceutical business to a biopharma business model," said Jim Cornelius, chief executive officer, Bristol-Myers Squibb.Adnexus will become a subsidiary of Bristol-Meyer Squibb and remain based in Waltham, Mass. The acquisition is still subject to regulatory approval. (Source: PharmaGazette) PharmaGazette blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=896073 Mon, 24 Sep 2007 21:28:03 +0100 896073 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=894170&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2007%2F09%2F24%2Fkarl-grimes-poetic-transformation-of-natural-history-museum-collections-in-dublin%2F During a year as artist-in-residence at the Natural History Museum in Dublin, Karl Grimes has curated (or rather re-curated) a joint exhibition with the Gallery of Photography called ”Dignified Kings Play Chess on Fine Green Silk” which opens tomorrow, September 27: In photographs, drawings, lightboxes, text and sound, Grimes’s re-interpretation of the Natural History Museum’s collections and Victorian museum practice becomes a re-collection, a poetic transformation activating memory and re-awakening the ‘Dead Zoo’. In the upper balcony of the National Museum, Grimes installs a series of large-scale animal portraits, the Taxum Totem series. The exhibition at the Gallery of Photography goes behind the scenes of the Museum, presenting images and drawi... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=894170 Mon, 24 Sep 2007 10:36:06 +0100 894170 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=888614&cid=t_103010_97_f&fid=35050&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmaGazette%2F%7E3%2F159055056%2Fevotec_ag_acquires_us_based_re.html Germany based pharmaceuticals company, Evotec AG, announced Wednesday that it will be buying the American company Renovis Inc. The deal, worth $151.8M USD will increase Evotec's research ability into treatments for inflammatory illnesses.With an insomnia drug ready to begin human clinical trials and 5 other compounds expected to be in clinical trials the new combined Evotec expects to apply for NASDAQ listing."By combining Evotec's drug discovery and development know-how with Renovis' medicinal chemistry and target validation expertise, we expect to form a global biopharmaceutical company with world-class discovery capabilities," said Evotec Chief Executive Jorn Aldag.If you want to read more details on the new Evotec aquisition check out this press release. (Source: ... PharmaGazette blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=888614 Thu, 20 Sep 2007 16:00:15 +0100 888614 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=886267&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2007%2F09%2F20%2Fexploring-and-curating-medical-objects-with-the-sense-of-touch%2F Jan Eric Olsén and I have just given a presentation in the Artefact XII meeting held at the Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology in Oslo, Monday 17 and Tuesday 18 September. Here’s the introduction to our presentation (links added): This is not a conference paper in the traditional sense — but rather a practical illustration of less conventional approaches to object exploration. But before we turn to the illustration exercise — for which we will then need a couple of volonteers — we will shortly explain the background for this presentation. Those of you who attended the Artefacts XI meeting in Stockholm in September last year do perhaps remember the paper that one of us (ThS) gave on presence- vs meaning cultures. The message in that paper was, first, that s... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=886267 Thu, 20 Sep 2007 10:22:10 +0100 886267 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=845743&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2007%2F09%2F06%2Fdisplaying-the-mathematics-of-optimal-kidney-donor-exchange-a-way-of-bringing-complex-systems-to-a-museum-audience%2F Yesterday’s very productive in-house seminar at the Medical Museion concerning future exhibitions related to the ‘Danish Biomedicine 1955-2005′-project brought up a whole range of suggestions as to the type of objects that might be brought in. Part of the discussion circled around ways in which to represent the complicated webs of interaction involved in the circulation of donor organs for transplantation. Mapping the journeys made by donor organs might have aesthetic qualities relevant in a museum context (a theme thoroughly explored at last week’s workshop ‘Biomedicine and Aesthetics in a Museum Context‘), and might also help to optimize the exchange of this scarce resource. Artist Phillip Warnell is planning a real-time tracking of donor organs in ... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=845743 Thu, 06 Sep 2007 09:46:13 +0100 845743 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=785889&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2007%2F08%2F07%2Fmedgadgetcom-a-useful-blog-for-medical-museum-curators%2F Medical blogs vary enormously with respect to quality, updating frequency, and aimed audience. Some are useful and interesting for medical museum curators. I believe Medgadget is one of them. Founded in December 2004 (same month as this humble blog was born) by San Francisco anesthesiologist Michael Ostrovsky, it was announced as ”an independent on-line journal covering the latest medical gadgets and technologies, medical science, and the progress of the digital revolution in the healthcare industry”. From the very beginning Ostrovsky and his team of editors and other contributors (who write 3-10 posts a day together) have invested a lot of enthusiasm in the project. In their own words, they have a passion for medical gadgets, constantly jotting down “sna... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=785889 Tue, 07 Aug 2007 19:24:25 +0100 785889 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=785890&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2007%2F08%2F07%2Fhistory-of-genetics-and-medicine-network%2F Genetics has become progressively important for medicine during the last 50 years – primarily for biomedical research, but also clinically. Consequently the history of genetics is bound to play an important role in the history of contemporary medicine, and historical studies of genetics in different varieties do in fact take up much of the shelf space in libraries of the history of medicine. There are also a number of associations and networks of interest. One of these is the Genetics and Medicine Historical Network (GMHN), founded in 2002 by medical geneticist Peter Harper at Prifysgol Caerdydd (Cardiff University), with the original aim to help preserve sources for the documentation of human/medical genetics, particularly in the UK. In 2005 the GMHN received a three-year We... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=785890 Tue, 07 Aug 2007 16:57:31 +0100 785890 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=703089&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2007%2F06%2F27%2Fexperiences-from-the-archaeology-of-contemporary-biomedicine-garbage-day-part-2%2F At the weekly staff meeting today we discussed our experiences from the ‘Archaeology-of-contemporary-biomedicine-garbage-day’ last Thursday (see earlier post with pics here). Here’s some of the points that came up in the discussion: We were happily surprised by the interest and generosity that researchers and technicians at the medical faculty showed for the collection project; i.e., people were expecting us, they took the project seriously, and some of them had prepared objects for delivery several days in advance. Throughout the day we established lots of useful contacts with people in different premed departments for later collecting forays. Many researchers and technicians took the opportunity to tell anecdotes and stories from the lab — thus sustainin... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=703089 Thu, 28 Jun 2007 20:13:19 +0100 703089 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=690011&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2007%2F06%2F22%2Fexperiences-of-the-archaeology-of-contemporary-biomedicine-day%2F Yesterday’s ‘Great Clearance Day’ at the Medical Faculty was a great success. Not just for the faculty’s technical department that threw 11 metric tons of garbage into the huge containers. But also for us at Medical Museion who participated with an ’archaeology-of-contemporary-biomedical-garbage’ agenda (see former post here). After five hours of hard work by the Medical Museion staff (15 in all) we had saved hundreds of artefacts (or clusters of artefacts) and some archival material for our collections.   Niklas Thode Jensen, Sniff Nexø, Monica Lambert, Ida Rosenstand Lou and Ion Meyer with some microscopes saved from being thrown into the containers It has all been temporarily stored at the upper basement level of the Panum Inst... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=690011 Fri, 22 Jun 2007 17:22:57 +0100 690011 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=650941&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2007%2F06%2F01%2Fgreat-clearance-day-at-the-uni-of-copenhagen-medical-faculty-an-opportunity-for-the-archaeology-of-contemporary-biomedicine%2F The Faculty of Health Sciences at our university has a “Great Clearance Day” on Thursday 21 June. The purpose is to prepare for the big faculty building reallocation exercise that is going to take place in the summer and early autumn. The faculty’s technical dept writes: This will be the day when we will clear our shelves and the heaps that have accumulated in offices and laboratories over the years. Everything from old apparatuses and unused chemicals to documents and furniture can be removed (transl. from the Danish orig.) As Jan Eric and Susanne pointed out the other day, this is a great opportunity to practice the archaeology of contemporary biomedicine — nay, even garbage archaeology, i.e., the kind of archaeology that studies today’s culture and s... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=650941 Fri, 01 Jun 2007 19:45:08 +0100 650941 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=612069&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2007%2F05%2F17%2Fa-new-icon-of-contemporary-and-future-biomedicine%2F Since 2004 Medical Museion has used a common commercial microarray (Affymetrix’s GeneChip®) as an icon for our collecting and display efforts. The GeneChip has many of the features that characterise the ongoing biomedical ‘revolution’: it symbolises molecularisation and digitalisation of medicine (at least in diagnostics) and it’s a fine example of the progressive miniaturisation of medical technology and clinical practices. Read more in this earlier post about the GeneChip as an exhibition artefact. But I guess we are increasingly growing tired of the GeneChip. We have used it in literally hundreds of seminars and lectures over the last three years to illustrate the historiographical and museological road we are travelling on. So I think it’s time to shift iconic artefact (a... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=612069 Thu, 17 May 2007 11:05:36 +0100 612069 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=612070&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2007%2F05%2F15%2Fexploded-pacemaker-remains-as-museum-objects%2F I’m stunned by this picture which was recently published in the Danish medical weekly (Ugeskrift for Læger, 23 April 2007): (see original article here)  It’s not oyster shells — it’s the remains of artificial pacemakers found in the ovens of the crematorium of the city of Odense (Denmark) between October 2004 and July 2006. Heated to the high temperatures used in the incineration of corpses, a pacemaker will explode. The Zn/Hg batteries used in the 1970s and 1980s sometimes even cause damage to the ovens, while today’s Li/ion-PVP-batteries cause less damage (yet the staff will immediately hear when a ’client’ with a pacemaker gets through the flames). (The Danish medical weekly’s recommendation to its readers is: Remember to re... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=612070 Tue, 15 May 2007 19:42:20 +0100 612070 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=524341&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2007%2F04%2F05%2Fwhat-is-collecting-medical-objects-all-about-2%2F When thinking about collecting contemporary medical objects we are constantly haunted by the question ‘Why?’. Why collect? What is collecting about? What’s its cultural significance? There are shelves of books that try to answer these and similar questions. The last in the row is Paul van der Grijp’s (Professor of Anthropology at the University of Science and Technology in Lille, France) Passion and Profit: Towards an Anthropology of Collecting (Berlin: Lit Verlag, 2006) which the author describes as follows: Collecting is a matter of authenticity, of creating new identities, both of the objects collected and, by extension, of the collector. Passion and Profit provides a range of biographical examples, both historical and contemporary, and also includes a selecti... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=524341 Thu, 05 Apr 2007 22:42:21 +0100 524341 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=485651&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2007%2F03%2F20%2Fguidelines-for-the-acquisition-of-contemporary-medical-objects-images-and-documents%2F (for our Danish/Scandinavian readers): Our acquisitions curator, Søren Bak-Jensen, has written a set of guidelines for the acquisition of contemporary medical objects into the collections, including a list of FAQ’s (so far in Danish only). Comments are welcome, either directly to Søren or below:  (Source: Biomedicine on Display) Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=485651 Tue, 20 Mar 2007 15:49:59 +0100 485651 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=479168&cid=t_103010_107_f&fid=34860&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporeality.net%2Fmuseion%2F2007%2F03%2F07%2Findsamling-og-museion-integration%2F (Semi-internal discussion in Danish:) Jeg synes diskussionen om Sørens plan for indsamlingsprocedurer på seminaret i går var meget interessant, og Ion og jeg snakkede lidt opfølgende om det her i formiddags. Som flere var inde på, så kredsede diskussionen mere eller mindre direkte omkring integrationen af forskning, indsamling og samlinger. Var de forskellige synspunkter udtryk for personlige holdninger? Eller er det tale om strukturelt betingede forskelle i synen på indsamling, fx om man kommer fra “museumssiden” eller fra “forskningssiden”? Indtager vi forskellige roller — som hhv. “anarkistiske” forskere og “ordensfikserede” samlingskuratorer? Eller var det ”lyst” og “ansvar”, der var grundtemae... Biomedicine on Display blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=479168 Wed, 07 Mar 2007 11:30:20 +0100 479168