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 'award'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 01:54:24 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5174666&cid=t_108273_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F08%2F28%2Ftending-the-family-heart-wins-a-gold-young-voices-award%2F Psych Central is pleased to congratulate Dr. Marie Hartwell-Walker, author of our first e-book, Tending the Family Heart on receiving a Gold “Young Voices Foundation Award” in the parenting category. This prestigious award is handed out only once a year, and Dr. Hartwell-Walker was the only winner this year in the parenting category. The Young Voices Foundation is the sponsor of the Young Voices Foundation Awards, which honors books and media that inspire, mentor and educate young people and their families. Judging is based on content (emphasis on strong family values and suitability for the specified age group), originality, design, and production quality. The judging panel for the award includes published authors, editors, publishers, educators, young readers, parents, and f... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5174666 Sun, 28 Aug 2011 15:58:39 +0100 5174666 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5096345&cid=t_108273_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F08%2F02%2Fthe-critical-thinking-coach-interview-with-stephen-haggerty-part-2%2F This is part 2 of an interview with Stephen Haggerty (read part 1 here), a Critical Thinking Teacher of the Year award winner at Eastern Kentucky University. Does one need to be highly intelligent to be a good critical thinker? Highly intelligent…what does that mean?  Does that term imply book intelligence? Street smarts?  I would argue anyone could engage in higher-level thinking if they are trained in the terminology and how to apply it. It takes a lot of practice to be a critical and creative thinker who communicates effectively, but I do believe if one is dedicated to being more successful in life, then they can learn to apply the principles of critical and creative thinking through effective communication. It seems some critical thinking advocates view critical thinking as nothin... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5096345 Tue, 02 Aug 2011 11:10:16 +0100 5096345 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5050596&cid=t_108273_88_f&fid=38129&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Flifeinthefastlane%2FWZHV%2F%7E3%2FPkUzTl3_7X4%2F Try your hand at the Jeans for Genes Double-helix tongue twister challenge. Use your literary skills to come up with a novel, witty, poignant or just plain ordinary limerick or tongue twister using theme of Jeans and Genes and be a WINNER (Source: Life in the Fast Lane) Life in the Fast Lane blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5050596 Tue, 19 Jul 2011 15:47:25 +0100 5050596 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4921747&cid=t_108273_150_f&fid=34889&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpharmamkting.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F06%2Ffair-social-media-practice-principles.html Recently, there's been some discussion on Twitter and certain blogs about Sermo, the online physician community based in the U.S. When Sermo representative Thomas Rines (@tomrines) tweeted that "Sermo is an online community for US physicians. We provide our clients the ability to engage with the community" in a recent #MedDevice chat, he caused a "What? Wait!" doubletake (see "The Twitter Chat that Killed Sermo"). It seems that many physicians -- including some who are Sermo members -- are not aware of Sermo's business model, which is “Sermo is free to practicing physicians. Revenue is generated as healthcare institutions, financial services firms and government agencies purchase Sermo products to access this elite group of practitioners.”Here were some responses to Rines' tweet:"Sound... Pharma Marketing Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4921747 Thu, 09 Jun 2011 18:14:00 +0100 4921747 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4872183&cid=t_108273_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F05%2F26%2Fthe-situation-of-jon-hanson%2F From Harvard Law School Website: Professor Jon Hanson, the Alfred Smart Professor of Law, is this year’s winner of the prestigious Albert M. Sacks-Paul A. Freund Award for Teaching Excellence, an honor bestowed each spring by the Harvard Law School graduating class. The award recognizes teaching ability, attentiveness to student concerns and general contributions to student life at the law school. This is the second time Hanson has received the recognition. He won the Sacks-Freund award in 1999, and he was a finalist in 2000 and again in 2006. Class Marshall Sameer Singh Birring ’12 introduced Hanson at Class Day exercises on May 25. He called Hanson a pioneer in the movement to apply insights from psychology to the analysis of law and policy. A student in Hanson’s Corporatio... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4872183 Thu, 26 May 2011 13:21:43 +0100 4872183 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4853199&cid=t_108273_147_f&fid=39273&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FePharmaSummit%2F%7E3%2FyCkBmcRIdjk%2Fepharma-west-agenda-updated.html The ePharma Summit West brochure has been updated with even more dynamic speakers from the pharma industry, new informative sessions and a Webby Award winning case study. Get a full preview of your best chance to hear from the leaders in digital marketing. Be sure to read about our informative workshops which can help your company break into digital marketing, get up to speed on mobile trends, and see what the future holds for the industry. Download the brochure to get all of the new updates. Register for ePharma Summit West, taking place July 25-27, 2011, before June 3rd to save $400, and use the code XP1656BLOG to save an additional 10%! (Source: ePharma Summit) ePharma Summit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4853199 Mon, 23 May 2011 16:43:00 +0100 4853199 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4758786&cid=t_108273_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F04%2F27%2Fnominate-someone-for-the-samhsa-voice-awards%2F I pass this news release along, in case anyone knows of someone (or themselves!) who might be a good candidate for nomination for this year’s SAMHSA Voice Awards. Join the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in recognizing consumer/peer leaders and TV and film professionals who have given a voice to individuals with behavioral health problems (mental health and/or addiction issues). This year, SAMHSA is putting special emphasis on the impact of trauma and the significant effects it can have on individuals, families and friends, communities, and our Nation. Consideration is being given to consumer/peer leaders who have successfully advocated for the rights of trauma survivors and promoted the importance of trauma-informed care. Additional considerat... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4758786 Wed, 27 Apr 2011 16:01:13 +0100 4758786 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4536064&cid=t_108273_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fwhat-the-king%25e2%2580%2599s-speech-teaches-us-about-stuttering%2F2011.03.01 The film “The King’s Speech” won the Academy Award for Best Picture [on Sunday night.] The movie has come in for some criticism for its depiction of the political machinations surrounding the abdication of Edward VIII  and Britain’s appeasement of Hitler. The British-born writer Christopher Hitchens, unsparing and deliciously eloquent as always, puts the politics of  George VI in a far less favorable light than the movie does.       But ”The King’s Speech” has won almost universal praise for its portrayal of the reluctant monarch’s stuttering, a speech pattern that includes involuntary repetition of sounds and syllables and “speech blocks” that cause prolonged pauses. Many young  children who stutter grow out of the problem, but p... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4536064 Tue, 01 Mar 2011 18:00:13 +0100 4536064 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4517346&cid=t_108273_150_f&fid=34889&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpharmamkting.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F02%2Fmore-pharma-social-media-pioneers.html As evidenced by the first-ever pharma-hosted Twitter Chat (see "OMG! AstraZeneca Hosts Twitter Chat & World Does NOT End!"), there is still plenty of work for Pharma Social Media Pioneers to do and new pioneers to be recognized.Last year, I awarded the coveted "Pharmaguy Social Media Pioneer Award" to Alex Butler (see "First Pharmaguy Social Media Pioneer Award Given to Janssen's Alex Butler").I will continue to search out, find, and promote new pioneers, especially those who are actively using Twitter to engage in conversation. The chart below shows the pioneers I currently have in my database (view that database here). I have included in my list people who are employed by pharmaceutical companies (or very recently so employed) and who have over 200 Twitter followers.  If you kno... Pharma Marketing Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4517346 Thu, 24 Feb 2011 15:18:00 +0100 4517346 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4489683&cid=t_108273_88_f&fid=38129&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Flifeinthefastlane%2FWZHV%2F%7E3%2F6JW2kE73Rdo%2F Heartiest congratulations to all those blogs nominated for the MedGadget awards for 2010. Unfortunately there can only be one winner in each of the categories...and the winners are (Source: Life in the Fast Lane) Life in the Fast Lane blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4489683 Thu, 17 Feb 2011 00:10:03 +0100 4489683 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4517138&cid=t_108273_86_f&fid=38272&url=http%3A%2F%2Fstats.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F02%2F13%2Fdont-forget-to-vote-for-your-favorite-medical-weblog-at-medgadget%2F I almost forgot to vote for the best medical blogs in the Seventh Annual Medical Weblog Awards Contest, organized by Medgadget. But, I voted just in time, and so can you if you haven’t done so. Please support your favorite blogs! Voting will close 23:59:59 this Sunday, February 13, 2011 (EST). You can vote here at Medgadget There are several categories: Best Medical Weblog Best New Medical Weblog (established in 2010) Best Literary Medical Weblog Best Clinical Sciences Weblog Best Health Policies/Ethics Weblog Best Medical Technologies/Informatics Weblog Polls Are Open in The 2010 Medical Weblog Awards Sponsored by Epocrates and Lenovo (medgadget.com) The 2010 Medical Weblog Awards Finalists: Sponsored by Epocrates and Lenovo (medgadget.com) Polls Are Open in The 2010 Medical Weblo... Laika's MedLibLog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4517138 Sun, 13 Feb 2011 21:42:06 +0100 4517138 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4441989&cid=t_108273_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F02%2F06%2Fmaslow-revisited-the-hierarchy-of-chakras%2F What a man can be, he must be. This need we call self-actualization. – Abraham Maslow In psychology, physiology, and medicine, wherever a debate between the mystics and the scientifics has been once for all decided, it is the mystics who have usually proved to be right about the facts, while the scientifics had the better of it in respect to the theories. – William James In the 40 years since Abraham Maslow’s death, the impact of his thinking about human needs and potential is still resonating in business and academic circles. Maslow’s original writings first appeared in a 1943 paper, A Theory of Human Motivation, and helped frame what drives us. It was drawn from his careful review and observation of those known for their greatness, and others, students in particul... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4441989 Sun, 06 Feb 2011 13:36:18 +0100 4441989 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4419144&cid=t_108273_88_f&fid=38129&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Flifeinthefastlane%2FWZHV%2F%7E3%2FDX6QeVThdIw%2F Medgadget have released the list of finalists for this years prestigious Medical Weblog awards. Voting commences on February 3 2011 and runs to February 13 over at Medgadget.com. (Source: Life in the Fast Lane) Life in the Fast Lane blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4419144 Tue, 01 Feb 2011 02:44:34 +0100 4419144 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4419246&cid=t_108273_113_f&fid=38494&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcuretogether.com%2Fblog%2F2011%2F01%2F31%2Fcuretogether-wins-emerging-star-of-healthcare-engagement-award%2F . We are very excited to announce that CureTogether has just won the Emerging Star of Healthcare Engagement Award in the 2011 Healthcare Engagement Strategy Awards. In the award announcement, Director Daniel Ghinn writes: “In many ways, CureTogether captures the essence of how the Internet is changing healthcare. A startup operating with just 2½ people, born out of one patient’s frustrated search for answers, the social network has grown to include over 22,000 patients with 549 conditions since it started in 2008…. CureTogether is an example that illustrates how healthcare engagement is changing: not only empowering patients to share experiences with each other, but to develop their own evidence base… This kind of crowdsourced approach to medical research will at the v... The Collective Well blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4419246 Tue, 01 Feb 2011 02:34:39 +0100 4419246 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4389157&cid=t_108273_83_f&fid=34856&url=http%3A%2F%2Finsidesurgery.com%2F2011%2F01%2Fnavy-flight-surgeon-dr-sarah-ballard-wins-award%2F Navy flight surgeon Lt. Sarah Ballard has been awarded the Richard Luehr Memorial Award for outstanding operational flight surgeon in the United States Navy. (Source: Inside Surgery) Inside Surgery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4389157 Sun, 23 Jan 2011 16:35:54 +0100 4389157 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4382946&cid=t_108273_150_f&fid=34889&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpharmamkting.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F01%2Fare-doctors-avoiding-twitter-because-of.html "Recently, I was told that some doctors avoid social media because of what they view as 'doctor bashing,'" said Kelly Young (@rawarrior), author of the Rheumatoid Arthritis Warrior site.In a post to The Orthopedic Posterous blog (here), Young cited a Twitter exchange during a recent #rheum (rheumatology topics) chat. She quoted one doctor who observed this Twitter interaction: "[I'm] a bit uncomfortable with content of these tweets. Doc bashing online puts docs off communicating with patients via this medium."I am not sure how many doctors use Twitter to communicate with patients. But if they are hesitant to do so, they have many other reasons than online "doctor bashing," which isn't really new. "Doctor bashing" was here already, long ago, on online patient bulletin boards and listservs t... Pharma Marketing Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4382946 Fri, 21 Jan 2011 12:09:00 +0100 4382946 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4302130&cid=t_108273_88_f&fid=38129&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Flifeinthefastlane%2FWZHV%2F%7E3%2FcmhzDLj_gVw%2F The first Fifty F.UCEM's are Grandfather awards for the fifty fondling members who have demonstrated the excellence in their respected fields and uphold the ideals of the Utopian College - supremus totus vindicatum haud officium (Source: Life in the Fast Lane) Life in the Fast Lane blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4302130 Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:02:45 +0100 4302130 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4253449&cid=t_108273_150_f&fid=34889&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpharmamkting.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F12%2Fpharmaguy-la-milanese-deal-with.html Pharma's interest in social media is a global phenomenon. I've traveled to the UK and Germany in the past year to present at conferences about what's happening on the pharmaceutical social media front here in the U.S. and its impact on pharmaceutical marketing elsewhere in the world. My next trip to Europe will be to Milan, Italy, where I will speak at the 6th Annual Pharma Marketing & Branding Excellence conference on January 26. I thank the conference producers -- Jacob Fleming Conferences -- for inviting me to speak and paying my travel expenses. The title of my presentation is "A Social Media Strategy: Deal with Regulations, Develop Best Practices." Here's the synopsis:While the benefits of using social media tools as part of your marketing strategy may be clear to your team, the r... Pharma Marketing Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4253449 Sun, 12 Dec 2010 17:05:00 +0100 4253449 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4197209&cid=t_108273_122_f&fid=34736&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FChannelN-PodcastsPoweredByOdiogo%2F%7E3%2FNsGt3EuuAvE%2F The Scanner The Scanner, a great short film on Prader-Willi Syndrome and neuroimaging, won the ₤10,000 Digital Revolution Award at the Sheffield Documentary Festival 2010. Directed by Edward McGown, with Director of Photography Robert Hollingworth and music by Matthew Sharp, it was conceived by two Cambridge neuroscientists who research the genetics of obesity. Read more about why they made the film. Congratulations! (Via Neuroanthropology.) (Source: Channel N) Channel N blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4197209 Wed, 24 Nov 2010 13:30:56 +0100 4197209 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4159249&cid=t_108273_88_f&fid=38129&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Flifeinthefastlane%2FWZHV%2F%7E3%2FnqporogFNuI%2F Bushy tailed and bright-eyed, I found myself a seat at the trauma review precourse at USC Essentials of emergency medicine in San Francisco. Beneath the vent of an overenthusiastic air conditioning system I soon stopped shivering as profound hypothermia took an insidious hold. Fortunately the pre-precourse warm up involved a big screen appearance of my esteemed countrymen the Flight of the Conchords and their number 23 hit "Hurt Feelings" (Source: Life in the Fast Lane) Life in the Fast Lane blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4159249 Thu, 11 Nov 2010 23:46:27 +0100 4159249 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4122023&cid=t_108273_136_f&fid=37846&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthinfoispower.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F10%2F31%2Festrogen-replacement-therapy-speeds-growth-of-er-ovarian-cancer-increases-risk-of-lymph-node-metastasis%2F Estrogen therapy used by menopausal women causes “estrogen receptor positive” (ER+) ovarian cancer to grow five times faster, according to a new study being published by researchers at the University of Colorado Cancer Center in the November 1 issue of Cancer Research. Estrogen therapy used by menopausal women causes so-called “estrogen receptor positive” (ER+) ovarian cancer to grow [...] (Source: Libby's H*O*P*E*) Libby's H*O*P*E* blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4122023 Mon, 01 Nov 2010 00:41:17 +0100 4122023 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4122065&cid=t_108273_150_f&fid=34889&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpharmamkting.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F10%2Fcall-for-pharma-social-media.html "Political strategists agree that the acrimony that has tinged many of the attacks on the news media this year feels different," according to a story in today's New York Times (see "Politicians Are Fighting Mad, at the News Media"). “Everyone has always bashed the media,” said Dana Perino, a Republican consultant who was a White House press secretary under Mr. Bush, “but I do think there’s something larger going on.”What's going is this: "the eagerness of many candidates to bypass the mainstream news media in favor of social networking or media outlets that they perceive to be embracing of their political platforms."I believe the pharmaceutical industry has the same "eagerness" to bypass mainstream news media in favor of social networking. This is evident by the growth in Twitter... Pharma Marketing Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4122065 Sun, 31 Oct 2010 14:30:00 +0100 4122065 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4119705&cid=t_108273_150_f&fid=34889&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpharmamkting.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F10%2Fhappy-pharma-social-media-halloween.html Shwen Gwee recently received the Pharmaguy Social Media Pioneer lapel pin in recognition of his pioneering work as a pharmaceutical social media evangelist.Just today, Shwen received this mummy on his doorstep from an anonymous source. Needless to say, he's pretty confused. Who would send him such a thing? Perhaps it was an old mummified Web 1.0 pharma pioneer? We may never know.Shwen leads Digital Strategy and Social Media within the Marketing department at Vertex Pharmaceuticals where I am sure he is playing a major role in educating his colleagues and preparing for the day when his company may launch a social media initiative.How can someone who has not yet actually been involved in a pharma company social media project receive such a coveted award? Well, first of all, Shwen may actuall... Pharma Marketing Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4119705 Thu, 28 Oct 2010 21:04:00 +0100 4119705 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4086513&cid=t_108273_150_f&fid=34889&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpharmamkting.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F10%2Ffirst-pharmaguy-social-media-pioneer.html Discussion with 'Psoriasis 360' on Facebook?").When I handed over the Hawaiian shirt to Alex, I stated that another important factor in my decision was that Psoriasis 360 is the first consumer-oriented pharma FaceBook page to allow comments without pre-moderation. All comments are posted first and then reviewed afterward. So far, only a few comments had to be removed -- mostly because of vulgar language or mentions of product names. If a comment includes a product  name, the moderator(s) ask that the comment be resubmitted with the product name removed.Psoriasis 360, however, may NOT be the FIRST pharma Facebook page that allowed unmoderated comments to be posted. Sanofi-Aventis' VOICES Facebook was probably the first, but only unintentionally! Listen to that story and its aftermath h... Pharma Marketing Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4086513 Wed, 20 Oct 2010 19:02:00 +0100 4086513 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4060649&cid=t_108273_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2010%2F10%2F12%2F2010-voice-awards-in-hollywood%2F I’m excited to be attending and reporting from the 5th anniversary of the Voice Awards tomorrow evening in Hollywood. This annual award program sponsored by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) honors screenwriters, producers, and behavioral health advocates raising awareness and understanding of mental and behavioral health problems The 2010 Voice Awards — co-hosted by Emmy Award winner Hector Elizondo and Academy Award winner Louis Gossett, Jr. — will take place on Wednesday, October 13, 2010, at Paramount Studios in Hollywood, Calif. The annual event brings together representatives from the entertainment industry and the behavioral health community for an evening of awareness raising about the contributions people living with m... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4060649 Tue, 12 Oct 2010 16:02:09 +0100 4060649 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4036645&cid=t_108273_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Faafps-2011-family-physician-of-the-year%2F2010.10.06 This video was recorded at the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) meeting in Denver last week. Hughes Melton, M.D., was awarded the “2011 Family Physician of the Year” award. The video below shares his story. I also encourage you to read more of his story from the news article on the AAFP website. I have always been inspired by hearing the stories of the “Family Physician of the Year.” One of my wild and crazy dreams is to achieve this award someday, but I know that I definitely have a long way to go. Congratulations, Dr. Melton! *This blog post was originally published at Doctor Anonymous* (Source: Better Health) Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4036645 Wed, 06 Oct 2010 19:00:00 +0100 4036645 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4036568&cid=t_108273_83_f&fid=34856&url=http%3A%2F%2Finsidesurgery.com%2F2010%2F10%2Foral-surgeon-dr-jerry-halpern-receives-presidential-achievement-award-aaoms%2F Oral surgeon Dr. Jerry L. Halpern has received the Presidential Achievement Award from the American Association for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. (Source: Inside Surgery) Inside Surgery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4036568 Tue, 05 Oct 2010 23:07:54 +0100 4036568 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3965428&cid=t_108273_88_f&fid=38129&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Flifeinthefastlane%2FWZHV%2F%7E3%2F1Bp9qmiX4Zc%2F Life in the Fast Lane is proud (if a little surprised) to celebrate it's second blogiversary this week! (Source: Life in the Fast Lane) Life in the Fast Lane blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3965428 Wed, 08 Sep 2010 06:01:15 +0100 3965428 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3920890&cid=t_108273_107_f&fid=35026&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FTheTreeOfLife%2F%7E3%2Fhf7cDTk_41U%2Fclarification-to-overselling-microbiome.html OK time for a bit of a clarification. Recently I gave out a somewhat aggressive "Overselling the microbiome award" to supporters of what is called the Marshall Protocol. I have started this award because I feel that many working on microbiomes have been overselling the potential for these studies to lead to cures and treatments for all sorts of ailments. And certainly,, some associated without the Marshall Protocol are making what I consider to be extremely overstated claims about this particular treatment. But after talking to a supporter of the protocol here at the microbiome meeting I should clarify here that I was not actually critiquing the protocol itself. I was criticizing some of the claims of supporters of the protocol. In a way I erred in the same way that critiques of genomic... The Tree of Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3920890 Tue, 31 Aug 2010 21:19:34 +0100 3920890 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3920812&cid=t_108273_87_f&fid=36050&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblisstree.com%2Flive%2Fgeorge-clooney-wins-bob-hope-humanitarian-award-daily-do-gooder%2F George Clooney got a standing ovation at the Emmy’s on Sunday night when he received the 2010 Bob Hope Humanitarian Award for his help with Hurricane Katrina and Darfur genocide victim relief. We like him even more for his modesty: “It’s embarrassing,” he said backstage. “You don’t want to be awarded for doing what you’re supposed to be doing.” Class act, that Clooney. Post from: BlissTree George Clooney Wins Bob Hope Humanitarian Award: Daily Do-Gooder (Source: Breastfeeding 1-2-3) Breastfeeding 1-2-3 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3920812 Tue, 31 Aug 2010 12:30:40 +0100 3920812 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3899438&cid=t_108273_107_f&fid=35026&url=http%3A%2F%2Fautoimmunityresearch.org%2Ftranscripts%2FICA2008_Transcript_TomPerez.pdf Wow - until I started sniffing around actively, I never realized how much crap was out there in regard to the microbiome.  But there is so so much.  Certainly, the human microbiome (the microbes that live in and on people) is more important than people used to think.  The microbes in and on us show some interesting correlations relative to disease and health states.  And almost certainly changes in the microbiome likely cause some alterations in health state.  Recent studies on fecal transplants, for example, suggest even that altering the microbiome is both possible and could be helpful in some cases.  But we are really early in the work here. But right now, for many health and disease states (1) we don't know if the altered microbiome is a cause or an effec... The Tree of Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3899438 Wed, 25 Aug 2010 09:28:30 +0100 3899438 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3895929&cid=t_108273_107_f&fid=35026&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FTheTreeOfLife%2F%7E3%2FDVF5pGrcrec%2Ftwisted-tree-of-life-award-npr-on.html Well, normally I really like NPR science stories. But this one dug into my anti adaptationism feelings. Adaptationism is, in essence, the practice of saying something must be adaptive (i.e., beneficial), simply because it is there in an organism. Such cases are also referred to as "just so stories" - a play on the old Kipling "Just So Stories".  That is, in essence, people who claim something is adaptive just because it is there are in essence telling you something is this way because it is just so.   I am actually not sure of the whole history of using the just-so analogy to refer to adaptationist stories - I know Stephen Jay Gould discussed this a lot in his books and lectures, but not sure who first did it.  Anyway - NPR has an adaptationistic doozy from Morning Edit... The Tree of Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3895929 Mon, 23 Aug 2010 20:56:39 +0100 3895929 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3896089&cid=t_108273_150_f&fid=34889&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpharmamkting.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F08%2Falex-butlers-signature-says-it-all-well.html I am getting excited about presenting at the upcoming DigiPharm Europe 2010 conference in London at the end of September mostly because I will be meeting several pharma people who are doing digital marketing in Europe! One of these people is Alex Butler who is Digital Strategy and Social Media Manager at Janssen-Cilag.You can tell that Alex is immersed in communication and social media just be looking at his email signature, which I reproduce below (without revealing his personal phone and email address):I need to update my sig file to look more like this!I first learned about Alex when I asked people to nominate candidates for the Pharmaguy Social Media Award (learn more bout that here).Alex's signature says it all, or ALMOST all. There is a lot more to learn about Alex and what he is doi... Pharma Marketing Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3896089 Mon, 23 Aug 2010 17:34:00 +0100 3896089 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3880858&cid=t_108273_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Femergency-palliative-care-we-cant-save-you%2F2010.08.18 An alert reader alerted me to this related piece in Slate: “We Can’t Save You: How To Tell Emergency Room Patients That They’re Dying.” An excerpt: The ER is not an easy place to come to these realizations or assess their consequences. A handful of physicians are trying to change that. Doctors like Tammie Quest, board-certified in both palliative and emergency medicine, hope to bring the deliberative goal-setting, symptom-controlling ethos of palliative care into the adrenaline-charged, “tube ‘em and move ‘em” ER. Palliative/emergency medicine collaboration remains rare, but it’s growing as both fields seek to create a more “patient-centered” approach to emergency care for the seriously ill or the dying, to improve symptom m... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3880858 Thu, 19 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0100 3880858 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3880906&cid=t_108273_107_f&fid=35026&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FTheTreeOfLife%2F%7E3%2Fnq07ZRzS8dU%2Foverselling-microbiome-award-stephen.html Yes, I think the microbes that live in and on people are important, interesting, cool, and worthy of lots and lots of attention. However, I am getting sicker and sicker of the ways in which the effects of these microbes are, well oversold. So today I am starting a new series here on the Tree of Life - the "Overselling the Microbiome and Probiotics Award." And, we have a winner today. The winner is Stephen Barrie who has posted something at the paragon of high quality science - the Huffington Post (for more on the dubious science at Huffington Post, a good place to look is Bora's Blog Around the Clock). Well, Barrie really takes the cake on this one Stephen Barrie, ND: The Keys to Maintaining a Healthy Gut He starts off OK - referring to the number of microbes in the human ecosystem and... The Tree of Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3880906 Wed, 18 Aug 2010 17:42:25 +0100 3880906 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3845146&cid=t_108273_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2010%2F08%2F09%2Fcongratulations-to-katherine-stone-postpartum-progress-2%2F Katherine Stone, the author of the wonderful Postpartum Progress blog, won the First Annual Bloganthropy Award at the BlogHer 10 event in NYC this past weekend. It’s an award focused on making a difference through social media. Given that this award was open to any type of blog on any type of topic, the fact that a mental health blogger won it is heart-warming and fantastic! Here’s a part of the announcement about the award: The Bloganthropy Awards recognize bloggers who have made a difference by using social media effectively to promote a good cause. Stone became an advocate for women with perinatal mood and anxiety disorders after experiencing a severe bout of postpartum depression herself in 2001. Her feelings of fear and isolation inspired her to create Postpartum Progress, no... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3845146 Mon, 09 Aug 2010 13:04:23 +0100 3845146 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3816448&cid=t_108273_107_f&fid=35026&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FTheTreeOfLife%2F%7E3%2FLpfJM5_CjjE%2Fhuman-genome-project-oversold-sure-but.html Well, the piling on the human genome project continues, it seems at an accelerating pace.  I think most of this comes from the fact that we are in the range of the 10 year anniversary right now.   Here are some examples of recent stories suggesting the human genome project (or projects, if you count the public effort and Craig Venter's effort as separate) have had little benefit: 7/31/10: The Human Genome Project: 10 Years Later, Progress but Still a Puzzle - WNYC. Interesting piece by Sarah Kate Kramer discussing the limited clinical value of the HGP.  Includes some criticisms of personalized genomic medicine.  7/29/10: Spiegel interview with Craig Venter with the headline "We have learned nothing from the genome".  Has lots of interesting tidbits. &nbsp... The Tree of Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3816448 Tue, 03 Aug 2010 16:18:29 +0100 3816448 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3813018&cid=t_108273_107_f&fid=35026&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FTheTreeOfLife%2F%7E3%2FfX0Vdb59tkA%2Ftwisted-tree-of-life-award-6-scientific.html There is an interesting series of mini articles in the August 2010 Scientific American tracing the origins of various concepts and things: Origins: Going Back to Where the Story Really Starts: Scientific American Not open access mind you, but if you have a subscription it is worth checking out. They track the origins of the following: swiss cheese paternal child care computer viruses animation sexual reproduction malaria fireworks barbed wire hand washing in hospitals human morality electric cars the influenza virus wheeled vehicles black holes zero biodiversity noodles Many of the discussions are interesting.  Some are a bit trite.  But that is not what I am here to report on.  I am here to complain about one aspects of the article series: too much emphasis on humans and mu... The Tree of Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3813018 Mon, 02 Aug 2010 15:45:42 +0100 3813018 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3802584&cid=t_108273_150_f&fid=34889&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpharmamkting.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F07%2Fwho-are-pharma-social-media-wright.html I just received an email from MM&M announcing that the Finalists for its 2010 Awards have been chosen. When I clicked on the link in the email, I was taken to a Web page where a silent video showed the "rigorous judging process" (see screen shot at left).Looks like a Day at the Museum in which works of dead artists are displayed! Is this any way to judge a person's accomplishments?Personally, I think people deserve more than a non-personal perusal of images or screen shots of their work. Of course, the MM&M Awards do not claim to be personal: "The only way to get your hands on an award," says MM&M "is to impress the judges with the quality of your work."I doubt the judges even communicate with the people behind all that paper hanging on the wall.When the Wright brothers started... Pharma Marketing Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3802584 Thu, 29 Jul 2010 18:05:00 +0100 3802584 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3784496&cid=t_108273_150_f&fid=34889&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpharmamkting.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F07%2Fon-being-voted-off-social-media-island.html Here's a bit of irony. Today, I was virtually "voted off" the social media (Twitter) island of #hcsmeu by @FarmerFunster for being too promotional. The irony is that many of the topics discussed via #hcsmeu concern how the pharmaceutical industry can get more involved in interacting with consumers via social media, as if that interaction is NOT promotional!BTW, this is not the first time I've been "voted off" a social media site. See "Banned from CafePharma!" In that case, however, it was a badge of honor :-)The issue prompting @FarmerFunster to vote to kick me off #hcsmeu was a question I submitted for discussion: "Pharmaguy Social Media Pioneer Award. Who should be nominated?" @FarmerFunster said "principle of it is OK but disagree with #hcsmeu being used as a promo channel within the ho... Pharma Marketing Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3784496 Fri, 23 Jul 2010 12:27:00 +0100 3784496 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3780560&cid=t_108273_150_f&fid=34889&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpharmamkting.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F07%2Fis-this-fate-of-pharma-social-media.html Recently, I announced the Pharmaguy Social Media Pioneer Award, which recognizes excellence in social media marketing leadership (see announcement here and latest list of nominees here). The Pharmaguy Social Media Pioneer Award is sponsored by ExL Pharma and the 4th Annual Digital Pharma East Conference. Winners will be announced at the conference in October, 2010.While reading this week's issue of the New Yorker magazine, I came upon a cartoon that got me thinking about the fate of the people who may "win" this prestigious award. Could it be that a similar fate awaits the ePharma Pioneers on my list?I certainly hope not! I also hope that my readers will nominate and vote for candidates here and include some great comments about why such innovators should not be lead to slaughter :-) (Sour... Pharma Marketing Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3780560 Thu, 22 Jul 2010 13:43:00 +0100 3780560 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3780561&cid=t_108273_150_f&fid=34889&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpharmamkting.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F07%2Fpharmaguys-social-media-pioneer-award.html Awarding Excellence in Social Media Marketing LeadershipSponsored by ExL Pharma and the 4th Annual Digital Pharma East ConferenceIf you are a regular reader of Pharma Marketing Blog, you know that I generally do not like awards sponsored by pharma trade publications (see “Awards. What Are They Good For?”). Such awards are somewhat suspect because of the inherent conflicts of interests involved -- the winners tend to be the agencies that advertise the most in the sponsoring publication or that purchase big page ads announcing that they won the award.Not all awards, of course, are self-aggrandizing “slaps on the back” among a close circle of colleagues. Dose of Digital’s "2010 Dose of Digital Dosie Award" for the best healthcare/pharmaceutical social media sites depended on a more ... Pharma Marketing Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3780561 Thu, 22 Jul 2010 10:51:00 +0100 3780561 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3737139&cid=t_108273_122_f&fid=34736&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FChannelN-PodcastsPoweredByOdiogo%2F%7E3%2Fl4sKow9DX-U%2Frecovery-in-vancouver.html Just You, Me, and God: Recovery in the Downtown East Side Two women, including a winner of a 2009 Courage to Come Back Award from Coast Mental Health, talk about their recovery from addiction and mental health issues. Their recovery is extra challenging since they both continue to live in the Downtown East Side, a neighbourhood known for open drug use. More info. (Source: Channel N) Channel N blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3737139 Thu, 08 Jul 2010 12:30:29 +0100 3737139 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3714361&cid=t_108273_131_f&fid=35005&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Ffungalcompgenomics%2F%7E3%2FRl2iyJhzhAA%2F Congrats are in order to Gerry Fink on winning the 2010 Gruber Foundation award for his work on the genetics of yeast and Arabidopsis. He has been a pioneer in the field developing molecular biology approaches and leading the field in study of genetics.  See the press release announcement for more details on the award – I got word of this thanks to the Genetics Society of America email. Gerry’s had profound impact on the field of genetics and biology it is wonderful to see this awarded to him. Personally, he’s subtly influenced several things that have benefited my career : helping get the fungal genome initiative started, as the mentor of my grad advisor, serving on advisory boards like the one for my postdoc fellowship, and his leadership and ingenuity producing new ... Fungal Genomes and Comparative Genomics blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3714361 Wed, 30 Jun 2010 20:03:39 +0100 3714361 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3687164&cid=t_108273_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2010%2F06%2F22%2Fbest-of-our-blogs-june-22-2010%2F How was your Father’s Day? Was it all you wanted, expected and hoped it would be? The activities of the day, however, are less important than the memories associated with Father’s Day. Even if you’re not a father yourself or were unable to spend time with your dad due to death or distance, there’s still a lot that can be celebrated. Things like treasured memories and happy moments and taking time to remember the fatherly figures in your life and how they have influenced who you are today. On Sunday, I spoke with my dad. He talked about his life as a child growing up in Hawaii. He reminisced about the way things were. The neighbors he knew, the small local-owned stores that used to be in existence, and the truck that sold produce picked from local farms. How simple l... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3687164 Tue, 22 Jun 2010 11:26:46 +0100 3687164 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3656830&cid=t_108273_107_f&fid=35026&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FTheTreeOfLife%2F%7E3%2F7_M_XTkFhrs%2Ftwisted-tree-of-life-award-5-nicholas.html Nicholas Wade has a new article in the New York Times critiquing some aspects of the human genome project (A Decade Later, Gene Map Yields Few New Cures - NYTimes.com) Whether one agrees with his critiques or not, I hope that everyone can recognizes that one section on evolution is, well, awful. Wade writes First was the discovery that the number of human genes is astonishingly small compared with those of lower animals like the laboratory roundworm and fruit fly. The barely visible roundworm needs 20,000 genes that make proteins, the working parts of cells, whereas humans, apparently so much higher on the evolutionary scale, seem to have only 21,000 protein-coding genes.While Mr. Wade may want to believe he and humans in general are somehow "higher" on some evolutionary ladder than other ... The Tree of Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3656830 Sat, 12 Jun 2010 22:52:04 +0100 3656830 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3499250&cid=t_108273_131_f&fid=34989&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FGeneticsHealth%2F%7E3%2FD_-FVuLvIW0%2F Did you know that Jennifer Aniston is an environmental activist? The makers of the Academy Award winning documentary The Cove got Aniston and several other celebs motivated to become Dolphin Crusaders. Hayden Panettiere, Jason Mraz, Woody Harrelson, Naomi Watts, James Gandolfini, Ben Stiller, and Paul Rudd all banded together to create this new PSA in an effort to save the dolphins, brought to you by TMZ’s TooFab!, below. For more information, visit TakePart.com. Post from: BlissTree Jennifer Aniston, Hayden Panettiere, and Ben Stiller are Dolphin Crusaders (Source: Genetics and Health) Genetics and Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3499250 Thu, 22 Apr 2010 22:31:31 +0100 3499250 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3403544&cid=t_108273_139_f&fid=38879&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FVirologyBlog%2F%7E3%2FjcAdBZ2fDOE%2F Virology blog has been honored with a Seed Media Group Research Blogging Award for the best blog of 2010 in the area of clinical research. Seed Media Group’s Research Blogging Awards recognize the outstanding bloggers who discuss peer-reviewed research at ResearchBlogging.org. There you can find over 1,000 registered blogs with 10,000 posts about peer-reviewed journal articles. The awards process began with the readers of researchblogging.org, who made over 400 nominations. Then an expert panel of judges assessed the nominees to select 5 to 10 finalists in each of 20 categories. The registered bloggers then selected the winners. I am very grateful to be singled out by ResearchBlogging.org, the home of the best blogging about peer-reviewed research on the Internet. It’s especi... virology blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3403544 Wed, 24 Mar 2010 22:22:44 +0100 3403544 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3395261&cid=t_108273_122_f&fid=35068&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbrainwindows.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F03%2F23%2Fupdate-expert-research-blog-of-the-year%2F Brain Windows just won the expert-level category for the researchblogging.com 2010 awards! Thank you for voting. I will try to keep the posting frequency and quality up. And I finally figured out how the citation thing works with researchblogging.org so all my new posts will be included on their aggregator and I’ll try to import the relevant older ones as well. I also want to get back to posting some raw science data that will probably never make it into a publication. BrainWindows, the future journal of calibration curves and negative results Now back to lab meeting prep… Filed under: Fun, Science blogs, scientific publishing Tagged: award, researchblogging (Source: Brain Windows) Brain Windows blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3395261 Tue, 23 Mar 2010 14:31:59 +0100 3395261 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3378665&cid=t_108273_131_f&fid=35005&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Ffungalcompgenomics%2F%7E3%2FA5cqqwqQeq4%2F Congrats to Neurospora biologists Louise Glass and Jay Dunlap on their election to American Academy of Microbiology. (Source: Fungal Genomes and Comparative Genomics) Fungal Genomes and Comparative Genomics blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3378665 Wed, 17 Mar 2010 19:29:01 +0100 3378665 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3366234&cid=t_108273_107_f&fid=35026&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdepts.washington.edu%2Fsfields%2Fpdf%2Ffields_science2.pdf Just got pointed to a fun paper from 2002 "A Crisis in Postgenomic Nomenclature by Stanley Fields and Mark Johnston" by Mark Johnston himself. Their paper, in Science, is available for free on Stanley Fields website here. It is actually a hilarious tongue in cheek read where they proceed from arguing for more specificity in omics names (e.g., they go so far as to propose a EC# like system with things such as the "4.7.5.3.8ome" and also that conditions should be specified like the "37°-7.4-G1-Golgi-N-but-not- 63 O-linked glycosylome".  And they end with a proposal to replace the term "the cell" with either the someone or the omesome.  It is definitely worth a read. -------- This is from the "Tree of Life Blog" of Jonathan Eisen, an evolutionary biologist and Open Access adv... The Tree of Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3366234 Sun, 14 Mar 2010 18:35:43 +0100 3366234 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3335264&cid=t_108273_86_f&fid=38272&url=http%3A%2F%2Flaikaspoetnik.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F03%2F05%2Fresearch-blogging-awards-2010%2F It is now possible to vote for the winners of the 2010 Research Blogging Awards. Yet another blog contest, I can hear you say. Yes, another blog contest, but a very special one. It is a contest among outstanding bloggers who discuss peer-reviewed research. There are over 1,000 blogs registered at ResearchBlogging.org., responsible for 9,500 posts about peer-reviewed [...] (Source: Laika's MedLibLog) Laika's MedLibLog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3335264 Thu, 04 Mar 2010 23:27:01 +0100 3335264 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3239595&cid=t_108273_107_f&fid=35026&url=http%3A%2F%2Flhncbc.nlm.nih.gov%2Flhc%2Fdocs%2Fpublished%2F2001%2Fpub2001047.pdf Well this is it. I am declaring that I am (mostly) done with the posts about bad omics words. I will on occasion I am sure rail about one word or another with my Worst New Omics Word Award, but I will try to let ome words rest in peace, at least for a while. Mostly this is because the task is too overwhelming.  There are simply too many bad omics words out there. I would like to note however, that as I have browsed around, I have noticed many other bloggers doing similar occasional snarky complaints about omics words here and there. That was good to see. But most amazing was that there is in fact published literature on the topic of bad omics words. See for example The Wholeness in Suffix -omics, -omes, and the Word Om and apparently[The odd omes and omics] (which is in Fin... The Tree of Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3239595 Thu, 04 Feb 2010 17:00:01 +0100 3239595 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3224851&cid=t_108273_107_f&fid=35026&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FTheTreeOfLife%2F%7E3%2Ftco-BtWgr9U%2Fbad-omics-word-of-day-connectome.html Well, I have decided that I need to look beyond just new omic words to snark about here (I have been giving a "Worst New Omics Word Award" every once in a while"). So I am now going to post, as often as I can, a little ditty about any bad omics word that is out there. Yesterday's winner was "phenogenomics" which I posted only to twitter.Today's winner is "connectome" (see for example NIH Launches the Human Connectome Project to Unravel the Brain's Connections, July 15, 2009 News Release - National Institutes of Health (NIH)). I think it's first major use was here but not sure. It even has a wikipedia entry which says:A connectome is a detailed map of the full set of neurons and synapses within the nervous system of an organism. The production and study of such a map is known as connectomic... The Tree of Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3224851 Sun, 31 Jan 2010 15:34:19 +0100 3224851 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3223207&cid=t_108273_86_f&fid=38272&url=http%3A%2F%2Flaikaspoetnik.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F01%2F29%2Fpracticing-medicine-in-the-web-2-0-era%2F Many people don’t get Web 2.0 – and certainly not Medicine 2.0. Just the other day a journalist asked me if the redesigned PubMed could be called PubMed 2.0. I said: “well no….no… not at all” ….Web 2.0 is not merely tools or fancy looks, it is another way of producing and sharing information and new web [...] (Source: Laika's MedLibLog) Laika's MedLibLog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3223207 Fri, 29 Jan 2010 22:27:30 +0100 3223207 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3208426&cid=t_108273_107_f&fid=35026&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FTheTreeOfLife%2F%7E3%2FxlDVrp72_j0%2Fcool-paper-winner-of-worst-new-omics.html And the bad new omics words keep streaming in. Today's winner of the "Worst New Omics Word Award" is going to Carey Lambert, Chien-Yi Chang, Michael J. Capeness and R. Elizabeth Sockett from Nottingham for their use/ invention of "Predatosome". They use this term in the title of their new PLoS One paper: The First Bite— Profiling the Predatosome in the Bacterial Pathogen Bdellovibrio. Here is the very long sentence where the define it:The gene products required for the initial invasive predatory processes have not been extensively studied but the genome sequencing of B. bacteriovorus HD100 [1] revealed a genome of 3.85Mb, including a core genome similar to that of non-predatory bacteria and some 40% of the genome comprising a potential predicted “predatosome” of genes, encoding both ... The Tree of Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3208426 Tue, 26 Jan 2010 16:50:48 +0100 3208426 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3208305&cid=t_108273_86_f&fid=38272&url=http%3A%2F%2Flaikaspoetnik.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F01%2F26%2Five-got-good-news-and-ive-got-bad-news%2F If someone tells you: “I’ve got Good News and I’ve got Bad News”, you probably ask this person: “Well, tell me the bad news first!” Laika’s MedLibLog has good and bad news for you. The Bad News is, that this blog didn’t make it to the Finals of the sixth annual Medical Weblog Awards, organized by Medgadget. [...] (Source: Laika's MedLibLog) Laika's MedLibLog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3208305 Tue, 26 Jan 2010 13:28:01 +0100 3208305 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3180228&cid=t_108273_86_f&fid=38272&url=http%3A%2F%2Flaikaspoetnik.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F01%2F16%2Fthe-2009-medical-weblog-awards-it-is-time-to-nominate-your-favorite-blogs%2F The 2009 Medical Weblog Awards are here again! MedGadget is asking for nominations for the best of medical blogs.  This is the sixth year of the competition and these awards are designed to showcase the best medblogs, and to highlight the exciting and useful role that the medical blogosphere plays in medicine and society. You can make [...] (Source: Laika's MedLibLog) Laika's MedLibLog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3180228 Sat, 16 Jan 2010 22:55:48 +0100 3180228 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3106752&cid=t_108273_107_f&fid=35026&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FTheTreeOfLife%2F%7E3%2FoKwvku0pYxU%2Fworst-new-omics-word-award-negatome.html Last week I asked for people to post suggestions for bad new omics words as candidates for my "Worst new omics word award". And there were some great ones posted there by MAT kinase (physiomics, orfeomics), Mr. Gunn (degradomics, though he noticed it was already suggested), anonymous (incidentalome), Karl Broman (human connectome), Paul (splicome), blJOg (Systemomics), Farhat Habib (resourceome), Rosie Redfield (sewa-genomics), Marmaduke (Microbial paleomics), and many others. But by far and away, the worst of the worst, the most negative of all new omics words I have seen in a while, is the negatome suggested by multiple people. Yes, indeed, a group ( Pawel Smialowski, Philipp Pagel, Philip Wong, Barbara Brauner, Irmtraud Dunger, Gisela Fobo, Goar Frishman, Corinna Montrone, Thomas Ratt... The Tree of Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3106752 Fri, 18 Dec 2009 20:08:42 +0100 3106752 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3083112&cid=t_108273_115_f&fid=38592&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.radiolopolis.com%2Findex.php%2Fmy-profile%2Fmy-blog%2Fhow-to-earn-karma-on-radiolopolis.html How can I earn Karma/points?It is actually easy:After you registered on Radiolopolis, you can immediately earn points by:Making friends Inviting friends Joining groups Creating your own groups (e.g. residency groups, special interest groups etc.) Uploading Radiology cases / Radiology images Uploading Radiology related videos Adding Radiology related video feeds from Youtube or Google Posting in discussion forums Blogging (you have automatically your own RadiologRead More... (Source: Radiolopolis Blogs) Radiolopolis Blogs blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3083112 Sat, 12 Dec 2009 16:29:02 +0100 3083112 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3067247&cid=t_108273_131_f&fid=35005&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Ffungalcompgenomics%2F%7E3%2FcVgkeRAUhuM%2F Announced today at the 10th Frontiers in Fungal Biology meeting in Ensenada, Baja California: In honor of his contributions to research in cell biology fungi, in particular the growth of hyphae in fungi, the discovery and characterization of the Spitzenkörper,  development numerous approaches for microscopic and biochemical characterization of fungal cell walls, and uncovering molecular mechanisms for growth and morphogenesis in filamentous fungi, a named award will be established for Salomón Bartnicki-García, Director in the Department of Microbiology at CICESE and Professor Emertius at UC Riverside. He has been honored in the past upon his retirement from UCR in a special issue in Fungal Genetics and Biology and by the Mycological Society of America as a Distinguished Mycologist.  H... Fungal Genomes and Comparative Genomics blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3067247 Tue, 08 Dec 2009 00:16:09 +0100 3067247 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3026707&cid=t_108273_107_f&fid=35026&url=http%3A%2F%2Fphylogenomics.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F11%2Fworst-new-omics-word-award-negatome.html Last week I asked for people to post suggestions for bad new omics words as candidates for my "Worst new omics word award". And there were some great ones posted there by MAT kinase (physiomics, orfeomics), Mr. Gunn (degradomics, though he noticed it was already suggested), anonymous (incidentalome), Karl Broman (human connectome), Paul (splicome), blJOg (Systemomics), Farhat Habib (resourceome), Rosie Redfield (sewa-genomics), Marmaduke (Microbial paleomics), and many others. But by far and away, the worst of the worst, the most negative of all new omics words I have seen in a while, is the negatome suggested by multiple people. Yes, indeed, a group ( Pawel Smialowski, Philipp Pagel, Philip Wong, Barbara Brauner, Irmtraud Dunger, Gisela Fobo, Goar Frishman, Corinna Montrone, Thomas Rattei... The Tree of Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3026707 Wed, 25 Nov 2009 04:32:00 +0100 3026707 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3106760&cid=t_108273_107_f&fid=35026&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FTheTreeOfLife%2F%7E3%2FTLO_gU5gzfM%2Fworst-new-omics-word-award-material.html And the bad omics words just keep getting worse. This one really takes the cake. A story from BBC News Online (Sniff test to preserve old books)discusses how"Researchers report in the journal Analytical Chemistry that a new "sniff test" can measure degradation of old books and historical documents."The work they are doing actually seems quite interesting. But alas, the way they describe it does not. They refer to this method as "material degradomics". I fortunately do not have access to the paper at home but a google search reveals some text from their paperThrough similarities with metabolomics,(15) we propose to define a new field of material degradomics (and related terms, Table 1).I literally dread what is in table 1. For creating a new omics term that seems thoroughly unnecessary and ... The Tree of Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3106760 Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:49:39 +0100 3106760 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3106756&cid=t_108273_107_f&fid=35026&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FTheTreeOfLife%2F%7E3%2FwhCYva5S5v8%2Fwanted-bad-new-omics-words.html Blogger in need of material while taking a little break for medical reasons needs help. Seeking bad new "omics" words to give "Worst New Omics Word Award" to. Junkome from PZ Myers already under consideration. Please post suggestions here.Previous winners arematerial degradomics fermentomeOmnigenomics by (surprisingly) @Genomicrondiseasome (thx @steinsky @noahwilliamgray @mocost )ethomicsMuseomics -------- This is from the "Tree of Life Blog" of Jonathan Eisen, an evolutionary biologist and Open Access advocate at the University of California, Davis. For short updates, follow me on Twitter. -------- (Source: The Tree of Life) The Tree of Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3106756 Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:38:19 +0100 3106756 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2898983&cid=t_108273_107_f&fid=35026&url=http%3A%2F%2Fphylogenomics.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F10%2Fworst-new-omics-word-award-5-fermentome.html I do not have access to the article but the abstract is all I need to give out my fifth "Worst New Omics Word Award"Fermentation of undigested foods in the colon by its resident bacteria affects not only colonic health (protection against inflammation and tumour formation) but also influences metabolic health. Studying fermentation directly is difficult for lack of access. We hypothesise that the anatomical structure of the colon is suited to act as a fermenting chamber with the gaseous molecules (VOCs) emitted having direct effects on the colonocytes as well as gut neural and metabolic effects. We refer to this complex system as the ‘fermentome’, and further hypothesise that alteration in the ‘fermentome’ through dietary modification will have a direct impact on colonic as well as... The Tree of Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2898983 Thu, 15 Oct 2009 23:17:00 +0100 2898983 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2851807&cid=t_108273_107_f&fid=35026&url=http%3A%2F%2Fphylogenomics.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F10%2Fworst-new-omics-word-award-omnigenomics.html Well, been taking a break from this award, as I am in over my head with teaching right now. But could not resist this one. Based on a tip from Marcio Pie in Brazil I checked out T. Ryan Gregory's recent posting (Genomicron: Omnigenomics) on his normally excellent Genomicron Blog. And he has clearly been overcome with H1N1 fever or something like that, as he discusses in this new posting, his desire to coin a catchy new omics word to describe his work on comparisons of genome size across species.And he has chosen, get readyOMNIGENOMICSProposed neologism: "Omnigenomics"Etymology: Latin "omnis" (all or everything) + genomics (study of genomes)Sample usage: "What do you do?" / "Omnigenomics" / "What's that?" / "I study the total amount of DNA in different species of animals, which includes gen... The Tree of Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2851807 Thu, 01 Oct 2009 15:11:00 +0100 2851807 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2699647&cid=t_108273_107_f&fid=35026&url=http%3A%2F%2Fphylogenomics.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F08%2Foverselling-genomics-award-6.html For those interested in so-called "third generation" DNA sequencing systems, this week has had some buzz with the release of a publication in Nature Biotechnology reporting the sequencing and analysis of a human genome using a Helicos Heliscope sequencer. In this paper Stephen Quake and colleagues generated short read sequences from Quake's DNA using this machine and then analyzed them by comparing them to reference human genomes.Certainly, what they did was cool. And the use of the Helicos equipment is a good thing for that company and it's development of single molecule sequencing. And given the "race" if you want to call it that for the $1000 genome, it is thus not surprising that this paper received a lot of coverage from all sorts of angles because they claim it involved the cheapest ... The Tree of Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2699647 Thu, 13 Aug 2009 15:42:00 +0100 2699647 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2796569&cid=t_108273_115_f&fid=38592&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.radiolopolis.com%2Findex.php%2Fmy-profile%2Fmy-blog%2Fover-1000-radiolopolis-users-.html What a day! We just broke the magic 1000 member barrier on Radiolopolis.Only a few months old, Radiolopolis has gained great popularity within the worldwide Radiology community and has become the fastest growing Radiology network. Furthermore, we may declare with pride that Radiolopolis has also gained a great reputation amongst other Radiology websites and has been nominated as one of the top Radiology sites by several surveys and Radiology websiRead More... (Source: Radiolopolis Blogs) Radiolopolis Blogs blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2796569 Sat, 01 Aug 2009 15:32:17 +0100 2796569 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2610982&cid=t_108273_107_f&fid=35026&url=http%3A%2F%2Fphylogenomics.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F07%2Fworst-new-omics-word-award-diseasome.html And the winner of the "worst new omics word award" is "diseasome."Credit for pointing this one out goes to Noah Gray and MoCost on Twitter. See Mos first post here: Twitter / Mo: Diseasome project visualiz ...And some follow up:NoahJoe DunkyNoah againAmazingly, I missed this when the New York Times used it in a headline: "Mapping the Human 'Diseasome' - Interactive Graphic - NYTimes.com" and in many other reports (see Google search here).What does diseasome actually mean? I do not know. And it does seem really unnecessary to me. And since I got blasted (justifiably) a bit by one of the people I gave my previous award to here is a clarification. I am not commenting here on the science behind the "diseasome" work. Just the word. And the word, I do not like.Previous awards I have given:Worst ... The Tree of Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2610982 Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:17:00 +0100 2610982 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2527877&cid=t_108273_111_f&fid=36048&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAHeartyLife%2F%7E3%2FPgxdbP6XRZA%2F Research proves that a healthy employee costs the company less money. How to encourage employers to create a healthy work environment? By rewarding and recognizing them. That’s what Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle does each year with his Worksite Wellness Awards. Employers can send in applications that consider health education and screening, tobacco use, and other programs the company may have in place. This year’s gold winners were: • Saint Joseph’s Hospital (Marshfield) • Creation Technologies Wisconsin Inc. (Oak Creek) • Gundersen Lutheran Health System (La Crosse) • Memorial Health Center (Medford) • Polaris Industries, Inc. (Osceola) • QuadGraphics (Sussex) Image: sxc.hu. Share and Enjoy: Post from: Blisstree Worksite Wellness in... A Hearty Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2527877 Fri, 26 Jun 2009 22:08:26 +0100 2527877 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2523485&cid=t_108273_122_f&fid=34736&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FChannelN-PodcastsPoweredByOdiogo%2F%7E3%2Fl0BK2Ajw0cE%2Fcelebrity-recovery.html [Image by Aaron Webb] McLean Honors Lee and Bob Woodruff Lee Woodruff, author and contributing editor at Good Morning America, speaks about her experience with depression and anxiety after her husband Bob Woodruff acquired a traumatic brain injury (TBI) in Iraq. The couple received a McLean Award for “…exceptional courage facing psychological challenges after a traumatic brain injury, for their efforts to further public understanding of brain illness, and for fighting to reduce the stigma of mental illness.” (Source: Channel N) Channel N blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2523485 Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:00:51 +0100 2523485 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2447731&cid=t_108273_111_f&fid=36048&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAHeartyLife%2F%7E3%2FdkmS2HFb70o%2F Pelvic health awareness may not be something people talk about very often, but it’s an important - vital - part of women’s health. Ranging from uncomfortable menstrual cramps to gynecological cancers, we can’t afford to ignore the areas “below the belt.” To draw attention to pelvic health awareness, in particular urinary incontinence, Poise has launched its second annual Poise Passion Award. Do you know a woman who has overcome a pelvic problem, who is inspirational, who deserves to be recognized? If so, you can nominate her to be like Linda Michaels , Poise’s 2008 Passion Award winner. A Survivor and Pelvic Floor Champion is a woman who has overcome pelvic conditions, like light bladder leakage, through personal effort and has found strength through p... A Hearty Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2447731 Mon, 01 Jun 2009 21:36:36 +0100 2447731 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2447477&cid=t_108273_87_f&fid=35052&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FWomensBioethicsBlog%2F%7E3%2FllVkJMiIB-I%2Fexcellencve-in-inter-american-health.html The Pan American Health and Education Foundation (PAHEF) (www.pahef.org/awards/)is pleased to announce the extension of the deadline for the 2009 Call for Nominations of the Awards for Excellence in Inter-American Public Health Program to Monday, June 1, 2009, 5:00 p.m. Washington DC time.The foundation is proud to administer this joint program with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). This program started in 1975 with the creation of the Abraham Horwitz Award for Leadership in Inter-American Health. Recipients of each award are recognized with a certificate of honor, a monetary award, and a paid trip to Washington DC.Again, the deadline for submission of nominations for the five awards is now Monday, June, 1, 2009, 5:00 p.m. Washington DC time.Abraham Horwitz Award for Leadership ... Women's Bioethics Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2447477 Mon, 01 Jun 2009 12:47:14 +0100 2447477 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2441219&cid=t_108273_87_f&fid=35052&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FWomensBioethicsBlog%2F%7E3%2FllVkJMiIB-I%2Fexcellencve-in-inter-american-health.html The Pan American Health and Education Foundation (PAHEF) (www.pahef.org/awards/)is pleased to announce the extension of the deadline for the 2009 Call for Nominations of the Awards for Excellence in Inter-American Public Health Program to Monday, June 1, 2009, 5:00 p.m. Washington DC time.The foundation is proud to administer this joint program with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). This program started in 1975 with the creation of the Abraham Horwitz Award for Leadership in Inter-American Health. Recipients of each award are recognized with a certificate of honor, a monetary award, and a paid trip to Washington DC.Again, the deadline for submission of nominations for the five awards is now Monday, June, 1, 2009, 5:00 p.m. Washington DC time.Abraham Horwitz Award for Leadership ... Women's Bioethics Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2441219 Fri, 22 May 2009 17:12:45 +0100 2441219 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2774807&cid=t_108273_130_f&fid=38947&url=http%3A%2F%2Frealpt.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F05%2Fevidence-based-rehab-named-in-list-of.html E vidence Base Rehab has recently been named one of the top 51 physical therapy resources on the web. I appreciate the recognition Ownward Healthcare has given this blog. You can find the full list on their website here.Surprisingly absent from the "Blog" list is Mike Reinold's great blog. Make sure you visit his blog. He has currently begun a series on Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome.Jason L. Harris (Source: Evidence Based Rehab) Evidence Based Rehab blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2774807 Wed, 13 May 2009 01:27:00 +0100 2774807 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2398780&cid=t_108273_107_f&fid=35026&url=http%3A%2F%2Fphylogenomics.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F05%2Fopen-access-pioneer-award-bob-shafer.html Bob Shafer, an Associate Professor at Stanford, is fighting to make information about HIV freely available. He runs a database called HIVDB that aims to make information about HIV drug resistance available to the broader community. And he has been doing this for years (note - I worked with Bob when I was a PhD student and he was getting HIVDB started - we even wrote a paper together where I helped him do some phylogenetic analysis of HIV). For that alone, Bob deserves an Open Access Pioneer award. But I am giving him one here for a fight he has taken on recently.You see, a company called Advanced Biological Laboratories, S.A has been suing Shafer and Stanford over a patent dispute. The company seems to be trying to claim to have rights over many (or maybe they think all) uses of using comp... The Tree of Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2398780 Sat, 09 May 2009 08:57:00 +0100 2398780 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2510972&cid=t_108273_107_f&fid=35026&url=http%3A%2F%2Fphylogenomics.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F05%2Fworst-new-omics-award-ethomics.html We present a camera-based method for automatically quantifying the individual and social behaviors of fruit flies, Drosophila melanogaster, interacting in a planar arena. Our system includes machine-vision algorithms that accurately track many individuals without swapping identities and classification algorithms that detect behaviors. The data may be represented as an ethogram that plots the time course of behaviors exhibited by each fly or as a vector that concisely captures the statistical properties of all behaviors displayed in a given period. We found that behavioral differences between individuals were consistent over time and were sufficient to accurately predict gender and genotype. In addition, we found that the relative positions of flies during social interactions vary according... The Tree of Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2510972 Tue, 05 May 2009 05:37:00 +0100 2510972 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2389881&cid=t_108273_107_f&fid=35026&url=http%3A%2F%2Fphylogenomics.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F05%2Fworst-new-omics-award-ethomics.html We present a camera-based method for automatically quantifying the individual and social behaviors of fruit flies, Drosophila melanogaster, interacting in a planar arena. Our system includes machine-vision algorithms that accurately track many individuals without swapping identities and classification algorithms that detect behaviors. The data may be represented as an ethogram that plots the time course of behaviors exhibited by each fly or as a vector that concisely captures the statistical properties of all behaviors displayed in a given period. We found that behavioral differences between individuals were consistent over time and were sufficient to accurately predict gender and genotype. In addition, we found that the relative positions of flies during social interactions vary according... The Tree of Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2389881 Tue, 05 May 2009 05:37:00 +0100 2389881 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2382536&cid=t_108273_107_f&fid=35026&url=http%3A%2F%2Fphylogenomics.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F05%2Fopen-access-pioneer-award-rick.html Just saw an interesting article in the UC Davis "Dateline" newsletter about Rick Prelinger who is the founder of the Prelinger Library in San Francisco (and see their blog here). He gave a talk at Davis and thus they wrote an article about him here.Some good lines from the article includeRick Prelinger’s biggest thrill is “mainstreaming" historical documents for public consumption.But getting history into the hands of the average citizen is no easy task, the archivist says. Overbearing copyright issues and rampant commercialism, he argues, threaten the free exchange of information on which a knowledge society — especially its libraries — depends....Rather than concern themselves with rigid lending policies or copyright protections, library systems should focus on “more product, l... The Tree of Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2382536 Fri, 01 May 2009 18:25:00 +0100 2382536 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2348382&cid=t_108273_107_f&fid=35026&url=http%3A%2F%2Fphylogenomics.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F04%2Ftwisted-tree-of-life-award-4-hoxful.html Nothing gets me more riled up in evolutionary writings than the use of the term primitive to describe organisms on a "deep" branch in an evolutionary tree. Thus for the following treemany people would refer to Species 1 as a primitive organism solely on the basis of this tree. In fact, I just saw this in the Hoxful Monsters blog (see here) where it says:In April 2008, Cassey dunn et el published their famous phylogenomics work in Nature, which placed Ctenophores at the base of the tree making them most primitive animal on Earth. Before that work Sponges were considered as first animals to branch off from rest of the animals and hence occupied a most basal position in the tree of animals for long time. However, some months later another phylogenomics study carried out by Bernd Schierwater e... The Tree of Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2348382 Sun, 12 Apr 2009 15:11:00 +0100 2348382 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2312683&cid=t_108273_107_f&fid=35026&url=http%3A%2F%2Fphylogenomics.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F04%2Ftwisted-tree-of-life-award-3-columbus.html Was browsing Twitter and I saw one post that caught my eye. @MicrobeWorld, which by the way, rocks, wroteA microbe that is as old as dirt could one day help keep radioactive metals out of our drinking water http://bitly.com/15l9mRThis caught my eye because, well, I study radiation resistance some of the time and the "old as dirt" statement seemed weird.The article being referred to was in the Columbus Dispatch (The Columbus Dispatch : Tricking toxins) and it was about some interesting work on Shewanella by Brian Lower and others from Ohio State. The work involves using one particular species of Shewanella for bioremediation of radiative waste. The problem however is in the lead in to the article. This is painful to me. It saysA microbe that is as old as dirt could one day help keep radioac... The Tree of Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2312683 Wed, 08 Apr 2009 02:48:00 +0100 2312683 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2212758&cid=t_108273_88_f&fid=38203&url=http%3A%2F%2Fprecordialthump.medbrains.net%2F2009%2F02%2F24%2Fand-the-winner-is%2F prn penguin!!! That’s right, the event that cast a long shadow over the recent Oscar awards has come to a close. And, with the counting of votes completed and checked and rechecked, we can see that prn penguin has deservedly been crowned the inaugural winner of the Australian Medical Blog Award (2009). An excerpt from the gracious acceptance speech of this “sometimes irritatingly enthusiastic RN”: Finally a thank you to the other medical bloggers out there. This award process has opened my eyes to a few Australian blogs that I was unaware of. Now I’ve seen some pretty self-indulgent, crappy blogs before - honestly, who gives a rat’s arse about your back porch renovations - but there are some great health blogs out there. Some offer humour. Some offer education. Some ... AEQUANIMITAS blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2212758 Tue, 24 Feb 2009 09:36:05 +0100 2212758 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2207435&cid=t_108273_88_f&fid=38129&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsandnsurf.medbrains.net%2F2009%2F02%2Faustralian-medical-blog-award-2009%2F   Congratulations to PRN Penguin on being awarded the inaugural and highly coveted Australian Medical Blog Award for 2009. Victory is sweet with PRN Penguin being awarded a fabulous book pack donated by Sitepoint and have the honor of placing the magnificent blog award icon on the medical blog! Thanks to @DrCris from AppleQuack for hosting the awards [...] (Source: Life in the Fast Lane) Life in the Fast Lane blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2207435 Tue, 24 Feb 2009 03:08:38 +0100 2207435 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2170626&cid=t_108273_88_f&fid=38203&url=http%3A%2F%2Fprecordialthump.medbrains.net%2F2009%2F02%2F09%2Faussie-medical-blog-awards%2F Well, I’ve extracted myself from beneath the Sri Lankan rock I’ve been hiding under for the last month. Now I’m in freezing Lancashire following a mad-cap rush to the Northern Hemisphere. I found out the old man picked up a mystery illness in Angola and was (eventually - but that’s another story…) admitted under the loving care of the NHS. He’s on the mend now - there’s nothing a “she’ll be right” attitude can’t overcome - and because it’s too cold to go anywhere, I’ve found myself back in front of a computer. Firstly, I’d like to send my regards to all those back in Australia affected by the terrible bushfires - a truly shocking Saturday. Kia Kaha to all my Australian friends. Secondly, to my surprise I&#8... AEQUANIMITAS blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2170626 Mon, 09 Feb 2009 10:48:22 +0100 2170626 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2131938&cid=t_108273_88_f&fid=38129&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsandnsurf.medbrains.net%2F2009%2F01%2Fmedgadget-medical-blog-awards-2008%2F A big, big thank you to all those who voted in the recent Medgadget 2008 Medical Weblog Awards. To be nominated for an award was an a huge compliment, and to win was a great honor - but an honor that must be shared with ALL MedBloggers - those individuals who take time out of their [...] (Source: Life in the Fast Lane) Life in the Fast Lane blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2131938 Sun, 25 Jan 2009 12:42:38 +0100 2131938 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2117329&cid=t_108273_88_f&fid=38129&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsandnsurf.medbrains.net%2F2009%2F01%2Fgolden-llama-award-the-gla%2F It is with honor that I accept the Golden Llama Award from @Doc_Rob of ‘Musings of a distractible Mind‘. Unfortunatley I was unable to place in the ‘medical verse‘ category - and was instead given the award ‘postbribulously’ - and for that I am humbled Lastly, I have to recognize a buddy from the Twitter world, @Sandnsurf. [...] (Source: Life in the Fast Lane) Life in the Fast Lane blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2117329 Tue, 20 Jan 2009 01:00:47 +0100 2117329 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2107714&cid=t_108273_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2009%2F01%2F15%2Fjed-foundation-award-for-college-students%2F Are you a college student who suffers from a mental disorder or otherwise is impacted by a mental health issue in your life? Do you like to post videos to YouTube? Well, we have the award for you! Eman Rimawi from the Jed Foundation wrote us to tell us about their Voice of Mental Health Award for college students: Hi. I’m writing from The Jed Foundation which works nationally to reduce the rate of suicide and the prevalence of emotional distress among college and university students. We are presenting The Jerry Greenspan Student Voice of Mental Health Award for college students who have had mental health issues like the one’s you write about on your site and wanted for you to help spread the word. The award is for a video on their experiences with mental health issues and how they ... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2107714 Fri, 16 Jan 2009 00:31:04 +0100 2107714 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2107781&cid=t_108273_107_f&fid=35026&url=http%3A%2F%2Fphylogenomics.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F01%2Fworst-new-omics-word-award-museomics.html OK.  So I coined my my omics word many years ago (phylogenomics).  Fine.  Sue me.  But the spread of omics words is getting really icky.  And a new one really seems lame.  The word is "museomics"which I saw for the first time in a press release today from Cold Spring Harbor Press about a paper in Genome Research. I mean, the study of the Tasmanian Tiger seems like it could be interesting (have not read the paper) and there is some really fun stuff happening these days using Roche/454 sequencing. But meseomics?  Not to disparage museums which are critical to all of biology in my opinion.  But to me the term in a way treats museums as simply a place we store organisms before we get DNA out of them.  For this, the team at Penn St. that led this project and apparently coined the te... The Tree of Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2107781 Thu, 15 Jan 2009 10:02:00 +0100 2107781 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2102383&cid=t_108273_88_f&fid=38129&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsandnsurf.medbrains.net%2F2009%2F01%2Fblogs-rankings-and-rounds%2F Being new to the MedBlog (Medical WebLog) arena it has taken a while for me to find my blogging feet. Thankfully there are some very handy and helpful articles for newbie MedBloggers, and in this post I attempt to synergistically collate some of the great resources that I have gathered during my foundling submersion in [...] (Source: Life in the Fast Lane) Life in the Fast Lane blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2102383 Wed, 14 Jan 2009 04:04:47 +0100 2102383 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2085007&cid=t_108273_88_f&fid=38129&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsandnsurf.medbrains.net%2F2009%2F01%2Fmedblog-awards-2008-with-medgadget%2F The polls are now open in the Fifth Annual Medical Weblog Awards. These awards are designed to showcase the best blogs from the medical blogosphere, and to highlight the exciting and useful role medical blogs play in medicine and in society. Best Medical Weblog (Vote here..) Clinical Cases and Images Clinical Correlations The Health Care Blog Kevin, M.D. WSJ [...] (Source: Life in the Fast Lane) Life in the Fast Lane blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2085007 Wed, 07 Jan 2009 07:59:49 +0100 2085007 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2056176&cid=t_108273_140_f&fid=35439&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbipolarsoupkitchen-stephany.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F12%2Fhoy-new-blog-award-of-excellence.html (Source: soulful sepulcher) soulful sepulcher blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2056176 Mon, 22 Dec 2008 07:42:00 +0100 2056176 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2034532&cid=t_108273_88_f&fid=38129&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsandnsurf.medbrains.net%2F2008%2F12%2F2008-medical-weblog-awards%2F Get your nominations in for the 2008 Medical Weblog Awards. Hosted at Medgadget.com this is the fifth year of the competition - designed to showcase the best blogs from the medical blogosphere, and to highlight the exciting and useful role medical blogs play in medicine and in society. Categories and Current Nominees Best Medical Blog Best New Medical Blog (est. [...] (Source: Life in the Fast Lane) Life in the Fast Lane blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2034532 Sat, 13 Dec 2008 15:52:01 +0100 2034532 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2019566&cid=t_108273_88_f&fid=38203&url=http%3A%2F%2Fprecordialthump.medbrains.net%2F2008%2F12%2F02%2Fmore-kreativ-blogging%2F Thanks to Life In The Fast Lane for passing on the Kreativ Blogger baton. First up, here are six things that make me happy right now: 1. My wife! 2. My family - my parents are coming from Angola and the UK to visit me in Australia very soon! 3. Medicine - I’m a clinical toxicology registrar, I get to help people over the phone through the Poisons Information Centre - it’s great! 4. The late Douglas Adams - for instance, the beginning of “The Restaurant at the End of the Universe“: The story so far: In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move. Many races believe that it was created by some sort of god, though the Jatravartid people of Viltvodle VI believe that the entire Universe was in f... AEQUANIMITAS blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2019566 Tue, 02 Dec 2008 16:19:45 +0100 2019566 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2000169&cid=t_108273_88_f&fid=38129&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsandnsurf.medbrains.net%2F2008%2F11%2Fkreativ-blogger-award%2F Thanks to Scalpels Edge who has just given me the Kreativ Blogger Award! Each winner of the award gets to list six things he or she is happy about. Kids - when everything around you falls apart, they stand by you - resolute to the end Literature - collated ramblings assist to disambiguate The end of Movember - a great [...] (Source: Life in the Fast Lane) Life in the Fast Lane blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2000169 Sun, 30 Nov 2008 12:27:23 +0100 2000169 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1976125&cid=t_108273_101_f&fid=36535&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbackboardsandbandaids.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F11%2Fyay.html I got an award! Thanks, RM!He said, "She writes on all sorts of subjects, in all sorts of styles, but mostly a bit indignant of the abuses of the medical system. Occasionally, she will write something that makes you just stop and cry. She understands pain far too well for her age. She makes it clear that she is not the uncaring person the trolls imagine. Not that trolls are capable of understanding a complex and intelligent person."I'm touched. (Source: Backboards and Bandaids, Papers and Projects...) Backboards and Bandaids, Papers and Projects... blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1976125 Thu, 20 Nov 2008 21:37:00 +0100 1976125 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1977373&cid=t_108273_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F11%2F21%2Fthe-kreativ-blogger-award%2F Thanks to How to Cope with Pain who has just given me the Kreativ Blogger Award! Each winner of the award gets to list six things he or she is happy about. Now that’s a pleasure! It’s Friday, so I get to hunt out Friday Funnies (coming up later today). My cat is sitting on the end of my bed, and I’m blogging in bed (and it’s 8.15 in the morning!) - she’s turned away from me because I kicked her off the newspaper while I was trying to read it.  Why do they sit right in the middle of the newspaper?!  She’s gorgeous, and has the most amazing purr. I have some beautiful roses in the garden at the moment, and they smell divine. I have the luxury of being able to ‘do academic’ today and write, which I absolutely love. I’m returning my libr... HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1977373 Thu, 20 Nov 2008 19:30:34 +0100 1977373 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1955299&cid=t_108273_107_f&fid=35026&url=http%3A%2F%2Fphylogenomics.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F11%2Funderselling-genomics-award-1-david.html I do not normally write too much here about non Open Access publications but this one is so good I had to. Everyone with access to Trends in Microbiology should check out Julian Parkhill's rebuttal to an article written by David Whitworth in the same issue. Whitworth's article is "Genomes and knowledge – a questionable relationship? " and it is in my opinion, filled with some unsuppoerted and over the top statements. In essence, he is arguing that we should stop genome sequencing because there are a bunch of genomes out there already and after all, all that matters is work on model organisms so if you have enough genomes related to your model organism you should move on. Alas I do not have time to detail them here. But fortunately, Parkhill does a great job of responding in his article T... The Tree of Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1955299 Wed, 12 Nov 2008 18:15:00 +0100 1955299 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1952957&cid=t_108273_105_f&fid=36987&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FIvorKovicMd%2F%7E3%2F449620703%2F TIME magazine picked top 50 innovations of 2008. Among them there are some related to medicine. 1. The Retail DNA Test 14. The Bionic Hand 21. The Synthetic Organism 24. Bionic Contacts 33. Biomechanical Energy Harvester 50. A Camera For the Blind (Source: Ivor Kovic, M.D.) Ivor Kovic, M.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1952957 Tue, 11 Nov 2008 15:04:41 +0100 1952957 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1947172&cid=t_108273_132_f&fid=35028&url=http%3A%2F%2Flurena.vox.com%2Flibrary%2Fpost%2Fcongratulations-to-the-newcastle-uni-igem-team-2008.html%3F_c%3Dfeed-rss Congratulations, Bug Busters! You didn't just get a gold star, you got a gold award! Though I was not involved, many of my friends were part of the Newcastle University iGEM 2008 team, either as supervisors or students. You can read more on the N... Read and post comments | Send to a friend (Source: Systems Biology & Bioinformatics) Systems Biology & Bioinformatics blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1947172 Mon, 10 Nov 2008 09:49:53 +0100 1947172 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1945330&cid=t_108273_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F1OFCp_naTJE%2F My son’s toy preferences have always been straightforward and basic. Things made out of wood, with strong colors, minimal “special features,” certain textures, have all along been favored. Gizmos aren’t Charlie. While he’s been very glad to be in possession of two Leapsters (one beat up and not really working, the other still kind of newish), carrying them around and keeping them with him seems as or more important than pushing the buttons and looking at the little screen and playing the games. So it makes sense to me that a stick was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame. Few playthings can be more basic and readily found in one’s own frontyard. Simplex munditis, yes. Tags: asd, asperger, autism, autism blog, award, Baby, colors, Diagnosis, disabi... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1945330 Sat, 08 Nov 2008 21:09:44 +0100 1945330 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1927858&cid=t_108273_133_f&fid=35129&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwhitterer-autism.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F11%2Fsunday-perfect-post-award-for-october.html Please scroll down for Magic Marker Best Shot MondayThe perfect post award is hosted by Lindsay at "Suburban Turmoil" and Kimberley at "Petroville."These days most people have at least heard of autism. The subject seems to be in the news media every day and there are always those stories of Autistic Savants with their staggeringly unique talents. Otherwise, the news tends to be of the ‘one off good time touchy feely’ type of story or the ‘gloom, doom and despondency’ woefulness that shoots fear into the hearts of the general public.The every day kind of autism, doesn’t get quite as much attention as it is not considered ‘newsworthy.’ That said, there are any number of families all over the world who live with the day to day nature of special needs and autism. Most of these ta... Whitterer on Autism blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1927858 Mon, 03 Nov 2008 07:59:00 +0100 1927858 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1870888&cid=t_108273_107_f&fid=35026&url=http%3A%2F%2Fphylogenomics.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F10%2Fopen-science-pioneer-award-douglas.html There is a touching and fascinating story in the Cape Cod Times about Douglas Prasher who used to work at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. In the 1960s he did some of the pioneering work on GFP (the discovery of which was why Osamu Shimomura, Roger Tsein and Martin Chalfie were given the Nobel Prize in Chemistry this year). Prasher had cloned the gene for GFP but his research funds ran out and he stopped working on GFP (he is currently living in Huntsville Alabama and working as a shuttle driver for a car dealership).His pioneering work was critical to the later work on GFP and one of the nobel winner Martin Chalfie says"Prasher's work was critical and essential for the work we did in our lab," Chalfie said. "They could've easily given the prize to Douglas and the other two and left me ... The Tree of Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1870888 Sat, 11 Oct 2008 14:49:00 +0100 1870888 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1868491&cid=t_108273_113_f&fid=34625&url=http%3A%2F%2Fclinicalit.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F10%2Fdavies-award-winners.html I just got the word from HIMSS about the 2008 Davies Award winners. Eastern Maine Medical Center, Bangor, Maine, is the only organizational winner this year.Palm Beach (Fla.) Obstetrics and Gynecology, Oklahoma Arthritis Center, Edmond, Okla., and Cardiology Consultants of Philadelphia won HIMSS Ambulatory Davies Awards of Excellence.For the first time, HIMSS added a Davies Community Health Award this year. Four organizations took home those honors: The Columbia Basin Health Association in Othello, Wash.; the White River Rural Health Center, Augusta, Ark.; the New York Children's Health Project, supported by the Children's Health Fund; and the Community Health Access Network in Newmarket, N.H.HIMSS previously announced that the Cherokee Indian Hospital Authority in Cherokee, N.C., and the ... Neil Versel's Healthcare IT Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1868491 Fri, 10 Oct 2008 14:38:00 +0100 1868491 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1851052&cid=t_108273_107_f&fid=35026&url=http%3A%2F%2Fphylogenomics.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F10%2Fopen-access-pioneer-award-4-carl.html This is not about science but I think this guy deserves an award.  I just read an interesting and funny story in the S.F. Chronicle (Sebastopol man puts code manuals online) by Matthew Stannard about Carl Malamud who has been putting building codes, plumbing codes and other codes online at Public.Resource.Org.Basically, he is doing this because many of the codes are only available for a fee.  He says"Not everybody is going to read the building code, but everybody who wants to should be able to without putting 100 bucks in the slot," Malamud said. "Primary legal materials are America's operating system."And though his work has been questioned by some (who would like to make money off of the codes) he appears to be on solid legal ground. "It's very clear in American law that you can't ge... The Tree of Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1851052 Fri, 03 Oct 2008 17:17:00 +0100 1851052 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1847982&cid=t_108273_107_f&fid=35026&url=http%3A%2F%2Fphylogenomics.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F10%2Ftwisted-tree-of-life-award-2-science.html Well, I love Science Friday. I listen to podcasts of it now almost every day when I bike to work. It is a brilliant show, covering a wide range of science and science related topics in depth. Plus it is freely downloadable in a variety of formats. And they have a great website too. But every once in a while they get something a bit wrong. Yesterday, on my way home from a new introductory biology class we are teaching at Davis on "The Tree of Life" (which I will write more about later), I was listening to a Science Friday about Fungi (Science Friday Archives: The Fabulous Fungi). And unfortunately, in the introduction, Joe Palca started off with a pretty outdated discussion of the tree of life.When you ask people to name the kingdoms, most people get the big ones, animals, plants, bacteria.... The Tree of Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1847982 Thu, 02 Oct 2008 14:56:00 +0100 1847982 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1829162&cid=t_108273_150_f&fid=34889&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpharmamkting.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F09%2Fwhat-i-saw-at-doctors-choice-awards.html I spent yesterday in New York City attending the 2008 Doctors' Choice Awards ceremony at the posh Palace Hotel (see my previous post about the awards: "Drug Ads from the Doctor's Perspective").The surrounding area looked like the Green Zone in Baghdad: concrete barricades, police in riot gear, black SUVs, and secret service agents all over the place. No, all this security wasn't for the protection of Doctors' Choice award winners. Nor was it was to protect the rich denizens of the upper east side/Park Avenue neighborhood from rioting middle class workers whose life savings were about to be appropriated in the bailout of Wall Street. It was merely related to activity going on at the UN.Anyway, I was dressed in my best suit and passed through all the security unnoticed as I slipped into the ... Pharma Marketing Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1829162 Thu, 25 Sep 2008 11:17:00 +0100 1829162 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1826909&cid=t_108273_105_f&fid=36987&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FIvorKovicMd%2F%7E3%2F401675975%2F I woke up this morning only to find the following message in my inbox: Hey ikovic! Your slideshow Examining the Medical Blogosphere: An Online Survey of Medical Bloggers has been featured on the SlideShare homepage by our editorial team. Cheers, - the SlideShare team What a great way to start a day. Thanks to everybody who whatched the slideshow. If you still haven’t, check it out on SlideShare. (Source: Ivor Kovic, M.D.) Ivor Kovic, M.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1826909 Wed, 24 Sep 2008 10:27:40 +0100 1826909 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1809837&cid=t_108273_133_f&fid=35129&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwhitterer-autism.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F09%2Fproximidade-award.html Please scroll down for the photo carnival andThursday 13 = Homework strategies"Kristie" over at "Life with My X Men" has very kindly passed this delightful "award" to me. Thank you so much for thinking of me! I shall be consulting "senior daughter" regarding an accurate translation for persons such as myself who are linguistically challenged. After 18 months in Mozambique, speaking nothing but "Portuguese" we might be in luck. I wonder what I can bribe "her" with? Actually that quite easy as she's the only one who responds very positively to food!I don't think that there any rules with this one, anything for the easy life! So this one goes to "Mama MPJ" over at "A Room of Mama's Own," although I'm hoping she'll consider sub-lets.Moving on........"Mama Mara" who blogs at the very aptly name... Whitterer on Autism blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1809837 Sat, 20 Sep 2008 06:00:00 +0100 1809837 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1806288&cid=t_108273_150_f&fid=34889&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpharmamkting.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F09%2Fdrug-ads-from-doctors-perspective.html While I often report on pharmaceutical print ads targeted to consumers (see, for example, "Print DTC: How Does It Measure Up?" [free]) I don't have direct access to print ads that doctors are subjected to (ie, professional print ads that appear in medical journals). But now -- thanks to the folks at the Association of Medical Media (AMM) -- I have a chance to view the drug ads that doctors like the best.Yes, dear reader, I'm off to yet another awards ceremony in New York -- The Doctors' Choice (TDC) awards ceremony at the Palace Hotel on September 24, 2008. If you are there (see the ad in the left hand column), be sure to say hello and perhaps meet me for a drink at the fancy-schmancy hotel bar.Thanks AMM for the invite, free lunch, and especially the preview of the ads that you sent me.Th... Pharma Marketing Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1806288 Thu, 18 Sep 2008 12:06:00 +0100 1806288 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1886259&cid=t_108273_97_f&fid=34618&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmHouse%2F%7E3%2FW_NCugQVVUI%2Fakira-endo-wins-lasker-2008-american.html Akira Endo, a Japanese biochemist won the Lasker award for 2008 with four others. Akira is the scientist who discovered an LDL lowering fungi which led to the discovery of statins. He is currently acting as the director of Biopharm research laboratories.We had written in one of our earlier post that Akira Endo deserves a Nobel. He got a Lasker today. Statistics shows 75 of Lasker awardees have gone on to win the Nobel. I am hopeful of my predictions coming true sooner.Seeji (Source: Pharm House) Pharm House blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1886259 Mon, 15 Sep 2008 11:58:00 +0100 1886259 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1790354&cid=t_108273_133_f&fid=35129&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwhitterer-autism.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F09%2Frecent-jolly-good-comment.html Please scroll down for photohunters and SOOCI meant to post this last week, but time ran away with me.I still struggle to juggle, hence 'comment of the week award.' [Inspired by "Scribbit."]This week it goes to "Jade" from "The Mixed up Thoughts of a Jaded soul" for her comment [on the old blog = when will she ever learn!] on the "Photo Friday" post which for some reason best known to someone that I do not know, accidentally became posted on Wednesday! Oopsie.She says that the baby-rattle-whistle:-'It could also be used as a spouse repellent! LOL blow it and shake it enough and they'll keep their distance! hehehe'and somehow that just tickled my funny bone!Poor spouse!Meanwhile, you could always nip along to "Trixie" on her post "here" to make her feel truly ancient. Just say something in ... Whitterer on Autism blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1790354 Sun, 14 Sep 2008 06:21:00 +0100 1790354 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1788759&cid=t_108273_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FDMhwDk2cltA%2F Coming your way………Causecast, “a powerful online social medium that connects nonprofits, leaders, brands and individuals to those who want to make a positive impact on the world,” according to a press release. Already a Featured Leader is Generation Rescue board member Jenny McCarthy who has “long been a vigilant fighter in the search for a cure for autism”: A year or so is a “long” time?—sorry, being a teacher and translator of Latin and ancient Greek who is married to an American historian, I have a slightly different definition of “long.” I do know, I’m in it for the long run with Charlie, and autism. Share This (Source: Autism Vox) Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1788759 Sat, 13 Sep 2008 00:25:36 +0100 1788759 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1786069&cid=t_108273_85_f&fid=36194&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftesstermulo.com%2F2008%2F09%2F11%2Fits-about-time-the-filipino-voices-be-heard-and-recognized%2F The Philippine Blog Awards, a project that started late 2006 and had its first awarding ceremony in 2007, was conceptualized to enable recognition of Filipino-owned blogs that generates quality content, reflective of the Filipino talent, in their respective niches. And what better blog to choose to represent a growing Filipino blog community than a blog that gives you several glimpses on the minds of Filipinos?  Of a blog that can bring to the table a sole topic for discussion and yet, present so many views, all willfully and reasonably argued?  What better blog to choose than a blog that has utilized the power of words to further improve the dynamics of an ever-growing community of Filipino bloggers?  And what about the not so occasional verbose skirmishes that only proves that the blo... Prudence and Madness blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1786069 Wed, 10 Sep 2008 17:04:56 +0100 1786069 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1779308&cid=t_108273_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F9Ap8p0qbpXQ%2F Seems a band called Elbow has won the Nationwide Mercury Prize—-a “staple of UK music accolade-giving since 1992“—-for its album The Seldom Seen Kid. Considering the attention devoted by some “autism activists” (Safe Minds etc.) to the belief that vaccines or something in vaccines, like the mercury-based preservative thimerosal, can be linked to autism, there would indeed be some competition for, I don’t know, “most mad about mercury” and “best talking about detoxing autism.” Jenny McCarthy—now starting up a lifestyle line of non-toxic products—would be a fair contender, as would Evidence of Harm author David Kirby who has again and again “rebranded autism”—-renaming it vaccine-transmitted mercu... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1779308 Wed, 10 Sep 2008 07:35:41 +0100 1779308 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1779300&cid=t_108273_107_f&fid=35026&url=http%3A%2F%2Fphylogenomics.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F09%2Fopen-access-pioneer-award-3-joe-derisi.html So I was reading the web page of WTOP radio, which I used to listen to all the time in DC and somehow still have their page near the top of my bookmarks. And there was a headline I could not resist. It said: "Malaria Researcher Wins Heinz Award." As I know a few people studying malaria here and there I had to check it out. And indeed, one of the winners of the award is Joe Derisi, from UCSF, who I know reasonably well and like very much. I am very pleased to see him win one of these Heinz AwardsThe Heinz Site says "Joseph DeRisi receives the Heinz Award in Technology, the Economy and Employment for his extraordinary breakthroughs in detecting both new and existing viruses."In addition to his science they say"Joseph DeRisi has made breakthrough discoveries in the laboratory that have provid... The Tree of Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1779300 Wed, 10 Sep 2008 02:04:00 +0100 1779300 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1750373&cid=t_108273_129_f&fid=35709&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FUniqueButNotAlone%2F%7E3%2F379764755%2Ffor-lisa-singing-in-rain-award.html Having been the recipient of a very special award called the Singing in the Rain Award from Childlife at In the Life of a Child, I knew I would eventually pass it on to a very deserving parent.... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] (Source: Unique But Not Alone) Unique But Not Alone blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1750373 Sun, 31 Aug 2008 16:10:00 +0100 1750373 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1738932&cid=t_108273_113_f&fid=34625&url=http%3A%2F%2Fclinicalit.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F08%2Fdavies-public-health-winners.html I've just gotten the news that the Cherokee Indian Hospital Authority in Cherokee, N.C., and the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services have won the 2008 Nicholas E. Davies Public Health Awards of Excellence.The Cherokee Indian Hospital Authority, part of the Indian Health Service, does not have its own Web site, but I did find one presentation that might shed some light on the IT work being done there. For info on the Davies Awards, click here.On an unrelated topic, check out the op-ed piece in Tuesday's Christian Science Monitor by Sue Blevins of the Institute for Health Freedom, where she calls for Congress to scrap HIPAA and pass a new health privacy law. (Source: Neil Versel's Healthcare IT Blog) Neil Versel's Healthcare IT Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1738932 Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:55:00 +0100 1738932 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1734056&cid=t_108273_107_f&fid=35026&url=http%3A%2F%2Fphylogenomics.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F08%2Ftwisted-tree-of-life-award-1-salk.html I am starting a new award here --- for people or sites that do something silly in regard to the "Tree of Life" but should know better. That is, this is for scientists or sciency sites that do something unseemly with the Tree of Life. And the first award goes to the Salk Institute for their press release relating to a paper on kinases in single celled choanoflagellates (OK - the pres release is a month and a half old but I was out sick - and I drafted this 7/8/08). In the press release, which discusses a PNAS paper by Gerard Manning and colleagues (Manning does some really great comparative work on kinases and helped me look at kinases in a few genomes such as that of Tetrahymena thermophila). I note - it seems Manning or someone has paid the OA fee for this paper so anyone can read it.The... The Tree of Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1734056 Tue, 26 Aug 2008 18:26:00 +0100 1734056 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1734059&cid=t_108273_107_f&fid=35026&url=http%3A%2F%2Fphylogenomics.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F08%2Fopen-access-pioneer-award-2-r-preston.html Great article in the LA Times on August 18 by Gale Holland about "Free digital textbooks." (see Free digital texts begin to challenge costly college textbooks in California)The article discussed some issues in open source textbook publishing including in particular R. Preston McAfee's work on creating a free online economics textbook. McAfee is a professor at Caltech and is a self described right winger."I'm a right-wing economist, so they can't call me a communist," McAfee said.And he goes on to say"What makes us rich as a society is what we know and what we can do," he said. "Anything that stands in the way of the dissemination of knowledge is a real problem."The article discussed other open source educational materials including:Merlot, from Cal. St. Universities which is a "a searchabl... The Tree of Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1734059 Mon, 25 Aug 2008 20:17:00 +0100 1734059 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1730725&cid=t_108273_133_f&fid=35129&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwhitterer-autism.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F08%2Fi-love-your-blog-award.html "Leech babe" over at "Stuff with Thing"The rules of the award are:1. The winner can put the logo on her blog.2. Link the person you received your award from.3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.4. Put links of those blogs on yours.5. Leave a message on the blogs of those you’ve nominatedI love lots of blogs......um......is that a surprise?Anyway, due to excessive amounts of summer holidays and lots of spare bodies flopping about all over the place, I have be far too neglectful.I have to be careful about this one, as although there are lots of blogs that I read, some of them are a bit rude. It would be just my luck to link to someone who chooses that day to be extra rude, and then where would I be!I feel a fit of the vapours coming on just at the mere thought of such a possibility.I think I... Whitterer on Autism blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1730725 Sat, 23 Aug 2008 17:40:00 +0100 1730725 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1726420&cid=t_108273_133_f&fid=35129&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwhitterer-autism.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F08%2Fcomment-of-week-award_22.html [Inspired by "Scribbit."]This week goes to "Kathryn" from the "fritters family" from the very aptly named "Seeking Sanity," for her comment on the post called "Well I Never" where she commented as follows:-'HAHAHA!!! I often catch myself telling the boys no for a reason that makes little sense. My boys must think I'm crazy! ;)'because really, we're all in the same club.If you are currently reaching the end of your summer holidays and need a last quick dash to somewhere watery, you can check out her charming post "here," called "The Rosy glow of summer," although I have no idea what the 'psf' means?And if you need a "visual" giggle, nip along to this "site." Very topical what with the rain in England and the Olympics.Additional giggles can be found over at "Jayne's" site "Our Great Southern... Whitterer on Autism blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1726420 Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:51:00 +0100 1726420 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1709283&cid=t_108273_133_f&fid=35129&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwhitterer-autism.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F08%2Fcomment-of-week-award.html [Inspired by "Scribbit."]The 'week' is a bit wobbly at the moment as I try and get ahead and write posts in advance. So this time the award goes to...."Jess" from "Diary of a Mom" on this "post" about wisdom. Her wise comment was as follows:-"my dad gave me a couple of gems ..~never trust anyone who starts a sentence with “trust me…”and when i set out on my first real date:~”put a dime (now a quarter) between your thighs and when it falls out, use it to call home”ah, good old dad ;)"If you haven't visited her blog before I would recommend that a good spot to start would be on this post called "What I learned in Maine," but not if you have a fish allergy.If you too have a glut of courgettes then this might be a useful link:-Zucchini FrittersFrom "Simply Recipes."For the more adven... Whitterer on Autism blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1709283 Sat, 16 Aug 2008 05:20:00 +0100 1709283 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1671577&cid=t_108273_107_f&fid=35026&url=http%3A%2F%2Fphylogenomics.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F08%2Fclosed-access-award-2-andrey-rzhetsky.html Just got pointed to a new paper by someone near and dear to me. In this paper (Seeking a New Biology through Text Mining), Andrey Rzhetsky, Michael Seringhaus and Mark Gerstein seem to argue for the importance of text mining for the future of biology research. Text mining is indeed an important new tool in biology. Of course, it works best if you have access to the text. Alas, I would tell you more about their paper, but I have been out sick and stuck at home, and I do not have access to their paper, which was published in Cell. And thus, even without seeing their paper, I am giving them my second "Closed Access Award" for apparently outlining a path for a new biology that will be only available to some, not all.This is from the "Tree of Life" blog ( http://phylogenomics.blogspot.com ) of... The Tree of Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1671577 Fri, 01 Aug 2008 10:03:00 +0100 1671577 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1668640&cid=t_108273_134_f&fid=36049&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FDiabetesNotes%2F%7E3%2F348908923%2F We are there on “The Worlds Top Blogs On Health and Medicine” !!! And I am very sorry missed one of our sites. Alica at Mental Health Notes is number 61- Congrats! And so are some other blogs on our health and wellness channel… Other Health & Wellness Channel blogs in the top 100 are: # 6 - Healthbolt # 19 - Autism Vox # 52 - Lively Women # 57 - Eating Fabulous #61 - Mental Health Notes # 80 - Genetics and Health # 83 - A Hearty Life # 91 - Diabetes Notes Thanks Alicia Tags: award, blogging, diabetes-notes, edrugsearch.com, top 100 health and medicine blogsShare This (Source: Diabetes Notes) Diabetes Notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1668640 Tue, 29 Jul 2008 00:13:20 +0100 1668640 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1660966&cid=t_108273_134_f&fid=36049&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FDiabetesNotes%2F%7E3%2F348908923%2F We are there on “The Worlds Top Blogs On Health and Medicine” !!! And so are some other blogs on our health and wellness channel… Other Health & Wellness Channel blogs in the top 100 are: # 6 - Healthbolt # 19 - Autism Vox # 52 - Lively Women # 57 - Eating Fabulous # 80 - Genetics and Health # 83 - A Hearty Life # 91 - Diabetes Notes Thanks Alicia Tags: award, blogging, diabetes-notes, edrugsearch.com, top 100 health and medicine blogsShare This (Source: Diabetes Notes) Diabetes Notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1660966 Tue, 29 Jul 2008 00:13:20 +0100 1660966 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1634969&cid=t_108273_107_f&fid=35026&url=http%3A%2F%2Fphylogenomics.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F07%2Fclosed-access-award-1-american.html Well, I wrote up this award a short time ago and already the story has changed. But I am still giving the award. On Tuesday, Peter Suber reported thatThe American Psychological Association may have the worst publisher policy to date for NIH-funded authors. Excerpt: In compliance with [the NIH OA policy], APA will deposit the final peer-reviewed manuscript of NIH-funded research to PMC upon acceptance for publication. The deposit fee of $2,500 per manuscript for 2008 will be billed to the author's university per NIH policy.... Even after collecting the fee, the APA will not deposit the published version of the article, will not allow OA release for 12 months, will not allow authors to deposit in PMC themselves (and bypass the fee), will not allow authors to deposit in any other OA reposi... The Tree of Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1634969 Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:02:00 +0100 1634969 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1616183&cid=t_108273_133_f&fid=35129&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwhitterer-autism.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F07%2Fsat-awards.html "Autism Insights" has kindly nominated me for an award, the Arte Y Pico Award.Upon winning this award you are tasked with the following rules… 1. You have to pick 5 blogs that you consider deserve this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also for contributing to the blogging community, no matter what language 2. Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone. 3. Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her or him the award itself. 4. Award-winner and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of “Arte y Pico” blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award. "arteypico.blogspot.com"Since my language skills are poor, I find I'm ob... Whitterer on Autism blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1616183 Sun, 13 Jul 2008 05:04:00 +0100 1616183 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1603017&cid=t_108273_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2008%2F07%2F09%2Ftext-messaging-for-bipolar-disorder%2F It was bound to happen — using text messaging to improve one’s condition. After all, text messaging is very nearly always available wherever you might be (while the Internet typically requires a computer to use it effectively). So it wasn’t surprising to see that the use of such a text messaging system for bipolar disorder won an award in the U.K. earlier this month: […] Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust and Oxford University’s department of psychiatry […] created a text messaging system for people with bipolar disorder, which enables them to monitor their own condition and keep GPs updated on how they are feeling. […] Oxford University’s Prof John Geddes said: “I’m delighted that our project ... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1603017 Wed, 09 Jul 2008 11:58:35 +0100 1603017 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1596484&cid=t_108273_107_f&fid=35026&url=http%3A%2F%2Fphylogenomics.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F07%2Foverselling-genomics-award-5-duckweed.html OK. I really wanted to leave this one alone because it involves the Joint Genome Institute (JGI) where I work part of the time. And I really like JGI and what it is doing in many aspects of genomics. But this one is just so over the top that I could not leave it alone. There is a press release from Rutgers that came out regarding a new project to sequence the duckweed genome (see News: Duckweed genome sequencing has global implications) and the Eureka release hereAnd this one is just so over the top in terms of overselling I do not know where to begin. First, they had me at the titleDuckweed genome sequencing has global implicationsBut the subtitle is even betterPond scum can undo pollution, fight global warming and alleviate world hungerThere is really little else to say. I commend the JG... The Tree of Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1596484 Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:57:00 +0100 1596484 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1593927&cid=t_108273_140_f&fid=35439&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbipolarsoupkitchen-stephany.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F07%2Fendless-summers.html (Source: soulful sepulcher) soulful sepulcher blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1593927 Tue, 08 Jul 2008 02:00:00 +0100 1593927 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1551547&cid=t_108273_140_f&fid=35439&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbipolarsoupkitchen-stephany.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F06%2Ftoday-in-my-garden_27.html (Source: soulful sepulcher) soulful sepulcher blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1551547 Sat, 28 Jun 2008 01:49:00 +0100 1551547 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1543360&cid=t_108273_107_f&fid=35026&url=http%3A%2F%2Fphylogenomics.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F06%2Foverselling-genomics-award-4-university.html In my blog I give out some snarky awards for things that annoy me including the Genomics by Press Release Award and the Adaptationomics Award and the Overselling Genomics Award. Sometimes I really want to give something an award but I am not sure what it should get. That is the case here. There is what I find to be a painful press release on "Selfish Genes" in honeybees put out by University of Western Ontario. This press release relates to a paper being published in Genetics. on QTL mapping in honeybees and searching for alleles/genes that suppress the reproductive activity in worker bees. This suppression is a form of altruistic behavior in a way and has been the subject of a good deal of research. Basically, the ended up mapping some of the suppression to a few regions of the genome.The... The Tree of Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1543360 Tue, 24 Jun 2008 18:45:00 +0100 1543360 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1501525&cid=t_108273_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F06%2F07%2Fsituationist-named-a-top-blog%2F The Criminal Justice Degrees Guide named The Situationist one of the 100 top Criminal Justice Blogs. It described our blog this way: “This smart social psychology blog uncovers research projects and findings, group behavior, child psychology, law and more.” For those interested in criminal justice, the list of top blogs is very much worth perusing. (Source: The Situationist) The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1501525 Sun, 08 Jun 2008 03:09:57 +0100 1501525 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1492210&cid=t_108273_140_f&fid=35439&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbipolarsoupkitchen-stephany.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F06%2Fflower-smeller-award.html (Source: soulful sepulcher) soulful sepulcher blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1492210 Wed, 04 Jun 2008 15:51:00 +0100 1492210 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1400743&cid=t_108273_109_f&fid=35677&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainBasedBusiness%2F%7E3%2F277973746%2Fdig_your_job_blogger_award.html For several reasons … today’s especially hot over at Brain Based Business. It’s spring. We’ve included in MITA calendars … several cutting edge conferences on the brain. The golfing season just kicked in … and we’ve already signed onto our first fun tournament. So we were already jazzed. Then … just as the day rounded its final bend … the site received an unexpected award that peaked our blessings. GL Hoffman … over at What Would Dad Say … awarded this site the new Dig Your Job Blogger Award. Thanks GL!You’d love GL’s blog … especially if you’re into the following brain based tactics: 1. Humor that adds a mental zip to your business IQ.2. Insights about how to land … keep … and t... BrainBasedBusiness blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1400743 Sat, 26 Apr 2008 01:50:21 +0100 1400743 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1391350&cid=t_108273_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F04%2F22%2Falbert-bandura-wins-grawemeyer-award%2F From The Observer: Albert Bandura was awarded [one of the] 2008 University of Louisville Grawemeyer Awards [for $200,000]. A native of Canada, Albert Bandura received his doctoral degree from the University of Iowa in 1952. He began his appointment at Stanford University in 1953, where he remains as the David Starr Jordan professor of social science in psychology. In 2002 Bandura was ranked the 20th Century’s fourth most eminent psychologist in a survey conducted by the Review of General Psychology, coming in behind only B.F. Skinner, Jean Piaget, and Sigmund Freud. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Bandura has received APS’s highest honors, the William James Fellow Award and the Jam... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1391350 Tue, 22 Apr 2008 16:00:38 +0100 1391350 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1253182&cid=t_108273_113_f&fid=34625&url=http%3A%2F%2Fclinicalit.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F02%2Fpre-himss-scuttlebutt.html ORLANDO, Fla.—Congress, are you listening? Steroids have hit health IT. National Coordinator for Health Information Technology Robert Kolodner, M.D., admitted to me this morning that he’s juicing. He even showed me the pills, surreptitiously hidden in the inside pocket of his suit jacket.Yeah, so what if he had a prescription, and he was using the ’roids to cure his laryngitis before he has to deliver a keynote address Wednesday morning to thousands of HIMSS conference attendees? If other media can hype steroid use in baseball, why can’t I do it in health IT?One person I mentioned this to today said he would support the use of performance-enhancing substances for anyone promoting greater adoption of health IT. So I guess the consensus is to take the Bud Selig approach and look the ... Neil Versel's Healthcare IT Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1253182 Sun, 24 Feb 2008 22:16:00 +0100 1253182 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1226804&cid=t_108273_140_f&fid=35439&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbipolarsoupkitchen-stephany.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F02%2Fthere-will-be-more-for-you-to-do-there.html (Source: soulful sepulcher) soulful sepulcher blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1226804 Wed, 13 Feb 2008 01:41:00 +0100 1226804 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1106208&cid=t_108273_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2007%2F12%2F19%2Fan-interview-with-patty-duke-bipolar-sufferer%2F Patty Duke is best known for her roles as identical twin cousins in The Patty Duke Show and her portrayal of Helen Keller in the movie The Miracle Worker at age 16, which earned her an Academy Award and made her the youngest winner at the time. She’s earned three Emmys from six nominations, two Golden Globes, and a People’s Choice Award during her career. But behind the scenes, her behavior was erratic, earning her a bad rep with Hollywood insiders, not to mention her own family. It took many years, but in 1982, at the age of 35, Duke was finally diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Since then she’s become the bestselling author of Call Me Anna and A Brilliant Madness (coauthored with Gloria Hochman). She currently travels around the country to educate others about this o... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1106208 Wed, 19 Dec 2007 18:19:23 +0100 1106208 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1034659&cid=t_108273_107_f&fid=35026&url=http%3A%2F%2Fphylogenomics.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F11%2Fadaptationomics-award-2-washington-post.html This is a bit late, but I am now giving out my second "Adaptationomics Award" to David Brown, for his article in the Washington Post on "How science is rewriting the book of genes." This award is for somehow misusing genomics to push forward ideas that are excessively adaptationist (i.e., somehow claiming that something must be adaptive simply because it is observed to exist). I have given out one before (see here).The article by Brown itself reports on some moderately recent changes in human genetics. Among the items discussed are "junk DNA", alternative splicing, and "inefficiencies" in genetic machinery. Some of the discussion in the article in interesting. But it is the last topic, the "inefficiencies" that really gets to me.It starts off"It used to be a rule -- actually, more of an as... The Tree of Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1034659 Sun, 18 Nov 2007 07:00:00 +0100 1034659 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1024328&cid=t_108273_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F184334735%2F 18-year-old Leland Coats has been declared a hero for saving relatives from a house fire by waking them up: Back in February, today’s Charleston Daily Mail notes, Coats, who has autism, was staying with a cousin and got up for a drink of water while everyone was sleeping, and smelled smoke: The cousin, her boyfriend and two children under 3 all were sleeping when the fire broke out, his mother said. Leland woke everyone, and they managed to flee from the home without harm. “He was telling people to stop, drop and roll, just like they told him in school,” his mother said. “Everyone got out OK and there wasn’t a lot of damage, just some water damage.” Leland then ran barefoot to his home about a block away and called 911. It was a cold winter Sunday mornin... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1024328 Tue, 13 Nov 2007 21:58:02 +0100 1024328 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=952156&cid=t_108273_107_f&fid=35026&url=http%3A%2F%2Fphylogenomics.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F10%2Foverselling-genomics-and-men-award-3.html Newsweek Magazine has a feature on the "10 hottest nerds" that they say are "10 of the most esteemed biologists" in the w0rld. And they ask for their insights into various things. The people areEric LanderLeroy HoodCraig VenterDavid BotsteinSvante PaaboPhilip SharpRudolph JaenischKari StefanssonGeorge ChurchJay KeaslingSure these people have done good things and I truly respect most of them in many ways. But are they kidding me? This is who they pick? First of all, all men? Mostly, all people who have been around the block too. Plus, almost all these people work in something connected to genomics (Lander, Hood, Venter, Botstein, Paabo, and Church) are major genomics players - Keasling and Sharp and Stefansson are heavily genomics-based).They couldn't come up with a single woman? Or anyone... The Tree of Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=952156 Mon, 15 Oct 2007 17:37:00 +0100 952156 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=949930&cid=t_108273_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F169860109%2F My friend Kevin Leitch—-autism father and autism blogger—has decided to shut down his five-year-old blog, Left Brain/Right Brain. This is sad news: Left Brain/Right Brain is one of the oldest and best-read autism blogs out there and whatever your views on the causes of autism, autism treatments, neurodiversity, cure, acceptance, and more, Kev always provided thoughtful, thought-provoking, and plain provocative posts. His occasional mentions of his daughter Megan were full of love and warmth. And it’s because of the postings about his daughter and in her name by someone named John Best (his blog is called “Hating Autism,” and I think the title provides a sense of where he is coming from) that Kev has decided to stop blogging. Kev has had all kinds of ridiculous... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=949930 Sun, 14 Oct 2007 20:54:29 +0100 949930 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=947383&cid=t_108273_107_f&fid=35026&url=http%3A%2F%2Fphylogenomics.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F10%2Fgenomics-by-press-release-award-1.html Well, I have tried to hold off giving out awards here since I kind of botched my last attempt at this. But here goes.Yesterday, researchers in South Africa announced that they had sequenced the genome of a XDR strain of the bacterium (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) that causes TB. I sniffed around this story because someone who used to work for me, James Sakwa, was mentioned in some of the stories.The stories proclaim how quickly the researchers were able to sequence this genome with quotes like(It) took us just over a week, using other technology it would have taken up to a year," he told AFP.This sounded a lot like other claims of rapid genome sequencing ... and I was skeptical since just doing some shotgun sequencing, with whatever method, does not lead to a complete genome. Alas, it looks... The Tree of Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=947383 Fri, 12 Oct 2007 17:34:00 +0100 947383 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=903319&cid=t_108273_109_f&fid=34800&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FClinicalPsychologyAndPsychiatryACloserLook%2F%7E3%2F161068785%2Fthinking-blogger-award-nominations.html I've been nominated again for a Thinking Blogger award. This meme was floating about a few months ago and has appeared again. Big thanks to Dr. John Grohol at Psych Central for the nomination. In his nomination, he wrote:CL Psych provides excellent analysis into the clinical psychology/psychiatry study of the week (sometimes more than one a week), often pointing out how naked the emperor really is. We enjoy an academic who knows his statistics and research design and doesn’t hold back in his critique of poorly designed studies that draw ridiculous conclusions that reflect the researcher’s own bias more than the data.That was quite flattering and I appreciate the feedback greatly. I am especially honored given that Psych Central is truly the granddaddy of psychology websites. It has bee... Clinical Psychology and Psychiatry: A Closer Look blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=903319 Tue, 25 Sep 2007 13:13:00 +0100 903319