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 'invention'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:08:51 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5028871&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2011%2F07%2F11%2Fdigital-cane-helps-track-of-vital-signs%2F I’ve recently come across this digital cane designed by a Lithuanian designer Egle Ugintaite for the Fujitsu 2011 design award in which he won the grand prize. Great idea! The cane, which is known as the Aid, has a built-in navigator that provides the user directions to a certain location. So if you get lost, this cane will point the way home. Additional features include monitors for the user’s pulse, blood pressure, as well as body temperature. These important numbers are displayed on the LCD screen on the cane’s clasp. It even has a button for sending out an SOS in case of emergency. (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5028871 Mon, 11 Jul 2011 17:56:49 +0100 5028871 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4997742&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2011%2F07%2F03%2Fwithings-blood-pressure-monitor-for-ios%2F One of the most interesting things I saw at this year’s Doctors 2.0 and You event was Withins’ Blood pressure monitor. This iPhone-connected blood pressure monitor made its first appearance at CES, but you’ll finally be able to order one of your own today. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, the $129 accessory costs three to four times as much as off-the-shelf blood pressure monitors, but integrates well if you’re looking to pair it with your Withings scale for a complete vitals management solution. (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4997742 Sun, 03 Jul 2011 06:45:08 +0100 4997742 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4828987&cid=t_104696_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F05%2F14%2F8-reasons-why-twitter-can-make-you-happy%2F I’m a huge fan of Twitter, and I’ve tried to persuade several people to give it a try. (My greatest triumph: convincing my sister to use it. Seeing my sister in my Twitter feed — that makes me very happy.) We’ve all seen how Twitter can play an unprecedented role in world events and in news communication. But on a very personal, routine level, there are several (other) ways in which Twitter can boost your happiness. After all, is it just a coincidence that a blue bird is both the symbol for happiness and the symbol for Twitter? Probably yes, I know, but still, it’s a happy coincidence. 1. Twitter allows you to pursue your passion — even if only in your imagination. A key to a happier life is to have fun – people who regularly have fun are twenty times ... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4828987 Sat, 14 May 2011 16:30:58 +0100 4828987 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4734448&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2011%2F04%2F19%2Ffrom-patients-on-facebook-to-wifi-enabled-asthma-inhalers%2F Facebook friend request from a patient? (The Lancet) In the USA, birthplace of most of these technological advances, various associations of health-care professionals are starting to issue codes of conduct when dealing with new digital media. Other countries, such as the UK, Canada, and Australia, are also debating what rules should be set. But some doctors believe such codes will have to evolve and adapt as younger generations, used to living an online life from an early age, start to dominate health care and to teach subsequent waves of professionals. The 9 wireless health investments so far this year TEDxPugetSound – Stephen Friend, MD, PhD – True Crowd Sourcing of Medicine: Activating All of Us The Future of the Doctor-Pharma Relationship But I find the element of ... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4734448 Tue, 19 Apr 2011 10:33:11 +0100 4734448 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4636477&cid=t_104696_107_f&fid=36672&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sciencebase.com%2Fscience-blog%2Fa-fix-of-five-fresh-science-stories.html Free complete works of H.P. Lovecraft for Nook and Kindle (and Calibre) – You can now download the complete works of HP Lovecraft as an ebook for your Kindle (or if you haven't wasted your money on that device you can read it with the Calibre software for Windows, Mac and Linux. FYI: OMG, tinfoil hat entry updated in OED, LOL – Forget the addition of FYI, LOL and OMG 2 the OED, the new entry for tinfoil hat  n. recounts how the shiny chapeau began its life with only festive connotations. However, in 1986, just over a century after its first attestation as an innocent party favour, the tinfoil hat migrated to a more sinister milieu, popularly associated with conspiracy theories suggesting that such headwear could protect the wearer from mind control or surveillance. Th... Sciencebase Science Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4636477 Fri, 25 Mar 2011 12:00:05 +0100 4636477 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4622282&cid=t_104696_107_f&fid=36672&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sciencebase.com%2Fscience-blog%2Fthe-fraudulent-invention-debunkifier.html Debunking crackpot and fraudulent inventions has never been easier than now thanks to the world-shattering invention of the Crackpot Flowchart(TM) from Sciencebase. Based on the 13 unlucky-for-crackpots warning signs published some time ago on ka9q.net, this handy multicoloured flow chart lets you assess that recent email touting the latest ground-breaking breakthrough invention. The Crackpot Flowchart(TM) will let you know in an instant whether the invention being touted is not only earth-shattering but whether it will rock the very foundations of modern science itself. No more worrying that you missed out on a Pulitzer, kick the frauds and the deluded into a cracked pot and save the real breakthrough for a sneaky call to the newsdesk at Science and Nature. As a bonus, just swap out inven... Sciencebase Science Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4622282 Tue, 22 Mar 2011 17:40:39 +0100 4622282 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4570694&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2011%2F03%2F10%2Frobotic-pharmacy-automatically-distributes-medication%2F It’s just getting more and more amazing how robotics can be implemented into healthcare. One of the latest examples belongs to the UCSF Medical Center where they now use robotic pharmacy in order to remove medication errors from the system. The most impressive thing, we think, is that our robot pals have not had a single error since preparing 350,000 doses of meds.  Robots are slowly taking over the world, right? Well, their latest conquest is the pharmacy. The UCSF Medical Center has implemented three robotic pill-dispensing machines that handle and prepare medication that’s dangerous to the common human. The process works as follows: doctor writes a prescription, hospital clerk sends it over to pharmacist, pharmacist enters slip into the computer, robot picks up it and does ... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4570694 Thu, 10 Mar 2011 14:01:22 +0100 4570694 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4355843&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2011%2F01%2F17%2Fthermo-mirror-measures-body-temperature%2F I wouldn’t buy a mirror for over $1000 only to measure my body temperature from 30 centimeters away, but there must be someone in Japan who will do so because a Japanese electronics firm NEC/Avio just presented at CES 2011 this technology. All this without sticking a glass mercury stick underneath your tongue! So when you call in sick to work from your cellular phone, you actually have the evidence that you are indeed “under the weather”. In fact, your boss can even hear the confirmation because the Thermo Mirror will sound an alarm if your temperature is above normal. By the way, when the Thermo Mirror is not displaying your personal body temperature, it is displaying other information such as the date, time, humidity, and weather temperature. The product probably works with in... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4355843 Mon, 17 Jan 2011 04:13:44 +0100 4355843 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4322639&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2011%2F01%2F07%2Fbest-ecg-mobile-solution-ever%2F I’ve already written about numerous ECG solutions in smartphones (see below), but a recent Medgadget report beats them all.What you need is an iPhone with the special app, a wireless case and you can perform an ECG. There are so many great ideas which will probably never be used in practice, but this, I believe, will be an exception. Seattle, Washington based Alivecor will be showing off its new iPhonECG system at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The company has partnered with Oregon Scientific to manufacture the units, which are expected to sell for under $100 a piece. Related posts: OpenECGproject: Open Source for Electrocardiography DIY ECG at Home Health 2.0 News: Youtube, Patient Data and Google Wave Mobile Health News and Innovations (Source: ScienceRo... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4322639 Fri, 07 Jan 2011 15:32:09 +0100 4322639 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4322640&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2011%2F01%2F07%2F2011-ces-innovation-honorees-in-healthcare%2F Yesterday, the huge CES conference was launched in which there are plenty of Innovations Honorees in the healthcare category. It seems devices designed for hearing loss or damage rule this year’s health category. Here is the full list with details, and here is my summary: An In-Ear Assistive Listening Device that provides full time low level amplification with situational hearing solutions Hearing instrument system comprising an “industry first” proprietary digital wireless communication solution High-Fidelity Electronic BlastPLG Earplugs were developed to mitigate hearing damage and tinnitus sustained by deployed soldiers. Moneual Silver Care Robot Digital sports watch aimed at Nike runners. Pharos’ Cognit is designed for individuals living with brain injuries, me... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4322640 Fri, 07 Jan 2011 15:25:40 +0100 4322640 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3845237&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2010%2F08%2F09%2Fimplantable-blood-sugar-sensor%2F Engadget just reported a fantastic technology which enables diabetes patients to measure blood sugar levels without finger pricks. A crew of researchers from The University of Tokyo and BEANS Research Institute are in the process of developing a newfangled blood sugar sensor that “reacts to glucose and lights up inside the body.” ‘Course, injecting dyes into humans in order to receive interpretable signals ain’t exactly new, but hydrogel is what makes this approach unique. As the story goes, this jelly-esque material can be implanted within the body, enabling blood sugar levels to be monitored and measured externally with no pain or irritation whatsoever. In theory, a monitoring system could trigger an alert as soon as the internal levels dipped or rose beyond a pre... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3845237 Mon, 09 Aug 2010 07:53:22 +0100 3845237 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3813144&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2010%2F08%2F02%2Fthe-future-of-medical-imaging%2F Have you every wondered what happens if you combine a 3D TV with virtual reality in medical imaging? Well, the device described in the video was developed by the University of California, San Diego and costs around $10,000. CoolestGadgets commented on this: HUVR “couples a consumer 3D HDTV panel with a half-silvered mirror to project any graphic image onto the user’s hands and/or into the space surrounding them”. Apparently, the user’s head is tracked in order to get the correct perspective, and there is a haptic feedback device on hand for manipulation. I noticed that their haptic device looks a lot like a Novint Falcon, which I believe was designed for 3D gaming. And as a second step, if you think it will lead to even more complicated interfaces, well, see what Hitachi developed... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3813144 Mon, 02 Aug 2010 13:15:21 +0100 3813144 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3666134&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2010%2F06%2F15%2Fmicroscope-on-cellphone%2F You may remember when I wrote about how cellphones could be used as microscopes in dermatology and I also mentioned the iMicroscope once. Now over at Spoonful of Medicine, a new cheap device is described: Aydogan Ozcan is a professor of electrical engineering at UCLA. From $10 worth of parts, he built an apparatus that turns a cell phone into a mobile microscope. His device contains no lens, instead relying on a system of electronic magnification that creates a hologram, which is then transmitted wirelessly to a lab. The cellphone microscope could help doctors working in remote areas rapidly analyze patient blood samples, allowing them to screen for diseases like malaria, TB and anemia. References: Mobile Phone Based Clinical Microscopy for Global Health Applications (PLoS One) Lensfree ... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3666134 Tue, 15 Jun 2010 17:49:04 +0100 3666134 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3644931&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2010%2F06%2F09%2Fbuzzy-pain-relief-for-children%2F Here is Buzzy, a reusable pain relief device, developed by a pediatrician. It works based on the gate control theory of pain. Buzzy is a newly developed reusable pain relief device that children can bring to the doctor’s office with them to help dull the pain of shots!  As the brainchild of Pediatrician Amy Baxter, Buzzy rapidly reduces pain when pressed onto the skin.  Buzzy is especially helpful for children who receive shots often, like those suffering from Diabetes.  Buzzy can also be used for the small things, like taking splinters out! Not only is Buzzy a kid-favorite, but it’s safe, effective immediately on contact, FDA compliant, and environmentally friendly too. Here are a few examples how it works: (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3644931 Wed, 09 Jun 2010 09:07:09 +0100 3644931 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3581779&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2010%2F05%2F19%2Fvirtual-reality-enhanced-mannequin-for-resuscitation-training%2F CONCLUSIONS: The prototype of the virtual reality enhanced mannequin was well-liked, without interfence by interaction devices, and deserves full technological development and validation in emergency medical training. (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3581779 Wed, 19 May 2010 17:42:14 +0100 3581779 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3502815&cid=t_104696_105_f&fid=36987&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FIvorKovicMd%2F%7E3%2FUXoxSdre_Jk%2F I just came back home from 38th Exhibition of Inventions Geneva held in Geneva, Switzerland. Among around a thousand inventions, including 55 from class M (Medicine, Surgery, Hygiene, Orthopedics, Materials for the handicapped), I have demonstrated my CPR device (you can see it in my presentation from Amsterdam). The whole experience was truly fantastic and made even sweeter at the end, since my invention was awarded a gold medal from the international jury. Big thank you goes out to people from Noven, StivTrade, Croatian Association of Inventors, and Istrian Inventors. For a quick preview, take a look at the short video below. More media will follow. (Source: Ivor Kovic, M.D.) Ivor Kovic, M.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3502815 Sat, 24 Apr 2010 21:19:46 +0100 3502815 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3386997&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2010%2F03%2F20%2Fvirtual-autopsy%2F Medgadget published a report about Virtobot that shows what the future of forensic medicine will look like. The robot scans the contours and texture of the human body by projecting light bars on it and acquiring high definition images. These data are combined with the CT images acquired by the scanner in the same room. A three dimensional image of the body is then reconstructed that can be used during forensic examinations and be preserved as long as necessary. You might remember when Swedish researchers developed an interactive touchscreen 3D autopsy table, the Virtual Autopsy Table: (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3386997 Sat, 20 Mar 2010 20:44:58 +0100 3386997 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3259161&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2010%2F02%2F10%2Fkickbee-not-the-youngest-twitter-user-any-more%2F When I first talked about Kickbee, it created a buzz about how this method could be utilized in health management. In a nutshell, Corey Menscher, the father of kickbee, probably the youngest Twitter user, has designed a kick sensor which monitors his pregnant wife’s belly, and generates a fetal tweet whenever the baby kicks. Now Kickbee is ready to get to your home. A nice example about how a good idea can be converted into a product. The Kickbee is a stretchable band worn by a pregnant mother. Vibration sensors are attached directly to the band, and are triggered by movement underneath. The band and electronics are covered in a soft fabric cover for design and comfort. A microcontroller in the garment captures the movement and transmits the signals wirelessly to a computer running a cu... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3259161 Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:24:28 +0100 3259161 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3239749&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2010%2F02%2F03%2Fsoundbite-hearing-aid-on-your-teeth%2F I love innovation in healthcare. For people with conductive hearing loss, Bone Anchored Hearing Aids that are implanted surgically use the skull to transmit sound to the inner ear. SoundBite bypasses this problem. SoundBite hearing system is the world’s first and only non-surgical and removable hearing solution designed to imperceptibly transmit sound via the teeth to help people who are essentially deaf in one ear regain spatial hearing ability and rejoin the conversation of life. It employs a well-established principle called bone conduction to deliver clear, high quality sound to the inner ear. Nearly invisible when worn, the SoundBite system consists of an easy to insert and remove ITM (in-the-mouth) hearing device – which is custom made to fit around either the upper left or r... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3239749 Wed, 03 Feb 2010 18:04:18 +0100 3239749 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3227947&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2010%2F01%2F31%2Fapple-ipad-in-healthcare-pros-and-cons%2F I’m not really an Apple fan, but I’m always open to innovations in healthcare. Last week was centered around iPad both in the news and the blogosphere as more and more bloggers started to describe its potential role in healthcare. It’s obvious now that healthcare will go through some major changes in the next few years due to EMRs (electronic medical records) and PHRs (personal health records). Though Boston has already gone through this. Tablet solutions have a clear future (pdf) but as Apple tablet representatives were spotted at Los Angeles’ Cedars-Sinai Medical Center a few weeks ago, it seems iPad might have a shot in healthcare as well. Let’s see what can happen. Possible cons from the healthcare aspect: No camera: it means it cannot be used in telemedicin... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3227947 Sun, 31 Jan 2010 18:44:58 +0100 3227947 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3212502&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2010%2F01%2F26%2Fsmartphone-as-a-personal-genome-assistant%2F A few months ago, I wrote about a press release: Using the Google Phone’s built-in bar code reader, Dr. Pellionisz demonstrated how personal genome computing can detect genome-friendly and genome-supportive products from foods to cosmetics to building materials and beyond. You upload data from personal health record system such as Microsoft Healthvault or Google Health; genomic data from 23andMe or Navigenics to your smartphone and then by using the bar code reader, you can find products that are probably good for you based on your genomic and health profiles. Though the system has several limitations (e.g. how useful genomic data is right now regarding medical decisions), it sounds quite interesting. Here is the process on video: (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3212502 Tue, 26 Jan 2010 21:15:32 +0100 3212502 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3146150&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2010%2F01%2F06%2Fmuscle-computer-interfaces%2F Medgadget just featured a video describing how EMG (electromyography) could be used in tools created for people with disabilities. Here is an excerpt from the Microsoft announcement: Many human-computer interaction technologies are currently mediated by physical transducers such as mice, keyboards, pens, dials, and touch-sensitive surfaces. While these transducers have enabled powerful interaction paradigms and leverage our human expertise in interacting with physical objects, they tether computation to a physical artifact that has to be within reach of the user. As computing and displays begin to integrate more seamlessly into our environment and are used in situations where the user is not always focused on the computing task, it is important to consider mechanisms for acquiring human i... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3146150 Wed, 06 Jan 2010 07:11:14 +0100 3146150 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3003974&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2009%2F11%2F17%2Ffrom-paper-to-medical-records-shareable-ink%2F The best medical blog out there, Medgadget.com, has recently covered the TEDMED 2009 conference and they have been sharing video interviews with us for weeks. One of the most interesting interviews is about Shareable Ink. It might make it easier for hospitals and practices worldwide to create electronic medical records systems while still using paper solutions. For example, in Hungary, in some cases doctors must print reports and sign those by hand because of the legal regulations.  But with Shareable Ink, it seems there is light in the tunnel. Shareable Ink® delivers enterprise-grade digital pen and paper solutions for healthcare. In contrast to traditional keyboard-based systems, the Shareable Ink approach offers the fastest and most natural data input method without disrupting familia... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3003974 Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:40:30 +0100 3003974 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2924916&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2009%2F10%2F25%2Fvenahub-wirelessly-reports-health-data-compliance%2F Barbara Duck at The Medical Quack published an interesting article about new devices that help report health data compliance wirelessly. One example is the VenaHub device: (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2924916 Sun, 25 Oct 2009 01:41:50 +0100 2924916 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2902906&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2009%2F10%2F18%2Ffitbit-self-tracking-2-0%2F If you want to track your fitness, your diet and sleep, FitBit is something you will really like. Tim Stevens on Engadget had a detailed review with videos and screenshots. The wireless device that can be carried in a pocket or clipped to clothing, tracks calories burned and sleep cycles to help users be healthier. (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2902906 Sun, 18 Oct 2009 10:29:09 +0100 2902906 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2807804&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2009%2F09%2F17%2Faudio-monitor-for-detecting-autism%2F Medgadget reported about a very interesting medical innovation. LENA is a portable device that can analyze specific behavior patterns in the way autistic children speak. LENA is the only technology that automatically collects and analyzes information about a child’s natural language environment and development. The LENA feedback reports help parents improve a child’s cumulative language experience and accelerate that child’s language and cognitive development, and preparedness for school. (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2807804 Thu, 17 Sep 2009 18:54:28 +0100 2807804 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2744242&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2009%2F08%2F29%2Fdiy-ecg-at-home%2F Medgadget shared an interesting project about a home-built ECG system. Although several DIY ECG guides exist on the internet, this one focuses on minimizing the part count and cost by performing noise reduction (normally handled by complicated analog circuitry) digitally with your computer. The device hooks up to your chest (using pennies as electrodes) and outputs to the microphone jack of your computer sound card so it can be recorded with free audio software. In addition to a description of how to build and use the DIY ECG, this guide also provides the code needed to perform complicated long-term heart rate and heart rate variability analysis to assess neurological control over cardiac function! (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2744242 Sat, 29 Aug 2009 09:54:49 +0100 2744242 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2523042&cid=t_104696_105_f&fid=36987&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FIvorKovicMd%2F%7E3%2F96g7TWX4X5k%2F Catherine Mohr is quite an incredible women. She is both an engineer and a medical doctor. She combines these two fields with her great inventions which help advance surgery. Take a look at her TED Talk in which she presents the newest robotic tools for surgery, but also remembers the beginnings of this art/craft/science. Tweet This (Source: Ivor Kovic, M.D.) Ivor Kovic, M.D. blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2523042 Mon, 22 Jun 2009 21:38:10 +0100 2523042 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2169838&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2009%2F02%2F08%2Fperssonalized-medicine-follow-the-latest-pubmed-articles-easily%2F PeRSSonalized Medicine is a free tool of Webicina.com that lets you select your favourite medical resources and read the latest news and articles in one personalized place. Now you can also follow the latest Pubmed articles in your field of interest without going back to Pubmed again and again and doing a search for your favourite term. Make this process automatic with PeRSSonalized Medicine. In order to save your settings properly, you have to register for free here to be able to add 4 personal Pubmed feeds to your account. Feel free to use the search parameters that you usually use on Pubmed: (gene) AND (Somebody[Auth]): when you’re looking for a specific author (gene) AND (Journal[Jour]): : when you’re looking for a specific journal article The aim is to help medical pro... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2169838 Sun, 08 Feb 2009 19:09:25 +0100 2169838 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2125355&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2009%2F01%2F23%2Fmmvr17-the-salon%2F It was the third day of the Medicine Meets Virtual Reality 17 conference and the day was dedicated to The Salon: Salon explores health, learning, and technology through art. Within its gallery space, attendees can browse, converse, relax, and discover. In Salon, artwork and multimedia compositions stimulate fresh approaches to biomedical modeling, visualization, and simulation. Select demonstrations will allow hands-on creativity. I did a workshop about the medical places of Second Life. I asked the members of the Ann Myers Medical Center to be around and answer the questions of the participants through the virtual world so we could show the real power of such an online institute. Chris Culbertson (Neuroscience Ph.D. student) presented how virtual reality can be used in addiction medicin... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2125355 Fri, 23 Jan 2009 03:18:17 +0100 2125355 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1996382&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F11%2F28%2Fglucoboy-great-idea-in-diabetes-management%2F Kerri will certainly like this tool, GlucoBoy that represents the power of a good idea in chronic disease management. The Glucoboy is the first blood glucose meter that has been designed specially for kids, adolescents and the young at heart. By itself, the Glucoboy is an advanced blood glucose meter that is extremely accurate and highly precise using only a 0.6µL sample of blood! When used with the Nintendo Game Boy® Advance System or the GRiP incentive-based web community, Glucoboy becomes part of an entire network that rewards testing compliance and good health management. Glucoboy is much more than just a meter, it is an integrated system that assists patients and support networks, helping them work together to provide the highest level of care, compassion and compliance.  &n... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1996382 Fri, 28 Nov 2008 18:17:36 +0100 1996382 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1952957&cid=t_104696_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=1947249&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F11%2F09%2Frehabilitaion-in-modern-era-wiihab-and-gesturetek%2F In the modern era of the history of rehabilitation, we have Nintendo Wii: Nintendo Wii Fit: Second Life, Virtual Ability: And now Gesturetek:        (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1947249 Sun, 09 Nov 2008 14:03:04 +0100 1947249 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1939172&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F11%2F05%2Fnature-blogs-another-good-step%2F Barack Obama and Nature Publishing Group have at least one thing in common. They try to use the best tools of web 2.0 to reach people. I’ve written several times about why Nature is the best in science 2.0. And I also invited Nature guys to present in one of the Scifoo Lives On sessions. Now they made a wise step again. How to reach the numerous medical and scientific blogs out there? Of course, help them connect to each other by constructing a community for them. That’s what the idea of Nature Blogs is about. Ensure that the results of science are rapidly disseminated to the public throughout the world, in a fashion that conveys their significance for knowledge, culture and daily life. We think blogs are a good way of doing this. To make it easier for scientists to find intere... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1939172 Thu, 06 Nov 2008 06:27:08 +0100 1939172 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1921019&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=34989&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FGeneticsHealth%2F%7E3%2FlJ_NKmdC8Bk%2F Just two years since conception and personal genome services company 23andMe’s Personal Genome Service™ has earned TIME Magazine’s Best Invention of the Year for "its exceptional work in making personal genomics accessible and affordable". Dubbed the Pioneer in retail genomics, 23andMe is able to provide genetic risk and predisposition for more than 90 traits and conditions to clients for only $399.00 and a saliva kit. Clients don’t even have to leave home to do it, and they can access it all in their personal website/database. If they so wish, clients can even compare their genomes with other family members who are also 23andMe participants. This award makes the point that genomics revolution is here faster than we thought possible when the human genome... Genetics and Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1921019 Fri, 31 Oct 2008 04:17:29 +0100 1921019 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1859585&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F10%2F07%2Fwebicina-let-the-discussion-begin%2F After months of hard work, today we launched Webicina officially, an online service that aims to help medical professionals and patients enter the web 2.0 era. Please visit our site and register to get access to the free e-courses and to see what kind of services we provide. The first steps of e-courses you can access now for free: What is Second Life? Inside the medical blogosphere How to keep yourself up-to-date? How to give a remarkable slideshow? (bonus material for the first customers who order an e-course) And feel free to join the discussion about how to change the way medicine is practiced and healthcare is delivered with web 2.0 tools. Timeline of Webicina: May, 2008: Idea June, 2008: Company August, 2008: Website October, 2008: Online service What’s next? You decide&#82... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1859585 Tue, 07 Oct 2008 22:53:46 +0100 1859585 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1852656&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F10%2F05%2Fwebicina-will-be-open-to-patients-as-well-2-days-left%2F We are working hard to get Webicina ready by the 7th of October. This Tuesday, after months of preparation, we will launch it officially. We decided to open the service for patients as well. That is why it’s easy to say now Webicina is really trying to build a bridge between e-patients and physicians. The services we will provide: Consulting: presentations about web 2.0 and medicine in person; or online (webinars, Second Life workshops). Online Image Building Solutions: e-mail support for 3 months about the tools and methods medical professionals need to build a proper online reputation. E-Courses: materials and step-by-step tutorials through which users can learn to use the web 2.0 tools and methods they need. Premium account provides a 3 months long access and e-mail support, whil... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1852656 Sun, 05 Oct 2008 09:45:50 +0100 1852656 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1825799&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F09%2F23%2Fpotential-new-treatment-for-cystic-fibrosis%2F I just found an interesting article at the PHG Foundation about a new potential treatment for cystic fibrosis, a genetic condition affecting the exocrine (mucus) glands of the lungs, liver, pancreas, and intestines. It is caused by a mutation in the CFTR gene. The product of that gene is a a chloride ion channel that plays role in creating digestive juices and mucus. If there is no normal copy of the gene, the person will be affected by CF. The new drug VX-770 was developed by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in collaboration with Vertex Pharmaceuticals; it targets the defective CFTR protein to improve chloride transport. The Cystic Fibrosis Trust supports a group at the University of Bristol in investigating how new drugs restore function to defective CFTR proteins; group leader Dr David Sh... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1825799 Tue, 23 Sep 2008 20:12:40 +0100 1825799 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1782692&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F09%2F10%2Finteractive-virtual-posters%2F What to do when a scientist is fed up with using simple posters and would like to share their work in a new way? The solution was designed by SciVee.TV, an online scientific video site. Check Postercasts out. You can present your work in a video and show some details through an interactive poster. A new step towards Science 2.0. (Hat Tip: Mashable) (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1782692 Wed, 10 Sep 2008 18:52:41 +0100 1782692 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1746362&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F08%2F30%2Fsciencerollsearchcom-feedback%2F It feels so good when you create a tool and receive positive feedback. Exactly that happenned when Barbara Duck wrote about SciencerollSearch, our personalized metasearch engine, and she really liked it. This is another resource that might be helpful with some quick searching capabilities.  In this sample, I’m going to use diabetes as a search.  A nice word of thanks goes out to Science Roll for putting this together. What is SciencerollSearch? Scienceroll Search is a personalized medical search engine powered by Polymeta.com. You can choose which databases to search in and which one to exclude from your list. It works with well-known medical search engines and databases and we’re totally open to add new ones or remove those you don’t really like. Further reading: Personalize... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1746362 Sat, 30 Aug 2008 16:46:20 +0100 1746362 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1734035&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F08%2F26%2Fwebicina-frequently-asked-questions%2F After one and a half days I presented Webicina.com, an online service focusing on Medicine 2.0, I’m still receiving plenty of questions so I thought a FAQ page would make things clear. What is Webicina? Webicina is a privately held company aiming to build a bridge between physicians and e-patients. Webicina is also open to collaboration and new partners. How can Webicina help physicians enter the web 2.0 era? With personalized Medicine 2.0 Packages, step-by-step tutorials, webinars and online image building solutions. Webicina was designed to help physicians from all the medical specialties to get closer to the web 2.0 based world. Who are e-patients? They are patients trying to find reliable medical information on the web; they want to communicate with their doctors via e-mail or S... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1734035 Tue, 26 Aug 2008 14:21:58 +0100 1734035 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1730718&cid=t_104696_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FoF0kedvJ_vs%2F Has lugging loads of (soaking wet) laundry led to your developing the muscles in your arms (though not as much as this Olympian mom)? Imagine if you had an iBasket, a combination laundry basket/washing machine, rendering the lugging-laundry-basket step unnecessary—-now, how about automating the next step, hoisting the cleaned but still wet items into the dryer……… Tags: asd, asperger, autism, autism blog, clothes, disabilities blog, disability, Family, family blog, Health, housework, ibasket, invention, laundry, melanie roach, olympics, Parenting, pdd-nos, Technology, washing machineShare This (Source: Autism Vox) Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1730718 Sun, 24 Aug 2008 21:17:04 +0100 1730718 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1730704&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F08%2F24%2Ffrom-a-medical-blog-to-an-online-service%2F I’ve been preparing to write this announcement for months. Scienceroll is almost 2 years old and I thought it’s time to launch my online service. I’ve written hundreds and hundreds of posts about the impact of web 2.0 on medicine, healthcare, medical education and communication. I’m always saying e-patients would change the way medicine is practiced and healthcare is delivered. And physicians of the 21st century must be qualified to meet their expectations. Now I’m building a bridge between physicians and e-patients. This bridge is called Webicina.com. Webicina is an online service created by Bertalan Mesko, the author of the award-winning medical blog, Scienceroll.com, and aims to help physicians enter the web 2.0 era with personalized Medicine 2.0 Packages;... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1730704 Sun, 24 Aug 2008 19:13:43 +0100 1730704 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1709231&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F08%2F17%2Foutwit-hub-a-semantic-browser-in-medicine%2F OutWit Hub, currently in beta, might be a step towards a semantic browser. You can find more information here and the Firefox Add-on page here. The applications are countless from extracting photos of human anatomy in a snap, to building a database of medical contacts. If you need a list of hospitals with their specialties, you can use OutWit to grab this information automatically from Wikipedia and easily produce an Excel table out of it. Here is a tutorial: (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1709231 Sun, 17 Aug 2008 07:10:27 +0100 1709231 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1704943&cid=t_104696_109_f&fid=35677&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainBasedBusiness%2F%7E3%2F362889668%2Fthree_faces_of_transformation.html While many people speak of the need for change at work, a few lead transformational practices. Powerful economic and social forces continue to set in motion an urgent need for change. In response …  brain based practices will ensure transformation at your organization. How so?When transformational practices come tethered to recent life-changing discoveries about the human brain … people grow flexible and prepared to meet that firm’s modern and fast paced world demands. Have you seen it happen? Consider common problems that create crisis and watch the brain at work:    1. Tenured workers refuse to change: Many firms unknowingly offer incentives for people to stay in the ruts that kill business deals daily. Invention, with all its dynamic rewards, prov... BrainBasedBusiness blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1704943 Tue, 12 Aug 2008 13:26:32 +0100 1704943 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1677206&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F08%2F03%2Fintermedi-collaborative-intelligence-for-biomed%2F After introducing Pubmedfight, I wrote about InterMedi which: is a set of tools aiming at connecting biomedical researchers together helping them to find informations about their previous works, collaborators and affiliations. The remarkable fact is that no information is required! Our intelligent software knows how to combine information already available on the web, specially on the Pubmed database, to provide meaningful information. Now they have: Single Search: Based on co-authoring of Pubmed publications, find someone’s collaborators, publications, affiliations. Fight: Who’s got more publications? Whos got more collaborators? When did this fight reach its climax? Get in touch: Whos’s between you and someone else? Unique idea on the life science market. You should ... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1677206 Sun, 03 Aug 2008 05:55:00 +0100 1677206 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1622205&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F07%2F14%2Fnew-educational-tools-in-second-life%2F In Second Life, we have some new tools and gadgets to work with at the Ann Myers Medical Center. I would like to share some examples with you and if you’re interested, I would love to be your guide inside the virtual world. Radiology room: There is a laptop with plenty of educational resources. If you click on it, you can choose which field you are interested in. Then you can access multiple websites focusing on medical quizzes and radiological images on the browser of SL. A group of Dutch physicians wanted to see more on the site so we showed them around. At this point, the equipment has no useful function, but we plan to upload CT images (among others) Cardiology: Now there are two chairs (one for a doctor and one for a patient) where we can listen to cardiac murmurs or lung sou... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1622205 Mon, 14 Jul 2008 15:47:57 +0100 1622205 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1577345&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F07%2F04%2Fpubmed-api%2F Now, you know we have Pubmedfight in our hands to be able to resolve disputes between two scientists. But what about InterMEDI, a collaborative intelligence for biomed professionals. Excerpts from the blog Personomics: With the “Search for collaborators” applications, you can find who worked with who. With the “Fight” application, you can compare two researchers on the basis of their publication number but also the number of collaborators they’ve had until now. It is based on the Pubmed API. Based on a writer’s name “A”, you can retrieve all his articles. Based on those articles, you can retrieve all the co-authors. You then have the collaborator’s list of “A”. This tool is in beta version and will/should be developed in the next few months. And if you would like to ... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1577345 Fri, 04 Jul 2008 12:56:50 +0100 1577345 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1553105&cid=t_104696_109_f&fid=35677&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainBasedBusiness%2F%7E3%2F322027505%2Fbuildi_invention_into_your_wor.html  If you have an entrepreneur’s mind, you likely also invent. It’s best described in the well-respected philosopher Alfred Whitehead’s call to ... Romance the Joy of Learning!Whitehead’s words are really an invitation to suggest unique ideas that spark learning in your workplace. Does it strike a chord where you work? Here are five brain based tactics that could get your invention off the ground: 1). Encourage people to draw from their unique mix of intelligences … in ways that inspire them to take the next step with their strengths in mind. Start with a simple MI survey to show people just how many intelligences they have … and soon after they’ll tell you how many are hidden or unused. 2). Ask people a two footed question – the way Pau... BrainBasedBusiness blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1553105 Sat, 28 Jun 2008 14:31:02 +0100 1553105 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1522191&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F06%2F16%2Ffrom-virtuality-to-reality-second-life-fitness%2F How could we combine the opportunities of Second Life, the virtual world, with the advantages of reality? Check out Second Life Fitness. You need something like this: And it leads to this: If you ride the bike, you can fly in Second Life. There are currently 54 users (with a total distance of 974 km). Isn’t it a fantastic idea? More about Second Life: Top 10: Virtual Medical Sites in Second Life! How and Why to use Second Life for Education? Nature’s role in e-Science: Second Life conference LIVE SciFoo lives on in Second Life: Web 2.0 and Medicine Live Blogging Today: First Medical Simulation in Second Life! Everything about Second Life and Medical Education Scientific Research and Medicine in Second Life (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1522191 Mon, 16 Jun 2008 20:47:39 +0100 1522191 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1466091&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F05%2F23%2Fpulse-oximeter-in-second-life%2F You may know about the Ann Myers Medical Center in Second Life, the virtual world, where we train medical students and nurses through case presentations. The more realistic these medical simulations are, the more efficiently the education can be. That’s why the new pulse-oximeter in our center could be really helpful during the exercises. Here is a screenshot of the ITU: What you can edit on the monitor: BPM oxygen saturation temperature blood pressure And the monitor itself: Take a look at it yourself. Further reading: Live Blogging Today: First Medical Simulation in Second Life! Everything about Second Life and Medical Education Genetics in Second Life Medical Training in Second Life Medicine in Second Life: virtual doctors, hospitals, and of course, sperm donation Virtual M... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1466091 Fri, 23 May 2008 19:37:03 +0100 1466091 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1418462&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F05%2F03%2Fgene2mesh-automated-literature-based-genome-annotation%2F Some weeks ago, I mentioned on Twitter how hard it is to find proper gene-disease associations in Pubmed, the database of health-science data. Some days later, P. F. Anderson sent me this link: Gene2MeSH. According to her: Gene2MeSH was described 2 me as mapping various terms used 2 describe the same gene, or genes assoc w/ medical term I gave it a try and made a search for psoriasis: It looks like an interesting and useful idea, while the MeSH heading column seems to be totally unnecessary, for example. I will keep on using it and will let you know how it goes. Further reading: NCBI Introduction to Molecular Biology Information Resources (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1418462 Sat, 03 May 2008 17:37:58 +0100 1418462 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1376738&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F04%2F16%2Ftelemedicine-in-action%2F One of my readers shared this interesting article with me. Technology Review wrote about remote microscopy: Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have developed a modular, high-magnification microscope attachment for cell phones. The device will enable health workers in remote, rural areas to take high-resolution images of a patient’s blood cells using a cell-phone camera, and then transmit the photos to experts at medical centers. Let’s think bravely. The general practitioner finds a suspicious naevus on the patient’s skin during a regular visit; makes a microscopic image and sends it immediately to the dermatologist who can analyize the naevus in high-resolution. The GP gets an answer in minutes. Is it too futuristic? The article added: Leukemia patien... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1376738 Wed, 16 Apr 2008 16:46:06 +0100 1376738 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1340889&cid=t_104696_109_f&fid=35677&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainBasedBusiness%2F%7E3%2F262003718%2Fboredoms_your_choice_research.html Research points to surprising facts about boredom you can use to burst its bubble… regardless of your situation. Have you seen it happen? When boredom pops up through lectures, brain dead meetings, workplace routines, negative effects of venting, or feelings of helplessness … one need not get trapped by its snares. How so? Boredom … it turns out is more of a personal choice … and less related to external forces … than once thought.While it’s true that an increasing number of workers hate their jobs … can you imagine Einstein bored, for instance? If your response is … “Yes but …” you have likely chosen to embrace boredom. Your brain is wired to stay stuck in its rut. Highly successful business leader Michael Neuvirth ... BrainBasedBusiness blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1340889 Tue, 01 Apr 2008 15:30:30 +0100 1340889 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1335264&cid=t_104696_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F260058257%2F Jim and I were running to catch a D train under the Port Authority bus terminal on Friday night when we heard the drumming: “Those guys are always here,” Jim noted of two men playing upside down white plastic buckets with sticks. One man wore a black cap; his drumming involved some acrobatic footwork (”$5 per photo” said a handwritten piece of cardboard). A large circle of people were watching as I glanced back. The train screeched in; the strong fast beats kept going. Would Charlie have stopped and stood, shoulders scrunched up and eyes squinting, to take in the sound and the sensations? I ask because Charlie was not with us, but home in New Jersey with my parents, and thinking about how Charlie thinks is a reflex for me. Jim’s putting on a sort of mini-confe... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1335264 Sat, 29 Mar 2008 05:18:59 +0100 1335264 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1332529&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F03%2F28%2Fdo-you-hate-pubmed-here-is-the-solution%2F After the presentation I gave at Yale this February, all the questions of physicians focused on the problems and concerns about PubMed. And recently, Anna Kushnir expressed her thoughts on this: For a site that is as vital to scientific progress as PubMed is, their search engine is shamefully bad. It’s embarrassingly, frustratingly, painfully bad. And later, on the Canadian Medicine blog, another similar article was published while in the comment section, the admins of Pubmed promised to improve the search engine. Well, I think I might have a solution for you. Check out Scienceroll Search which is a personalized medical search engine powered by Polymeta.com. You can choose which databases to search in and which one to exclude from your list. It works with well-known medical search engine... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1332529 Fri, 28 Mar 2008 07:27:20 +0100 1332529 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1322388&cid=t_104696_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F256731569%2F Charlie’s long had a liking for ketchup and when eating French fries, asks me about every other minute “Mom, I want ketchup, ketchup please!”. But I think we could do without this device—–Charlie also likes relish and talk about something a mother doesn’t want to see splatted on the wall! (Or even the table, or a certain boy’s shirt.) Tags: asd, asperger, autism, condiments, food, invention, ketchup, laundry, mother, pdd-nos, shirt, Technology, water funShare This (Source: Autism Vox) Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1322388 Mon, 24 Mar 2008 00:06:33 +0100 1322388 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1316703&cid=t_104696_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F255058596%2F There was a time when I never was sure my alarm clock would go off to wake me up for work. I had a digital alarm clock and Charlie, starting when he was about six years old, loved to post himself on his knees in front of a digital clock and change the numbers. At first he just stared at the blinking red lights that turned into numbers when he pushed the buttons; eventually he figured out how to change the numbers. 0, 3, 5, and 8 were the ones he favored, and in different patterns. Charlie had learned his numbers quickly when he was 2 1/2; the alphabet letters were much more difficult, and he still identifies some incorrectly. But numbers always seemed to get his attention and he would even take the letter E’s from his alphabet puzzles and turn them around to be 3’s. It got to t... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1316703 Thu, 20 Mar 2008 18:28:08 +0100 1316703 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1306061&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F03%2F16%2Fmedicine-20-carnival-health-20-apps-and-virtual-education%2F I’m afraid this is the last time I host Medicine 2.0 (#19) before the summer as all the dates are taken by great bloggers. So now I would like to share dozens of interesting and useful links with you about the realm of Medicine 2.0 (education, virtual environment, communication) and Health 2.0 (patient communities, web tools in health care, e.g.). I hope you’ll enjoy Let’s start with a new review from Joshua Rosenthal, Ph.D. posted at Read Write Web about new Health 2.0 apps. He focused on: Personal health records: Google Health and Healtvault: Health 2.0 devices like a wrist-worn blood pressure unit, and a blood glucose meter: Trends: Right now everybody has your data but you. Your doctor, your employer and your insurance company have the information and the tool... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1306061 Sun, 16 Mar 2008 19:59:41 +0100 1306061 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1306091&cid=t_104696_109_f&fid=35677&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainBasedBusiness%2F%7E3%2F252507302%2Fracism_choice_and_relevancy_in.html  Seth Godin sees change almost always made during the down part of a cycle and so do I. Seth calls change the opportunity of a lifetime ... with all the excitement and future opportunities that entails. Have you experienced it? When HR Magazine and SHRM first contacted the MITA International Brain Based Center … I was thrilled for two reasons.First … what hope we all have when peak performance brainpower shapes finer organizations ... with higher integrity.The largest human relations organization in the world supported brains at work by showing vital research … and also by reporting neuroscience discoveries that influence and change behavior at work.Second … the story breaks mental ground and opens the door to discuss 5 mind-bending topics that wi... BrainBasedBusiness blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1306091 Sun, 16 Mar 2008 16:53:49 +0100 1306091 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1274827&cid=t_104696_132_f&fid=35024&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBlindscientist%2F%7E3%2F244903659%2F If I had a vote in these polls that decide for the best and (maybe) worst inventions I think these would be mine: Best: Wheel Worst: Cellphone (Source: Blind.Scientist) Blind.Scientist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1274827 Mon, 03 Mar 2008 15:27:28 +0100 1274827 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1258217&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F02%2F26%2Fgrand-rounds-422-the-future-of-medicine%2F It’s a great pleasure for me to host Grand Rounds again after almost a year. The idea of Nick Genes shines more than ever so I hope I can show you plenty of useful and valuable submissions from the medical blogosphere. So this time, the topic is the future of medicine which means I’ll feature some blogposts about genetics and web 2.0 as medicine might be centered around these two terms in the future. Enjoy it! Editor’s Choice (Genetics or Web 2.0): Karina S. Descartin at The story of healing talked about Jay Parkinson, the web-savvy doctor and use of media in medicine. At Scienceroll, I had an interview with Jay Parkinson, or if you would like to know more about web 2.0 and medicine, check out my recently published slideshow. Joshua Schwimmer at Tech Medicine featured... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1258217 Tue, 26 Feb 2008 19:28:47 +0100 1258217 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1243472&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F02%2F19%2Finterview-with-jay-parkinson-the-web-savvy-doctor%2F Some weeks ago, I wrote about a special physician, a real web-savvy doctor, Jay Parkinson . His patients can contact him by MSN, Google Talk or video chat. Now, he agreed to asnwer some of my questions. Why did you decide to be a new kind of physician? I have a very simple response to this. I grew up with the internet. My practice simply makes sense to me and my generation. Have you created your homepage yourself? Are you a web savvy doctor, I mean do you watch actively the medical part of the web? I did design my website in its totality from the ground up. It went through a few incarnations and took about a month to do working all hours of the day and night. But I like challenging myself with these kind of projects. I’m a photographer as well and much of my web design can be se... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1243472 Wed, 20 Feb 2008 07:01:24 +0100 1243472 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1236968&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F02%2F16%2Fweb-20-and-medicine-the-slideshow%2F I finally uploaded the slideshow I presented at the Medicine Meets Vitual Reality conference in Long Beach; at the University of Yale and at the hospital of Greenwich. I talked about how to build an online reputation for a medical practice or a research, but as I gave these slideshows in person, I couldn’t include all the texts in the slides. I plan to record the oral part of the presentation as well. Feel free to give me any kind of feedback! (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1236968 Sat, 16 Feb 2008 20:05:04 +0100 1236968 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1179694&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F01%2F26%2Fjove-pubmed-rss-and-many-more%2F After yesterday’s post about WeShow, here is an announcement of the recent improvements of JoVe, the Journal of Visualized Experiments, which is getting closer to become the best resource of medical/scientific videos. The Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVE) and science bloggers have one very important thing in common – we believe that science belongs on the internet. These recent developments will help to accelerate the pace of research: o JoVE may soon be indexed on PubMed! When the ruling committee convenes in June, JoVE will become the first video journal ever to be reviewed by PubMed. o JoVE recently signed an agreement with established science publishing companies (Annual Reviews, Springer Protocols, Current Protocols) for joint protocol publication, as in this example... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1179694 Sat, 26 Jan 2008 13:28:11 +0100 1179694 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1177726&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F01%2F25%2Fj-craig-venter-institute-builds-first-man-made-genome%2F What? I’m away for 2 days and the world turns upside down? Scientists have built the first synthetic genome by stringing together 147 pages of letters representing the building blocks of DNA. The researchers used yeast to stitch together four long strands of DNA into the genome of a bacterium called Mycoplasma genitalium. They said it’s more than an order of magnitude longer than any previous synthetic DNA creation. Leading synthetic biologists said with the new work, published Thursday in the journal Science, the first synthetic life could be just months away — if it hasn’t been created already. (From Wired Science) (Found on Twitter) (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1177726 Fri, 25 Jan 2008 20:45:41 +0100 1177726 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1167219&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F01%2F22%2Fpersonal-genome-explorer-at-home-how-to-analyze-the-results-of-your-genome%2F The Idea of the Month Award should certainly be given to Andrew Scheidecker who created a personal genome explorer tool in order to analyze his own data from 23andMe. But let’s read his explanation: At the time, 23andme’s website didn’t allow you to download the data they gathered from your DNA; my first goal was to write a tool that would allow you to do that. The tool connects to their website via HTTP and parses the raw data from the HTML pages. This doesn’t violate their terms of service and shouldn’t overload their servers; a maximum of 2 simultaneous connections is used by the tool. The raw data it reads is in the form of a mapping from Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms that 23andme tests (around 600,000 SNPs) to the genotype of that SNP that you matched. It will take a f... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1167219 Mon, 21 Jan 2008 23:23:00 +0100 1167219 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1146414&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F01%2F12%2Flearners-tv-free-education-online%2F Last year, I started to create a list about sites focusing on medical/scientific videos, lectures and animations. I’ve been actively improving that list which now contains 17 websites! Through the comment section, I’ve recently come across a new service currently in beta. LearnersTV.com seems to be a unique resource of medical lectures. This is a comprehensive site providing free Video lectures, Animations, LiveOnline Tests, Audio lectures, ebook download links etc in the fields of Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Computer Science, Engineering, Medicine etc… This site provides free video/audio lectures of whole courses conducted by faculty from reputed universities around the world. Of course, my favourite section was the one dedicated to Medical Genetics. What ... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1146414 Sat, 12 Jan 2008 21:49:34 +0100 1146414 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1136897&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F01%2F08%2Fnewborn-screening-for-bubble-boy-disease-interview%2F On the 1st of January, the state of Wisconsin made a major step in the field of newborn screening. The collaboration of Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin and the Jeffrey Modell Foundation resulted in screening newborns for Severe Combined Immune Deficiency (SCID). According to the Wikipedia article this is: …a genetic disorder in which both B and T cells of the adaptive immune system are crippled, due to a defect in one of several possible genes. SCID is a severe form of heritable immunodeficiency. It is also known as the “bubble boy” disease because its victims are extremely vulnerable to infectious diseases. I’ve already presented The Jeffrey Modell Foundation (headquarters in New York) to you in June. Now, to know more abo... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1136897 Tue, 08 Jan 2008 21:39:14 +0100 1136897 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1128767&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2008%2F01%2F03%2Fphysician-of-the-year-a-web-savvy-doctor%2F Even if we are in the very first days of January, I’m pretty sure I can tell you who is the physician of the year. Ricardo Vidal, the author of My Biotech Life, shared this link with me. Jay Parkinson is a doctor in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. He says he is a new kind of physician. And I must agree with this statement for several reasons: You can contact him by phone/MSN/Yahoo/AIM/GTalk, text or video chat. After the first meeting, you can have an eVisit by videochat. He has a database of fees for several NYC specialists and medications. He has a perfect website with a blog, a correct CV and a lot of information. You can apply to be his patient online!! Am I the only one astonished by this? That’s what I call modern medicine and modern healthcare. Of course, the whole healthcare... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1128767 Thu, 03 Jan 2008 20:16:02 +0100 1128767 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1121736&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F12%2F29%2Fsteps-forward-in-clinical-genetics%2F As I promised I’m here again to keep you up-to-date about the wonderful realm of clinical genetics. While there is a shortage of geneticists in the US and in other parts of the world as well, we can see some improvements regarding certain medical conditions. Let’s start with fragile X syndrome. Fragile X syndrome is the most common cause of mental retardation. As Wikipedia says: Mutation of the FMR1 gene leads to the transcriptional silencing of the fragile X-mental retardation protein, FMRP. In normal individuals, FMRP binds and facilitates the translation of a number of essential neuronal RNAs. In fragile X patients, however, these RNAs are not translated into proteins. Original source: Wikimedia Commons under Free Art License The researchers of the Picower Institute for Lea... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1121736 Sat, 29 Dec 2007 17:23:27 +0100 1121736 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1108693&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F12%2F21%2Fgoogles-knol-against-wikipedia%2F Google loves the content of Wikipedia. Just do some Google searches and you’ll see the Wikipedia articles among the top results. While Google tries to battle Wikipedia and to create their own encyclopaedia ( under the name Knol), I thought I should share my thoughts with you as a Wikipedia administrator. But Larry Sanger, the head and founder of Citizendium, the expert-encyclopaedia, has beat me to it: There are a few problems. First, quality. It looks to me as if Knol is a high-level attempt to do what many others have done… Time will tell, but Knol will probably resemble other such websites, and have a huge amount of mediocre content, with a little excellent content mixed in. The concept does not sound like a model that would attract many genuine experts. I say that because t... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1108693 Thu, 20 Dec 2007 23:07:37 +0100 1108693 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1108694&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F12%2F20%2Fgopubmed-social-networking-features-for-biomedical-experts%2F When I took a look at GoPubMed.org, my first reaction was “Wow”! Transinsight tells you what happens when you mix PubMed with semantic web. Biomedical research happens in networks of researchers. Social networking web sites like FaceBook, LinkedIn and Xing use personal networks to establish contacts. On these sites, however, connections must be defined by the users themselves. For the first time, GoPubMed now completely and automatically extracts collaboration networks from millions of biomedical science publications. For each concept in the selected semantic background knowledge, GoPubMed’s “Hot-Topic-View” shows the collaboration network between top authors in this field of research. Collaboration networks can now be experienced and visualized. GoPubMed also now allows ... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1108694 Thu, 20 Dec 2007 22:30:37 +0100 1108694 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1097679&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F12%2F16%2Fpersonalized-genetics-dangers%2F When I decided some months ago to try to keep you up-to-date in the field of personalized genetics, I only could include 2-3 articles in an edition. Now it takes at least a half an hour to reduce the number to 10. So here are the latest and most interesting announcements about individualized medicine. FDA Issues Asians-Only Epilepsy Drug Warning (WSJ Blog): The world took another baby step toward personalized medicine today, as the FDA said people of Asian descent should be screened for a particular genetic variation before they take carbamazepine, a drug used to treat epilepsy and bipolar disorder. Steve Murphy, the Gene Sherpa, also covered this: Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis and Pharmacogenomics George Church wants to sequence your genome. (Technology Review): The trait data of the ... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1097679 Sun, 16 Dec 2007 19:12:11 +0100 1097679 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1070251&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F12%2F04%2Fpersonalized-genetics-back-to-the-personal-genome-project%2F It’s so good to see Jason Bobe back in action as he has recently presented the Personal Genome Project’s new website and also reported that the Project entered the competition of the Archon X-Prize for Genomics. Thomas Goetz at Epidemix posted the thoughts of George Church, the head of the Personal Genome Project, about those personal genomic companies. Of course, nowadays, I can’t write my carnival-like post without mentioning at least one genetic company, so here is Hsien-Hsien Lei’s interview with Knome CEO Jorge Conde. But Knome offers it’s service for 350,000$! Where is the realm of the 1000$ genome? Blaine Bettinger, our genetic genealogist, tells you… If you can’t afford $1000 to know more about your genetic destiny, then store your DNA at ... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1070251 Tue, 04 Dec 2007 17:59:50 +0100 1070251 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1067784&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F12%2F03%2Fa-google-powered-gene-sequence-web-search-engine%2F Yesterday, David Rothman shared an interesting application with me. Query Gene is a Google-powered search engine with which you can combine text and gene sequence fragment web searches. What can you do if you have a sequence and you’d like to know whether this sequence has ever been associated with genetic diseases? Query Gene is a web-based program that searches for information about genetic sequences on the web. It is distinctive because it is not limited to a single database, but instead captures genetic information on the entire Internet using Google. Query Gene works by taking a gene sequence in combination with other search terms, finds similar sequences using NCBI’s MegaBlast, retrieves the descriptions of those matching genes from NCBI’s Entrez Nucleotide database... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1067784 Mon, 03 Dec 2007 21:28:00 +0100 1067784 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1060033&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F11%2F30%2Fknome-the-review%2F As today is the day when Knome launches the first commercial whole-genome sequencing and analysis service for individuals, I thought it’s time to write the review about them. If you want to read the review about 23andMe, Navigenics or Helix Health, check out this post. Website: Design: Too simplified. It looks like the site of 23andMe in the old days, so I’m pretty sure it’ll change a lot soon. Informativeness: An About me page that mentions the founders; and a FAQ page that aims to answer all the important questions. Anyway, they fail to mention the details of their “comprehensive” analysis and the other team members like clinicians or geneticists. They don’t tell us how they predict disease-associated risks neither. Team: The main advisor is un... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1060033 Thu, 29 Nov 2007 23:18:36 +0100 1060033 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1049019&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F11%2F25%2Fbiomed-central-launched-a-youtube-channel%2F BioMed Central has recently made a big step towards web 2.0. The new YouTube Channel of Biomed Central is a perfect example which, I hope, will be followed by other open access journals as well. A screenshot from their blog: We aim to include as many videos as possible relating to BioMed Central, so if you have created a video about an article you have recently published, or on open access issues in general, please upload it to YouTube and send us the link so we can add it to the channel. BioMed Central is an independent publishing house committed to providing immediate open access to peer-reviewed biomedical research. All original research articles published by BioMed Central are made freely and permanently accessible online immediately upon publication. BioMed Central views open access... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1049019 Sun, 25 Nov 2007 17:18:44 +0100 1049019 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1034859&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F11%2F18%2Forder-your-dna-portrait%2F Deepak Singh, the author of BBGM, shared an interesting link with us through Twitter. You can get your own DNA portrait at DNA 11. In the era of personalized genetics, it’s a perfect example how industry will use these methods to explore all the financial possibilities. Here is DNA 11: DNA 11 is the original creator of DNA Portraits-the world’s most personal form of art. We have propelled an entire industry with unique artwork based on genetic codes. Endorsed by the Museum of Modern Art design stores in New York as innovative masterpieces, our DNA Portraits, Fingerprint Portraits and KISS Portraits let you make the ultimate personal artistic statement. How does it work? You order your complete DNA collection kit. Collect a cheek cell swab using the swab they provide. Send the ... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1034859 Sun, 18 Nov 2007 21:24:17 +0100 1034859 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1034650&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F11%2F18%2F23andme-the-re-review%2F A week ago, I wrote a review about the three major companies focusing on personalized genetics. That time, I couldn’t include all the required information in the section of 23andMe. Now, here is the re-review: Website: Design: Great! Clear structure, big buttons, nice colors. That’s how it should look like because all the functions are easily accessible. Informativeness: I must say, nearly perfect. Own pages for experts and laypeople as well. Sections for the scientific and the medical communities. Tutorials, descriptions, explanations about the basic concepts of genetics and their service. Like David P. Hamilton noted that more information about genetic counseling would be needed. Team: Detailed introductions to all the founders, editors and advisors. You can also watc... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1034650 Sun, 18 Nov 2007 12:21:50 +0100 1034650 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1033085&cid=t_104696_109_f&fid=35677&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainBasedBusiness%2F%7E3%2F185850581%2Fwhats_your_problem.html You can launch a life-changing invention that helps one person at a time … simply by looking beyond routines to spot gaps. Imagine using your brain to make a difference for others … and you have already begun the process. The spark for invention comes from finding flaws in practices around you. Spot the problem ... but then do much more than gripe. How so? Come up with an invention (or intervention). It’s a bit like looking at a glitch … with a solution in mind. What unmet need or unsolved problem pops up repeatedly where you work? What could be done better … or easier … if you were to break away from business as usual today? Is there something missing in any part of your work … that could be simpler, more complete or cost saving? S... BrainBasedBusiness blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1033085 Fri, 16 Nov 2007 16:35:05 +0100 1033085 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1022524&cid=t_104696_109_f&fid=35677&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainBasedBusiness%2F%7E3%2F183915816%2Fwhat_could_you_invent.html What a find! Today I discovered Michael Neuvirth’s  company … Chutzpatent … where he, “invents innovations that change the world.” At his blog … Doctor of Invention …  Michael makes innovations seem as easy as the inspiration that drives his markets. In his book … Physician Invent Thyself … he spotlights genius at works in ordinary inventor minds. “How do we license, sell and commercialize them?” Michael asks…. “You need a lot of chutzpa!” he answers. It’s the story that followed that caught my curiosity …  In Michael’s words…. We could not get a meeting with a particular company that we wanted as a strategic partner. Nothing helped, including flowers for the ... BrainBasedBusiness blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1022524 Tue, 13 Nov 2007 03:46:50 +0100 1022524 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1018923&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F11%2F10%2Fnavigenics-23andme-and-helix-health-the-review%2F Discussion: Hard to say anything clever at this point. I’d say, for me, Navigenics‘ service isn’t worth 2500 $ as they don’t really tell me what kind of SNPs they analyze. So I don’t know what exactly I get for my money. 23andMe seems to be focused mainly on genealogy information and genetic social networking while Helix Health seems to provide the “most personal” service but probably they have the weakest financial background among these companies. What you can take for granted is that there’ll be an even bigger media coverage about these projects as they will rule the next years in personalized medicine. If we could merge the real advantages of these companies: the fantastic team of Navigenics and their unique business model; the financial... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1018923 Sat, 10 Nov 2007 20:53:54 +0100 1018923 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1009440&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F11%2F06%2Ftop-20-facebook-applications-in-science-and-medicine%2F Facebook is a social networking site with several thousands of applications that you can add to your profile. While some of the biggest stories in the news are about the future of this community site, I thought I should create a collection of useful applications from the field of medicine, science and web 2.0. Enjoy! Health and Medicine: Medline Publications: List your Medline-listed academic publications on your Facebook profile, and view your friends’ publications as well! Med Tracker: Use Med Tracker to share your ratings of prescription and over the counter drugs. Healia Health Challenge Quiz Game: You can test your health knowledge with this interactive health quiz game. Challenge your friends to see who knows more about health and medicine. You start with being Pre-Med, ... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1009440 Tue, 06 Nov 2007 18:57:38 +0100 1009440 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=983928&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F10%2F27%2Fvirtual-labs-of-cardiology-neurophysiology-and-many-more%2F That’s why I’m an admirer of Stumble Upon. I’ve recently come across the Virtual Labs of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. An other great example for education. They feature: The Transgenic Fly Virtual Lab The Bacterial Identification Lab The Cardiology Lab The Neurophysiology Lab (I’m sure Moheb will like this one.) The Immunology Lab Of course, I started with the Cardiology Lab: The focus of this lab is on heritable diseases of the heart. You are cast here as a virtual intern to accompany a doctor examining three different patients. Each patient is examined using more than one diagnostic tool, and at each stage, the doctor will invite you to examine the patient yourself and ask for your opinion. I find the quizzes extremely helpful. Check it out! (Source: S... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=983928 Sat, 27 Oct 2007 17:42:59 +0100 983928 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=964593&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F10%2F19%2Fweb-directories-of-medicine-and-web-20%2F Dr. Uri Ginzberg, a pediatrician and the author of Medical 2.0 Blog and Guy Ruvio enterpreneu have launched a great project.They plan to create a useful database of web 2.0 based medical links, wikis, community sites and journals. They encourage everybody to join and help improving the database. Why is it unique? It establishes a well developed aggregation tool in the field of health/medicine 2.0 Creates a base for future social networking through the experince of the platforms showed in medical 2.0. Gives a detailed knowledge in the interaction between health, web 2.0 and consumers. What is the difference between medicine 2.0 and health 2.0? Walter Jessen has the perfect answer: Medicine 2.0 is science of maintaining and/or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis and trea... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=964593 Fri, 19 Oct 2007 20:23:03 +0100 964593 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=964594&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F10%2F19%2Fpersonalized-medicine-timeless-resources%2F For months, I’ve been trying to keep you up-to-date in personalized genetics, an emerging field of medicine. I’d like to share some timeless resources with you now which you could use while seeking information about this branch of genetics and medicine. Let’s start with the goals of personalized health care:   Goal 1: Link Clinical and Genomic Information to Support Personalized Health Care Goal 2: Protect individuals from discrimination based or unauthorized use of genetic information Goal 3: Ensure the accuracy and clinical validity of genetic tests performed for medical application purposes Goal 4: Develop common policies for access to genomic databases for federally sponsored programs What can personalized medicine give to the world according to The Age of Pers... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=964594 Fri, 19 Oct 2007 18:57:13 +0100 964594 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=958903&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F10%2F17%2Fsoftware-applications-for-pathology-laboratory%2F Today, I came across an interesting site. I’ve never thought there were so many useful software applications for pathologists. On the page of Juha Nickels, MD, PhD, a Docent in Clinical Pathology at the University of Helsinki, Finland, you can find and download these: Prostate cancer volume calculation ( with 3D rendering and T-classification) Cerebrospinal fluid expert system using fuzzy logic Hematological calculator Bronchoalveolar lavage expert system Bronchoalveolar lavage expert system on the web Online appointment scheduling system(”IT Solution in Finnish Healthcare” Award winning 2004) Tumour area and volume calculator Isn’t it fantastic to have a software guru in your laboratory of pathology? Prostate cancer volume calculation (Click to enlarge! ) ... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=958903 Wed, 17 Oct 2007 19:16:39 +0100 958903 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=957284&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F10%2F17%2Fthe-formulae-of-venter-dawkins-church-pz-myers-and-ridley%2F At Edge.org, you can find the formulae of many famous scientists. It’s funny and interesting at the same time because you can learn a lot about a person by his/her formula. Check it out! Here is my selection (click on the image to enlarge): Craig J. Venter George Church, the head of the Personal Genome Project PZ Myers, the author of Pharyngula Matt Ridley, the author of Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters Richard Dawkins, Evolutionary Biologist (Via Gene Expression) (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=957284 Wed, 17 Oct 2007 08:16:03 +0100 957284 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=956110&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F10%2F16%2Fruckus-nation-an-online-idea-competition-to-get-kids-moving%2F I’ve told you how much I admire Hopelab, a non-profit organization, for several times. After the Re-Mission game which helps children fighting cancer, here is their new project, Ruckus Nation. This competition is about to find great ideas for new products that will get kids moving. They have already accepted many submissions as contestants range in age from 9 to 76, representing 43 countries and 40 U.S. states. You can register here. According to their latest announcement: Based on feedback from participants, the contestant registration deadline has been moved to November 20 to coincide with the deadline for submitting Ruckus Nation entries. The two separate deadlines were confusing to some people, so we’ve simplified things. The Ruckus Nation contestant registration deadline is n... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=956110 Tue, 16 Oct 2007 21:32:53 +0100 956110 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=949924&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F10%2F14%2Fthe-first-journal-dedicated-to-personalized-genetics%2F I often get some e-mails from my readers asking me to tell them which journal focuses only on personalized genetics and I always have to say, as far as I’m concerned, there aren’t any really focused journals in this field of medicine. But now: The biological sciences have been transformed by genomics over the past ten years, and the next decade will see a similar revolution in medicine. The medical research community is increasingly turning to the use of large-scale, high-throughput genomic techniques to address clinical questions. To maximize the visibility and impact of this vital and growing field of research, we are pleased to announce the launch of the latest addition to the BMC series, BMC Medical Genomics. The journal is entirely open access - all articles will be immedi... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=949924 Sun, 14 Oct 2007 19:16:21 +0100 949924 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=949694&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F10%2F14%2Fthe-best-innovations-of-2007-in-medicine%2F The R & D Magazine asked some researchers from around the world to choose and present the best innovations of 2007 at the forefront of technology. The editors of R&D Magazine are proud to announce the winners of the 45th Annual R&D 100 Awards. This annual competition recognizes the best in innovation—on a global scale. Indeed, the products and technologies highlighted on the following pages are among the most innovative ideas from today’s technology powerhouses in academia, government, and industry, worldwide. Here is my selection from the field of medicine: Active Protection System is a unique protective textile that instantly becomes rigid upon impact, but remains flexible and breathable when protection is not required. The System consists of a three-dimensional spacer f... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=949694 Sun, 14 Oct 2007 10:12:06 +0100 949694 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=941855&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F10%2F10%2Fsupport-me-to-have-my-genome-sequenced%2F I’ve already written a post about it, but this time I came across a more useful service, Justgiving.com, where I try to promote my mission more efficiently. I know I’m not a Craig Venter, Misha Angrist or anybody else in the list of the 10 subjects of the Personal Genome Project (PGP) whose genomes will be sequenced and published, but as I plan to pledge my life to personalized genetics, I’d love to know more about my genetic destiny. So I’ve created this fundraising page to try to make my dream come true. According to the PGP or Venter, the 1000$ genome is going to be reality somewhen in the next few years. I believe it’s not going to be so easy, that’s why some SNPs (Single nucleotide polymorphism) of mine would be enough to know about. I want to try to prevent some dise... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=941855 Wed, 10 Oct 2007 17:33:07 +0100 941855 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=938772&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F10%2F09%2Flive-webinar-about-parkinsons-disease%2F Join the world’s leading researchers who are attending the 50th Anniversary Educational Symposium of the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation for a lively briefing about the future of Parkinson’s diagnosis and treatment on Thursday, October 11, 10:00 – 11:30 AM (Eastern) Where? In-person: South Street Seaport, Bridgewaters, 11 Fulton Street, New York, NY Remote: Bloggers and the media can join a live Webinar/teleconference! If you want to participate, please drop me an e-mail. The moderator will be Stanley Fahn, M.D. (Columbia University Medical Center). Anyway, I hope I can make an interview with Dr. Jeffrey Kordower about the latest on gene therapies for Parkinson’s disease. (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=938772 Tue, 09 Oct 2007 21:52:35 +0100 938772 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=935280&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F10%2F08%2F2007-nobel-and-ignobel-prizes-in-medicine%2F Congratulations to Mario R. Capecchi, Oliver Smithies, and Sir Martin J. Evans for winning this year’s Nobel Prize in medicine “for their discoveries of principles for introducing specific gene modifications in mice by the use of embryonic stem cells“! Here are some quality posts about it: 2007 Nobel Prize in Medicine Goes To Mice Geneticists (Eye on DNA) Of Mice, Men and the Nobel Prize for Medicine (Highlight Health) The 2007 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (Sandwalk) Source The winners of the 2007 IgNobel prizes for improbable research were also announced (hat tip: BabyLab): MEDICINE: Brian Witcombe of Gloucester, UK, and Dan Meyer of Antioch, Tennessee, USA, for their penetrating medical report “Sword Swallowing and Its Side Effects.” RE... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=935280 Mon, 08 Oct 2007 18:59:41 +0100 935280 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=935281&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F10%2F08%2Freliefinsitecom-interview-with-the-founder-of-the-online-pain-diary%2F I’ve recently written about ReliefInsite.com, a secure online pain management service, for both the physician and the patient. Now I got a chance to make an interview with the founder, Fred Eberlein: When and how did you come up with the idea of creating an online “pain diary”? The idea for the ReliefInsite pain management service is based on two facts. The first is that patient self-reporting plays a critical role in pain diagnosis and treatment. The second is that healthcare lacks a cost-effective means for collecting, organizing, and presenting such information in a way that is clear and actionable. The initial idea for ReliefInsite came up in a meeting I had with Mark Perloe, MD, in June 2000 during a visit to his medical practice in Atlanta, Georgia. I was meetin... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=935281 Mon, 08 Oct 2007 18:22:15 +0100 935281 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=932688&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F10%2F06%2Fopen-letter-to-the-physicians-of-the-world%2F Dear Medical Professionals, I’m writing to you to describe why to use web 2.0’s features in your practice. I’m pretty sure web 2.0, the new generation of web services, will play an important role in the future of medicine. These web tools, expert-based community sites, medical blogs and wikis can ease the work of physicians, scientists, medical students or medical librarians. We, medical bloggers, believe the new generation of web services will change the way medicine is practiced and healthcare is delivered. In the field of medicine, the most important thing is to get the right information in time. With the tools, services and sites of web 2.0, it’s getting easier and even more comfortable. Those physicians, who want to be up-to-date in their fields, should be open to... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=932688 Sat, 06 Oct 2007 15:00:42 +0100 932688 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=921747&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F10%2F02%2Fvisualization-software-of-ibm-for-the-future-of-medicine-interview%2F I’ve recently come across a really interesting announcement, IBM Research Unveils 3-D Avatar to Help Doctors Visualize Patient Records and Improve Care. You know well how important it is to have electronic health records while constructing the basis of personalized medicine. That’s why this new software of IBM Zurich Research Lab using a 3D representation of the human body could be very useful for physicians in the future. The Anatomic and Symbolic Mapper Engine (ASME) visualizes patient medical records. “It’s like Google Earth for the body,” said IBM Researcher Andre Elisseeff, who leads the healthcare projects at IBM’s Zurich Research Lab. “In hopes of speeding the move toward electronic healthcare records, we’ve tried to make information easily accessible for hea... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=921747 Tue, 02 Oct 2007 21:58:22 +0100 921747 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=918007&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F10%2F01%2Fmybiowizard-your-homepage-for-medical-and-life-science-information%2F If you are a medical professional, you certainly use Pubmed and you may use the Save Search function as well. But BioWizard is your place if you would like to screen that big amount of information coming from Pubmed. It keeps you up- to- date with the most important published literature as chosen by the global biomedical research community. Biowizard has recently added some features to their service under the name of MyBioWizard in order for you to create your own homepage of medical and life science information. Let’s see what you can use now: medical conference abstracts updated daily from thousands of meetings worldwide improved PubMed search with: save search results option with the ability to organize into user-defined folders save abstract feature with the ability to organi... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=918007 Mon, 01 Oct 2007 21:23:37 +0100 918007 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=896065&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F09%2F24%2Fmyopencare-a-social-utility-for-healthcare%2F MyOpenCare is the first (?) electronic platform designed to take full advantage of social networking in the healthcare field. Is this going to be the tool of personalized medicine? Of course, you can upload your content, share and discuss medical issues, but let’s see why Edoardo Narduzzi’s site is unique: H-Book, a technology that allows for the creation of individual plans in conjunction with relevant digital healthcare content WiCare, a tool for the cataloging and sharing of healthcare knowledge. 20% of U.S. patients are already handling their medical data digitally. Our E-Care Diary service will be fully operational by October. A true digital platform that will allow users to post, store, consult, share and exchange their own content electronically, it will prove to be a... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=896065 Mon, 24 Sep 2007 21:10:17 +0100 896065 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=896066&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F09%2F24%2Fhealth-20-conference%2F Health 2.0 was an other conference I had no chance to attend, but at least we had fellow bloggers who informed us about all the things happening there in San Francisco. In Health 2.0 Wiki, we can read that: perhaps 500 people present many major health companies present, many startups, some VCs, Google/Yahoo/… “unconference tables” during lunch got a lot of good comments. Perhaps next time, a second day could be organized as a real unconference? Scott Shreeve, MD - Amazing conference! While it did not meet every need, we were able to demonstrate the incredible interest, excitement, and I think open the eyes of many people to the possibilities. I loved the fact that we had real companies out in front demonstrating real software that was trying to solve real problems. ... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=896066 Mon, 24 Sep 2007 20:36:08 +0100 896066 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=894214&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F09%2F23%2Fpersonalized-medicine-health-and-information-technology%2F It’s getting harder and harder to keep you (and myself) up-to-date about the newest improvements and announcements of personalized medicine. I’m going to present my slideshow to a broader audience on Friday on this topic (The world of Personalized Medicine), and I’m going to publish it on my blog as well. Now, let’s start with the most important and interesting document of the month: Personalized Health Care: Opportunities, Pathways, Resources (PDF; 867 KB) made by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is a must-read! I’m going to dedicate a whole post to this report soon. David P. Hamilton presents Vance Vanier in his post, Perspective: Personalizing Medicine in the Age of Health 2.0. After reading this fascinating article, I had to realize how... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=894214 Sun, 23 Sep 2007 16:13:43 +0100 894214 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=892848&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F09%2F22%2Fted-the-worlds-greatest-thinkers-about-genetics-and-medicine%2F TED (stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design) is a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become ever broader. Genomics pioneer Craig Venter takes a break from his epic round-the-world expedition to talk about the millions of genes his team has discovered so far, in their quest to map the ocean’s hidden biodiversity. He updates the TED audience on his discoveries, from the 2,000 photoreceptor genes found in the Sargasso Sea to the thrill of being under house arrest in French waters. Venter ends with his vision for engineered species that can replace the petrochemical industry by creating clean energy. Nobel laureate James Watson opens TED2005 with the frank and funny story of how he and his partner, Francis Crick, discovered the s... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=892848 Sat, 22 Sep 2007 14:09:40 +0100 892848 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=886289&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F09%2F20%2Fpersonalized-medicine-major-steps-on-the-way%2F You know well, I try to keep you up-do-date about all the improvements and discussions of personalized medicine/genetics. It’s not so easy as I expected as there are more and more articles written on this topic, but just a few of them have really interesting or useful information. This series of posts can turn out to be a blog carnival anyway… Rebecca Taylor at Mary Meets Dolly plans the same as me and has a great follow-up post on pharmacogenomics: Medco’s Epstein said the next highly anticipated FDA action related to personalized medicine may concern the use of CYP2D6 testing in prescribing tamoxifen, which can help prevent a recurrence of breast cancer after initial treatment. A nice article at Gene Expression about the Venter genome and it’s ethical issues. ... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=886289 Thu, 20 Sep 2007 07:13:25 +0100 886289 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=883756&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F09%2F19%2Fhow-and-why-to-use-second-life-for-education%2F Do you think Second Life, the virtual world is still about gambling and pornography? Forget it! While gambling is being forbidden in SL, education has it’s golden age. Let’s see why we should use Second Life for education: Collaboration: You can contact people of the same field of interest from around the world. Without boundaries: You can work with people without boundaries (neither technical or geographical). Interactivity: It’s better than a videoconference because you can use videos, presentations, images and weblinks at the same time in one place. It means you can easily create links between in-world activity and real-world information resources. Support: If you’re a patient, you can easily find people dealing with the same problems. You can meet them virtuall... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=883756 Wed, 19 Sep 2007 14:10:49 +0100 883756 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=868240&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F09%2F13%2Fpersonalized-genetics-dna-20-and-the-best-thoughts-on-our-genome%2F In the last few days, I haven’t been able to blog seriously and to share my thoughts about the improvements of personalized genetics with you, so now here are the most recent and interesting news/articles on this promising field of medicine: Misha Angrist, one of the lucky subjects in George Church’s Personal Genome Project, has a great post on your genes and Alzheimer’s disease. Would you like to know about your ApoE4 status as long as there are no treatments? Questions like this one will rule the discussions about individualized genetics for a while. David Hamilton keeps us up-to-date about the future war between our genes and our health insurers. John Fossella presents DNA 2.0, a provider of synthetic genes and a NYT article about them: Sales of the gene-synthesis ind... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=868240 Thu, 13 Sep 2007 12:25:58 +0100 868240 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=858378&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F09%2F10%2Flive-coverage-scifoo-lives-on-session-about-videos-in-science%2F The new SciFoo lives on session in Second Life is about videos in Science. We’ll have participants, speakers from Bioscreencast, SciVee.tv and many more. For those, who don’t have access to Second Life, I’m going to blog live about what’s happening inside now (PDT time): Live Coverage starts: 8:42: I’m setting up the poster for SciVee.tv. It’s Apryl from SciVee on the left. 8:52: We have more and more participants. A lot of people from Nature! 8:55: It seems Videojug and JoVe couldn’t make it… 9:00: Sharp start again! The first speaker is Deepak Singh from Bioscreencast. 9:04: So many interesting sites: SciVee, JoVe, Nature Podcast, Google Tech Talks… 9:08: Deepak convinced me totally: Bioscreencast is essentially one way for anyone who k... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=858378 Mon, 10 Sep 2007 15:50:45 +0100 858378 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=853463&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F09%2F09%2Fconferences-health-blogging-and-personalized-medicine%2F I just wanted to let you know about two upcoming conferences. As it’d be a mission impossible to get a visa in one month, I can’t make it. Maybe you can: The third Healthcare Blogging & Social Media Summit September 17/18, 2007 The Chicago Hilton, in Chicago, IL, co-located at Consumer Health World Personalized Medicine: Breaking Down the Barriers and Achieving Results October 11 The Conference Center at Harvard Medical School For the second conference, I show you two names just to persuade you to participate: Jason Bobe and Keith Batchelder… (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=853463 Sun, 09 Sep 2007 15:53:27 +0100 853463 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=847326&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F09%2F06%2Findividualized-genomics-update%2F Even in the lab I’m working in, we always say a word about, of course, Craig Venter’s genes. So I’d like to share the best summaries and my favuorite sentences of bloggers with you. First, Sandra Porter asks an interesting question (Why is sequencing a human genome so expensive?) and tries to answer it at the same time. She says with the salaries of the authors and with all the sequencing processes, Venter’s genome costs at least a 100 million $. David P. Hamilton has an excellent (as far as I remember, Deepak used the same word for David’s writings) post on this Venter story written with masterful sarcasm: The real significance of Venter’s genome is that it has officially kicked off a new era of “celebrity genomics” in which we’re likely to see a prog... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=847326 Thu, 06 Sep 2007 19:07:06 +0100 847326 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=841712&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F09%2F05%2Fwikiprofessional-alpha-testing-a-wiki-of-web-30%2F I’ve already talked about WikiProfessional.org, a semantic medical and scientific wiki. This is a new site (currently in alpha testing) on which you can create now your personalized free Internet Desktop. What does it mean? You can upload information about you and your scientific work and there is a Knowlet Space as well: Exploring concepts using the Knowlet Space gives the user a view on the relationships between concepts found in a huge number of scientific publications in just a glance. The Knowlet histogram displaying the concepts related to the source concepts can be adjusted to give different views on the literature. A view on the experts publishing on the concepts of concepts of interest is also easily accessible in the Knowlet Space. As you see, we can filter the results by... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=841712 Wed, 05 Sep 2007 06:53:12 +0100 841712 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=840637&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F09%2F04%2Flive-coverage-now-scifoo-lives-on-session-about-the-definition-of-open-science%2F We’re back again! Here is a new SciFoo lives on session in Second Life, this time about the definition of open science. For those, who don’t have access to Second Life, I’m going to blog live about what’s happening inside SL now (time in Second Life or Pacific time): Live Coverage starts: 8:55: More and more participants are coming. Here is the first image of us: 9:01: Jean-Claude Bradley is launching this session with his poster on Open Notebook Science. 9:03: We’re also going to have Bill Hooker and Richard Akerman speaking today. 9:05: There are plenty of definitions for open science.. Could you give us a good definition? 9:06: Jean-Claude defines Open Notebook Science (ONS): it is where the reseracher’s actual lab notebook is made public in real... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=840637 Tue, 04 Sep 2007 16:00:38 +0100 840637 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=838092&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F09%2F03%2Ftouchgraph-of-scienceroll%2F Hsien-Hsien Lei always finds these colorful graphs and tools with which you can waste some time. But to be honest, I like these. Here is the TouchGraph of Scienceroll.com. It demonstrates the connections between sites and terms. Let’s try it with other sites or search terms. Click on the image to enlarge! Related tools and games with which you can also waste some time: Do you want a DNA necktie or a James Watson Bobblehead? Medical fun again Mouse Party Science jokes In the Human Body and Mind If you want to become a doctor (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=838092 Mon, 03 Sep 2007 17:36:04 +0100 838092 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=835478&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F08%2F31%2Fimprovements-of-radiopaedia-the-wiki-of-radiology%2F I’ve already written about Radiopaedia.org, a wiki dedicated to radiology. I still believe physicians like Frank Gaillard change medicine by making it more accessible for experts and laypeople as well. For years, I’ve been longing for a system in Wikipedia that Frank has just implemented in Radiopaedia: section editors. I think it’s a good idea to have editors (credentialed professional) who are responsible for specific sections or projects. I know Citizendum works like that, but if we could merge the section editor idea with the power of the mass of laypeople, then we could create the ideal wiki. Here is the example of Radiopaedia: Radiopaedia editors are appointed for a minimum of 6 months, and are responsible for not only contributing content, but also for moderating ... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=835478 Fri, 31 Aug 2007 18:21:55 +0100 835478 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=835479&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F08%2F31%2Fvisual-medical-dictionary%2F I’ve recently come across an interesting medical search engine, the Visual Medical Dictionary. Why is it unique? Let’s see an example. I typed diabetes, then I had to choose from this list: I thought I should take a look at Type 2, then I got a description of the disease and this image/graph: So this CureHunter search engine goes beyond regular dictionaries by displaying an ontology context tree (MeSH based) and interactive network graph of related drugs, diseases and therapies. For example: a search for “obesity” will show a strong relationship with “Insulin” and “Exercise” among other drugs and therapies. CureHunter can read the entire US National Library of Medicine Medline Archive. What do they provide? For patients: PDF Reports with ... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=835479 Fri, 31 Aug 2007 16:43:38 +0100 835479 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=828166&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F08%2F29%2Fsites-of-medicalscientific-videos-the-list%2F As the September 10th session of SciFoo lives on in Second Life will be about sites of scientific videos, here is a list of the most famous and useful scientific video providing sites: SciVee.tv: created for scientists, by scientists, moves science beyond the printed word and lecture theater taking advantage of the internet as a communication medium where scientists young and old have a place and a voice. JoVE: an online research journal employing visualization to increase reproducibility and transparency in biological sciences. Bioscreencast: a team of scientists and engineers who got together to create a website specifically for the scientific community to share screencasts (audio/video capture of software running on your computer screen). Videojug: hosts one of the world&#821... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=828166 Wed, 29 Aug 2007 13:29:39 +0100 828166 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=824693&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F08%2F27%2Fscifoo-lives-on-in-second-life-web-20-and-medicine%2F An other fascinating experience today in Second Life! I enjoyed so much to be a co-organizer with Jean-Claude Bradley of today’s session on the Second Nature island. With about 30-35 participants and 5 posters, I really believe we had some interesting and mind-blowing discussions. According to the feedback, people liked my presentation (Web 2.0 and Medicine). First, I talked about web 2.0’s impact on medicine: medical blogs (code of ethics, rankings); medical wikis (Ask Dr Wiki, Radiopaedia); medical podcasts, videocasts, search engines, and our Second Life project, the Ann Myers Medical Center where we had our first medical training 2 weeks ago. Then Max Sanel from Tiromed.com introduced their unique medical community (with more than 2600 members from 70! countries). They&#8... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=824693 Mon, 27 Aug 2007 21:09:48 +0100 824693 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=823034&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F08%2F26%2Fnhs-london-in-second-life%2F I’ve recenly come across a spectacular health center in Second Life, the virtual world. It seems Second Health is run by National Health Service London. Take a look at it by teleporting there! The Second Health London Group is for everyone interested in Healthcare communication in Second Life and the future of healthcare delivery systems in Real Life. Second Health is an experimental, innovative and efficient means of communicating complex healthcare messages as well as illustrating what healthcare of the future could look like. The design of the virtual hospital in Second Health is based on the principles and recommendations outlined in the recently published A Framework for action. I’m fascinated by this project, just watch one of their videos: I’ll watch them closely... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=823034 Sun, 26 Aug 2007 21:27:17 +0100 823034 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=822316&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F08%2F25%2Fnew-clues-for-down-syndrome%2F An excerpt from a recent article at Medical News Today: Scientists in Portugal and the US have discovered a key mechanism involved in the correct separation of chromosomes during the formation of eggs and sperm. The research about to be published in the journal Current Biology shows that BubR1 a gene recently shown to affect cell division maintains the cohesion of paired chromosomes (until their time to divide) during the production of reproductive cells. Because BubR1 mutations can result in cells with abnormal numbers of chromosomes, the research has potential implications for human disorders resulting from loss or gain of chromosomes such as Down Syndrome, a disease caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21. As Claudio Sunkel says, “our observations suggest for the first time that ... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=822316 Sat, 25 Aug 2007 17:24:30 +0100 822316 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=821387&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F08%2F24%2Fpersonalized-medicine-being-up-to-date%2F This article presents specific clinical examples of such challenges and discusses how obstacles to implementation of pharmacogenomic testing can be addressed. Follow Hsien, Steve, Blaine, Jason, Ogan and many other quality bloggers for more in the field of personalized medicine (of course, don’t miss Scienceroll either…). (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=821387 Fri, 24 Aug 2007 14:56:13 +0100 821387 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=821388&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F08%2F24%2Fscifoo-lives-on-in-second-life-27-august%2F I’ve already written about the SciFoo lives on session in Second Life on the Second Nature island. I’m a co-organizer of the next session (Medicine and web 2.0) with Jean-Claude Bradley. I’ll present a short slideshow about medical blogs/wikis/search engines/virtual educational opportunities, etc. I’ve also invited several famous medical sites and communities. Some have accepted my invitation and will be there, some asked me to talk about them. So, if you’re interested, let’s meet on the Second Nature island at 16:00 GMT on Monday. I’m staring at myself… (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=821388 Fri, 24 Aug 2007 14:06:36 +0100 821388 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=818834&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F08%2F23%2Fnejm-image-challenge-and-other-features%2F The New England Journal of Medicine is a pioneer in the field of web 2.0 and medicine among other medical journals. On its beta page, the site mentions several great features. Here are some examples: Google Gadgets NEJM Full-Screen Video Player Audio Interview Feed with Article PDF Most popular at NEJM.org: list of the most blogged/cited articles What I’ve recently come across is the Image Challenge: You can think and vote with others (there are images with more than 12,000 votes!) about possible diagnoses. This is a perfect example of how to create an interactive site. Creativity is an essential attitude in medical journalism! (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=818834 Thu, 23 Aug 2007 17:45:37 +0100 818834 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=811195&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F08%2F20%2Fscifoo-lives-on-in-second-life%2F I’ve already told you how hard it was to be far away from the Science Foo Camp, a unique scientific/geek event: Nature is therefore delighted to be collaborating with O’Reilly to organise the second annual Science Foo Camp, which is being very generously hosted by Google. About 200 leading scientists, technologists, writers and other thought-leaders will be gathering for a weekend of discussion, demonstration and debate. But now, thanks to Second Life, it lives on as Session on Tools for Open Science. Jean-Claude Bradley was so kind to invite me for today’s meeting, it was a fascinating experience to meet many people interested in open science and science 2.0. Here is a short summary about what I’ve heard there. You could also read Jean-Claude’s post which contains t... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=811195 Mon, 20 Aug 2007 21:15:22 +0100 811195 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=808674&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F08%2F19%2Fgoogle-health-questions-and-questions%2F Many interesting articles have ruled the medical blogosphere recently. Now, I’d like to collect these and I’d also like this post to serve as a platform for valuable discussions about Google’s possible role in medicine. DNA Google Logo At Google Kirkland Graham at Over My Med Body has some nice lists on why Google is wrong and on what Google should do. You can read about Dr. Google or Dr. Microsoft at Clinical Cases and Images. According to this post, we’ll not see these improvements before 2008-2009. Scott Shreeve says: I have trusted them with all kinds of my other information (e.g. Google Reader, Google Alert - the editor) - would I trust them with my personal health information? I am still considering it. Check out Constructive Medicine’s thoughts... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=808674 Sun, 19 Aug 2007 21:31:03 +0100 808674 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=808675&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F08%2F19%2Fpluggd-medical-and-scientific-channels%2F I’ve been thinking about launching a videocast but I’m a bit afraid of it as I’m not a natural English speaker. While doing some “research” about it, I’ve come across this service, Pluggd (in beta now): Pluggd provides video and audio search and contextual advertising targeting services. Our Pluggd.com website is an aggregation of both traditional media and independent, online-only producers. We’ve built great tools to help you find what you want, based on topics of interest, popularity, and critical acclaim. You can learn more by taking a tour of the site. Currently, there are 359 medical & scientific channels, so here are some interesting ones: bbgm - the podcast: Voices on biology, infotech and business MicrobiologyBytes: MicrobiologyByte... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=808675 Sun, 19 Aug 2007 21:12:27 +0100 808675 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=806962&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F08%2F18%2Ftudiabetes-hardcore-web-20-for-people-touched-by-diabetes%2F I’ve already written about Sugarstats.com, a useful service with which you can manage your diabetes online, but now I’d like to present TuDiabetes.com, a real web 2.0 site for people touched by diabetes. What can you find there? Diabates-related groups Photos, videos created by the users Forum Diabetes search engine Diabetes sites, books Diabetes blogs from the blogpshere and own blogs maintained by the members If you have to fight with diabetes, check out Sugarstats.com and tudiabetes.com. (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=806962 Sat, 18 Aug 2007 18:08:12 +0100 806962 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=790584&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F08%2F09%2Flive-blogging-today-first-medical-simulation-in-second-life%2F Follow Scienceroll Live today as the first medical simulation is going to take place at 11:00 AM Second Life time = 20:00 CET = 14:00 EDT. So in 5 hours, I’m going to inform you about everything happening inside the Ann Myers Medical Center of Second Life. It’s going to be extremely interesting (and we also believe it’s going to be a revolutionary event in medical education). I’m also going to try to make some videos during the process. Live Blogging Now! 10:45: (Second Life Time= 13:45 EDT): logging into Second Life 10:46: 6 interns are already in there. Everybody is excited. 10:53: More and more people! We’re talking about the new building and heading to the conference room. 10:57: 14 people so far. I blocked Vladimir’s way. It only happens in a vir... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=790584 Thu, 09 Aug 2007 19:57:50 +0100 790584 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=788215&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F08%2F08%2Fweb-20-and-medicine-in-the-medical-journal-of-australia%2F Ves and David have found a great article, The effect of Web 2.0 on the future of medical practice and education: Darwikinian evolution or folksonomic revolution? from the Medical Journal of Australia. Actually, this is a good review of the subject which you can read more about on my Medicine 2.0 page. It’s my honor to be mentioned among such valuable blogs: Medical blogs include discussions about clinical cases, images and special clinical interest topics. Examples include Clinical Cases and Images — Blog (http://casesblog.blogspot.com), Dean Guistini’s UBC Academic Search — Google Scholar Blog (http://weblogs.elearning.ubc.ca/googlescholar), David Rothman (http://davidrothman.net) (lists of medical wikis), and Science Roll (http://scienceroll.com). How interesting is that afte... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=788215 Wed, 08 Aug 2007 21:32:48 +0100 788215 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=785910&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F08%2F07%2Fvirtual-medical-meeting-in-a-virtual-world%2F I’m so sad that I haven’t been able to participate in Science Foo Camp: Nature is therefore delighted to be collaborating with O’Reilly to organise the second annual Science Foo Camp, which is being very generously hosted by Google. About 200 leading scientists, technologists, writers and other thought-leaders will be gathering for a weekend of discussion, demonstration and debate. Here are some summaries of the event: bbgm; Nodalpoint; Daily Transcript… Finally, yesterday I attended a virtual meeting in Second Life where the interns of Ann Myers Medical Center talked about the future of the project. Many mind-blowing ideas about promotion and the first medical simulation that will take place this Thursday! I’m that guy on the left (Berci Dryke), DoctorAnn on... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=785910 Tue, 07 Aug 2007 15:41:10 +0100 785910 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=777752&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F08%2F03%2Fthe-first-medical-simulation-in-second-life-come-and-watch%2F I’ve written about the Ann Myers Medical Center, a virtual medical training center several times, but now, this month is going to be the most important one in the history of medical education of Second Life. An excerpt from the official blog: I’m holding a training exercise on the 9th of August around 9 or 10 am SLT (PDT). I’ll present as a heme pt and give you students some clues, including labs…i might even give you an microscopic image, altho this will be a huge clue. You’ll take time to talk as a group and make some decisions as what test to run and about the diagnosis. Last we’ll have a round table type discussion, where I’ll ask you some questions and provide you some answers. Mainly, I want you to interact as colleagues and have some fun…and hopefully learn a fe... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=777752 Fri, 03 Aug 2007 22:24:57 +0100 777752 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=775414&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F08%2F02%2Fgenetically-naked%2F There has been a serious discussion about the personal genome (a person’s genetic code) in the last few weeks. The beginning of the 21st century is famous for the success of the Human Genome Project, but this time, the subject is your personal genome and it seems to be a complicated task as well. What is this about? The Goal of this project is to develop affordable “personal genome sequences” and a variety of user-friendly applications of such data. So it will make it possible to have your genome (your personal genetic code) sequenced to know more about the future of your health. That’s why I’d like to pledge my life to personalized genetics. Recently, Esther Dyson, a famous venture capitalist, wrote about her decision to reveal all of her genetic data. What a... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=775414 Thu, 02 Aug 2007 20:50:41 +0100 775414 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=770827&cid=t_104696_109_f&fid=35677&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainBasedBusiness%2F%7E3%2F139225088%2Fsynchroton_slows_brain_brain_i.html What does your firm or area do to keep talented and creative people? US Census Bureau findings show brain drain as a problem in many states. And it’s happening in other once vibrant nations too. Check out how creative scientists in Australia are fighting back.  How so?The construction of Australia's first synchrotron at Monash is considered to be the most significant scientific infrastructure investment made in Australia for decades.Australia found an innovative niche for synchrotron that will help reverse 'brain drain' Recently,  scientists in Melbourne opened Australia's first synchrotron, a move that is expected to keep the country on the cusp  of research for decades to come.Unveiled in Melbourne today, this $220 million machine spreads to football ... BrainBasedBusiness blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=770827 Tue, 31 Jul 2007 15:02:29 +0100 770827 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=763653&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F07%2F28%2Fhow-can-web-20-help-medicine%2F I’m a little bit keen on this subject. Just a little bit, you know well. I’d like to share some interesting projects, tools with you to demonstrate how this new generation of web services/tools could help the work of physicians, scientists, medical librarians, etc. Let’s start with a great article from Manhattan Research called Physicians and Web 2.0. Some interesting excerpts: This is not a new Internet, just an evolved version of the Old one. If we narrow the definition of a “Web 2.0 Physician” to that of a physician who reports to post professional content online or participate in online communities with other physicians - as a proxy for the audience within the participatory components of the Web 2.0 trend - the latest data reveal a segment of 245,000 physi... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=763653 Sat, 28 Jul 2007 09:16:04 +0100 763653 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=757972&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F07%2F25%2Fmodern-education-mind-maps-and-second-life%2F You know well how much I’m interested in the improvements of medical education. I really believe that we can train better doctors if the education becomes more comprehensive and modern. Web 2.0 could be useful in that process. In the last few days, I’ve been chatting with Ves Dimov (from ClinicalCases.org) about one of his recent projects: creating mind maps for medical education. He uses Bubbl.us, a web 2.0 tool. Here is a good example for its features: Bubbl.us is a simple and free web application that lets you brainstorm online. He told me that he used a 3-pronged approach to studying: creating you own notes mnemonics mind maps It helped him to score higher than 90-95% on almost all of his exams during medical school and residency. A great idea again from Ves, the pioneer... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=757972 Wed, 25 Jul 2007 21:20:38 +0100 757972 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=749046&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F07%2F21%2Fweb-20-and-clinical-genetics-in-practice%2F Ramūnas Janavičius at cancer-genetics.com sent me some exceptional links to resources of clinical genetics. Why is it important? Once I wrote that: Look, we can’t expect physicians (from any kind of medical specialties) to know everything about all the cc. 4000 genetic conditions. But we can help them how to find relevant information and quickly understandable material on genetic conditions. Last week, I got a chance to see how our geneticists work at the department of pediatrics. I admire their work, but in special cases, they had to search for syndromes in books! I mean they had to go through it page by page. I always dream about a software (a Diagnosaurus-like gadget) with which we could make it easier for physicians to diagnose a genetic condition. You just enter the symptoms and ... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=749046 Sat, 21 Jul 2007 16:37:45 +0100 749046 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=734510&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F07%2F14%2Flets-transform-health-and-health-care%2F Just an official announcement for today: Changemakers, in partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, presents a collaborative competition for the best disruptive innovations that transform health and health care in the U.S. and globally. Additionally, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Pioneer Portfolio is providing $5 million for ideas that transform markets and empower consumers in the U.S. Questions? See our new FAQ Submit your entries by July 18, 2007 3:00 pm EST (21:00 GMT) It’s worth a try. (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=734510 Sat, 14 Jul 2007 08:05:32 +0100 734510 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=733802&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F07%2F13%2Fgolden-links-for-doctors%2F I’ve recently come across a useful site, a league for medical sites. Yes, a champions league with 2nd and third divisions as well. Here are the first 10 sites: PubMed FreeBooks4Doctors.com Amedeo Free Medical Journals British Medical Journal New England Journal of Medicine Centers for Disease Control eMedicine National Institutes of Health Medscape Take a look at that and vote for your favourite medical sites. And I can’t miss to share some other web 2.0 based medical sites with you: Practice Fusion: This is the reason Practice Fusion was established - to bring about a paradigm shift in healthcare IT by providing a revolutionary solution for physicians and their patients. Daily Strength: DailyStrength.org is the largest, most comprehensive health network of people sharing t... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=733802 Fri, 13 Jul 2007 08:05:06 +0100 733802 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=729854&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F07%2F12%2F2000-years-of-human-culture-wellcome-images%2F The Wellcome Trust has released its Wellcome image collection under the Creative Commons Attribution, Non-commercial Licence 2.0. We’ll see how we can use it in Wikipedia. Here is a short collection of some images of the Wellness category: Digitally enhanced MRI of the human head showing the brain and spinal cord in orange/yellow and the other tissues in blue and pink. 6 day old human embryo beginning to implant into the lining of the uterus (endometrium). It’s good to see improvements and projects like this one. (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=729854 Thu, 12 Jul 2007 07:48:21 +0100 729854 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=719823&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F07%2F07%2Ftowards-a-world-without-genetic-diseases%2F I always dream about it. I really believe that in the next decades, we’re going to find a cure or at least a proper treatment for all the important genetic conditions/diseases. Until then, people struggling with these disorders have to learn how to handle their problem. First, here is a beautiful example: Now, let’s see how we can get closer to that dream-world. I know it’s not going to be a patient-based post, but please forgive me this time. Here are 3 major improvements around muscular dystrophies, the first two articles present new diagnostic possibilities, while the third one is about the therapy: Detection And Diagnosis Of Muscular Dystrophy Advanced By New Genetic Test A new genetic test targeting the most common types of muscular dystrophy–those caused b... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=719823 Sat, 07 Jul 2007 20:14:51 +0100 719823 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=713189&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F07%2F03%2Fnextbio-the-search-engine-for-life-sciences-data%2F What a great web 2.0 based site (watch the demo)! Just like you’d use Pubmed, but in a more dynamic way: NextBio is a web-based scientific data search engine that offers instant access, search and collaboration across a vast repository of life sciences information. Our query interface makes it easy to ask questions about genes, pathways, study results, disease areas, compound treatments and biomarkers, just to name a few. Genes, proteins, clinical experimental study result, everything. Give it a shot! (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=713189 Tue, 03 Jul 2007 19:26:52 +0100 713189 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=710301&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F07%2F02%2Fhow-to-manage-a-hospital-in-the-future%2F Have you ever been thinking about how hard (even harder, I mean) it’s going to be to manage a hospital in the future? Many more patients, physicians, policies, guidelines… Imagine a control-room from where you could get a clear overview on the whole system: who comes in who gets a medication who is in the operating room which room is full or emtpy Everything! How? The Digg-like example could be useful: Here is a video about how it works in real-time: They may be interested: Hospital impact Nick’s Blog (Hospital CEO) Running a hospital Tom Quinn, Hospital CEO in Syracuse The Pixel Hospital - Blog What do you think? The hospitals of the future will be managed by medicine 2.0 experts? (Source: ScienceRoll) ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=710301 Mon, 02 Jul 2007 20:15:13 +0100 710301 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=707186&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F06%2F30%2Fface-to-face-gaucher-disease%2F Some months ago, I wrote about Pompe disease, a rare, but important genetic disorder. I wanted to build awareness on the diagnostic delay, the cause of many misdiagnoses. Now, here is an other outstanding project about Gaucher disease. First, an excerpt from the Wikipedia article: Gaucher’s disease is the most common of the lysosomal storage diseases. Symptoms may include enlarged spleen and liver, liver malfunction, skeletal disorders and bone lesions… A journal-blog called Face to face, My journey for the Gaucher Initiative says: Through this journal I will be documenting my journey to meet the faces behind the Gaucher Initiative, a humanitarian program that provides Gaucher patients in developing countries with the enzyme replacement therapy, Cerezyme, free of charge. I have... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=707186 Sat, 30 Jun 2007 19:26:05 +0100 707186 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=700726&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F06%2F27%2Fpedidraw-a-web-based-tool-for-drawing-a-pedigree-in-genetic-counseling%2F I’ve recently come across a great article on a new and useful webtool (hardcore genetics 2.0). An excerpt of the BioMed Central article: Drawing a pedigree is a prerequisite in genetic counseling. Currently, most pedigrees are drawn by hand or by drawing software. We developed an online pedigree drawing tool, PediDraw, which enables users to generate pedigrees after inputting the family information step-by-step on web. It outputs a pedigree or table to present a family history to the counselors. Today, I took a look at it. I created this diagram in about one minute (click to enlarge): For a clinical geneticist, it’s an incredibly useful, free webtool. We need such improvements to make genetic counseling more appropriate. I’m thankful to Min He, one of the authors for ... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=700726 Wed, 27 Jun 2007 19:25:09 +0100 700726 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=696913&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F06%2F26%2Ffor-how-much-would-you-sell-your-dna%2F A dear reader of Scienceroll sent me a link to New Line Genetics, a company that is looking for DNA donors. The site says: New Line Genetics pays at least $5,000 USD for the rights to use your DNA sample. If your sample is used to generate a replacement organ that we sell, you will also receive a portion of the proceeds. Please visit www.SellMyDNA.com for more details. The linked webpage is currently down: So they have the technology to grow organs on demand to avoid the process of waiting on a long list for an organ transplant. How? We will accomplish our goals by working with individuals who wish to freely sell us the rights to their DNA, thereby avoiding all the legal issues and government red tape that accompany traditional research methods. In return, we will pay them appropriately,... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=696913 Tue, 26 Jun 2007 18:22:51 +0100 696913 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=695311&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F06%2F25%2Fhelicos-biosciences-towards-personalized-medicine%2F I’ve recently got a kind letter from one of my readers who wanted to tell me about an announcement of Helicos BioSciences: Helicos BioSciences Corporation announced today the start of its manufacturing operations in support of the commercial launch of its Heliscope system expected late in 2007. What does it mean? For example, Helicos BioSciences plans to launch the world’s first single molecule genetic analyzer. Furthermore, as the company also works on disease association studies, in my opinion, this new era of biohealth companies can take us closer to new applications of personalized medicine: Many diseases and conditions have a complex genetic component. In these diseases, multiple genes are involved in giving rise to an illness. By sequencing the genomes or selected genes of m... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=695311 Mon, 25 Jun 2007 17:10:25 +0100 695311 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=691303&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F06%2F22%2Finterview-about-the-genetic-revolution-of-second-life%2F I mean Second Life, the virtual world provides exceptional educational opportunities. One of these (my personal favourite) is the Genomic Island which I’ve already written about. The island is full of genetic quizes, virtual experiments, animations, links to useful webpages and many more. Now, Max Chatnoir (Second Life name), the creator of the island and also the mind behind this big idea kindly agreed to answer some of my questions: Please tell us how and why did you start to use Second Life! My husband writes computer programs for algorithmic artists (http://algoart.com), and a friend of his introduced us to Second Life. We went in to look around, and quickly saw the educational potential. How did you come up with the idea to create an educational island for genetics? ... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=691303 Fri, 22 Jun 2007 19:04:54 +0100 691303 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=683198&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F06%2F17%2Ftop-10-virtual-medical-sites-in-second-life%2F I’m still involved in constructing the future of medical education at the Ann Myers Medical Center, but I always try to find other medical places in the virtual world. Here is a list of my favourite ones. If you happen to know more, don’t hesitate to leave a comment for us. 1. Ann Myers Medical Center: it aims to assist students to become more proficient in initial exam history and physicals; to become more proficient in the analysis of MRIs, CTs and X-rays. You can join to take part in the first medical simulation (maybe this July). TELEPORT! 2. Heart Murmurs: a great example of educational possibilities in Second Life as you can listen to cardiac murmurs. TELEPORT 3. The Gene Pool: far the best genetic educational place in Second Life. Quizes, animations and you can even we... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=683198 Sun, 17 Jun 2007 20:46:01 +0100 683198 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=675984&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F06%2F16%2Fthe-future-of-wheelchairs%2F Yesterday, I found a great place in Second Life while I was just crusing through the several medical islands. A place for people with disability: Wheelies @ Second Ability. You can try how it is like to use a wheelchair. In the Second Life Health mailing-list, I’ve seen many interesting discussions about how this virtual world can help people with any kind of disabilities. If you know how Second Life could help on this field, let us know! Anyway, I’ve also found some blogposts about weird and futuristic wheelchairs. First, Doctor’s Gadget describes a new robot that turns the concept of a wheelchair on it’s head: And our favourite medtech blog, Medgadget presents some developments from Porsche: Don’t miss this useful presentation about the history and the futur... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=675984 Sat, 16 Jun 2007 20:04:58 +0100 675984 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=675986&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F06%2F15%2Fruckus-nation-a-challenge-for-children%2F I’m so amazed by Hopelab’s projects as they always try to find creative ways to raise awareness on health and to promote prevention. Hopelab is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the health and quality of life of young people with chronic illness. You may remember my post on their previous project: Fighting cancer with video games. Now, Piers Sutton, the communications coordinator at HopeLab, has an important announcement for you: HopeLab is launching an initiative to address childhood obesity that we believe may be of interest to you and your members. This fall, HopeLab is sponsoring an online competition called “Ruckus Nation” which challenges participants to imagine innovative products that will increase physical activity among kids ages 11 to 14. ... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=675986 Fri, 15 Jun 2007 17:35:25 +0100 675986 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=675991&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F06%2F12%2Fawesome-genetic-announcements%2F I’ve always had a dream: I enter a centre of genomics where I get my DNA sequenced in one week for cc. 1000$ then my geneticists tell me what kind of diseases I will definitely acquire through my life and what kind of diseases I have elevated risk for. Then I can change lifestyle, diet, I can do more exercises or repair some genes (gene therapy) so I could be much more optimistic about my future. After reading some recent announcements and publications, it seems that my dream is getting closer and closer to reality. A Nature article, Genome-wide association study of 14,000 cases of seven common diseases and 3,000 shared controls have studied seven common familial diseases by genome-wide association analysis in 16,179 individual: Bipolar disorder Coronary artery disease Crohn’s... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=675991 Tue, 12 Jun 2007 20:08:43 +0100 675991 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=675993&cid=t_104696_131_f&fid=35008&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscienceroll.com%2F2007%2F06%2F10%2Fmedicine-20-the-blog-carnival-of-web-20-and-medicine%2F Please welcome Medicine 2.0, a new blog carnival devoted to the special relationship between web 2.0 and medicine. I’ve been writing about it for a long time now and I see that more and more blogs are getting closer to the the subject. We hope that with these post-collections, we can help physicians, nurses, medical students and all the readers how to use the tools, services of web 2.0 in medicine. Let’s start with an exceptional video about what exactly web 2.0 is: First, here are the articles of the masters of medicine 2.0: Ves Dimov presents a short post about Youtube’s role in nursing education and a long one about the improvements of AskDrWiki, a collaborative medical encyclopedia. David Rothman created a great list of social networks for clinicians. Victor Castilla... ScienceRoll blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=675993 Sun, 10 Jun 2007 06:28:40 +0100 675993