Seafood Safe?

School of Public Health Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Department Head, Jim Diaz appeared on WWL-TV on Friday night (April 30th) and stated that the general public does not need to be concerned that “with both the chemical sampling and taste testing that the experts do now, he does not think contaminated seafood will make it to your table.”

Grow a New Head & Brain?

A new paper published in PLoS Genetics has identified the gene that allows Schmidtea mediterranea to regenerate not only its limbs, but also its head and brain. The gene, called ÔÇ£smed-prep,ÔÇØ is similar to a gene found in humans, according to a Wired.com post.

Crude Oil Spills and Human Health

The National Library of Medicine‘s Disaster Information Management Research Center
has created a new fact sheet on “Crude Oil Spills & Human Health.” The page is primarily an arranged group of links to other federal and state agencies.

Oil Slick in Gulf

Nasa’s satellite imaging photographed the oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico caused by the drilling platform accident last week. It was featured in their Image of the Day Gallery on Monday.

Oil Slick in Gulf

Oil Slick in Gulf

Infectious Disease iPhone apps

May’s issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases features a column on infectious diseases resources for the iPhone. You can read the entire article here. Two apps that may interest students are Microbiology Wiz with Immunology ($0.99) and Lange Microbiology and Infectious Disease Flash Cards ($34.99). Both are flashcard style review applications, allowing you to study microbiology on your iPhone.

Citation:
Surfing The Web: Infectious Diseases Resources for the iPhone
Richard L. Oehler, Kevin Smith, and John F. Toney
Clinical Infectious Diseases 2010 50:9, 1268-1274

Commons Closing on Friday Night

Since the water will be shut down in the Resource Center Building from 7 p.m. on Friday, April 23rd until 5 a.m. on Saturday, April 24th, the Library Commons will be closed during that time period as bathrooms will not be working.

Happy Birthday LSU!

On Saturday, April 24th, Louisiana State University will celebrate its 150th birthday. The Baton Rouge Advocate has produced a special section in anticipation of the anniversary on Sunday, April 18th.

The LSU School of Medicine was part of the main campus in Baton Rouge (even though it was in New Orleans) from its inception in 1931 until the Medical Center became its own campus in 1965.

Which tooth aches?

Ever notice that sometimes it’s difficult to tell exactly which tooth is hurting when you have a toothache?

Researchers in Germany have studied just that issue and will soon publish an article in the journal Pain with thier conclusions. It would seem that when it comes to pain in the mouth, the brain doesn’t descriminate location nearly as well as it does in other regions of the body.

A summary of the research was recently posted to the Wired Science Blog. The article, currently only available as an electronic proof, will be published soon.

I sure hope the volunteer test subjects were well compensated for their participation!

Link to the pdf of the article is available to LSUHSC faculty staff & students. It can be accessed off-campus with a valid LSUHSC library barcode & PIN. You can find more information at our remote access webpage.

3-D TV Potential Health Hazards

Before you go out and purchase that 3-D TV to enhance your theatrical home experience, you might want to know that they pose a potential health hazard.?á Although itÔÇÖs a bit too early to determine a full list of hazards, some makers are releasing warnings about watching 3-D television which may cause:

  • Nausea
  • Dizziness
  • Seizures

Other reports include:

  • Eye twitching
  • Convulsions to disorientation

Dr. Nicolas Bazan, head of the LSUHSCÔÇÖs Neuroscience Center, is concerned about the effects it will have on children. Since the connection between the brain and the eye are still in developing stage, the extent is not known about how harmful it can be. Like most other things, moderation is recommended.

To find out more information, visit:

http://www.abc26.com/news/local/wgno-news-3d-tv-health-hazards,0,3938270.story

Puppies! Aid in Cancer Research

The official LSUHSC New Orleans twitter account posted a message this morning that read: Slobbery kisses from ‘man’s best friend’ aid #cancer research. #lifescience #research http://cli.gs/sveR7b. As a dog person, I’m all for research that benefits humans and their best friends.

And what do the pound signs mean before certain words in that message? The pound sign is called a hashtag and it allows those terms to be searched in twitter.

Elevators in the RCB

Elevators #3 & #4 will be out of service from Thursday, April 15th through mid-June, according to Facility Services. The elevators are to be modified for future flood issues. Plan on leaving the Isché Library a few minutes earlier to get to your next class or meeting.

Mobile Medicine Video

Here’s a nice 4 minute demo of 10 different iPhone medical applications from Nature Video. Two coolest:

  • iCut DNA lets you search the Restriction Enzyme Database (REBASE) for enzymes and the DNA nucleotide sequences they cleave.
  • Thinklabs Digital Stethoscope is a somewhat pricey app that allows you to listen and record heart beats on your iPhone. Caution: remixing patients auscultations into your next dj set may constitute a HIPAA violation.
  • Donate Life Month

    donorlogoApril is Donate Life Month!

    Did you know that as of the beginning of April, 2010, there were 106,759 people on the waiting list to receive donated organs or tissues?

    Each day, about 77 people receive organ transplants. However, 19 people die each day waiting for transplants that can’t take place because of the shortage of donated organs.

    Signing up to become an organ and/or tissue donor is easy and very important.

    You can save a life!

    newcard

    Back in Time

    Pubmed has expanded its coverage to include articles back to 1947, according to the National Library of Medicine:

    Harry Truman was President, gas cost 15 cents a gallon, the transistor was invented, and internationally renowned surgeon Dr. Michael DeBakey was publishing articles on the US Army’s World War II experience with battle injuries, military surgery, and the use of streptomycin therapy. Citations to these and more than 60,000 other articles indexed in the 1947 Current List of Medical Literature (CLML) are now available in the National Library of Medicine?« (NLM?«) MEDLINE?«/PubMed database.

    That brings the number of citations available in PubMed to a whopping 20 million! That is a lot of biomedical research for only 63 years.

    Child Abuse Prevention Month

    April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. The CDC states that “in 2007, approximately 794,000 children were confirmed by Child Protective Services as being abused or neglected.” Of that number, over 21,000 are in Louisiana. Prevent Child Abuse Louisiana is a state-wide, non-profit organization dedicated to preventing the abuse and neglect of our state’s children.