Dr. Alien

The Calaveras Enterprise reports on a new technology available for doctors with old or incapacitated patients. A pacemaker/defribillator implanted in 77 year-old Robert Black's chest can transmit data wirelessly to his doctor, who works in an office miles away. This data can provide early warning of potentially fatal heart conditions and allow for more effective, and cheaper, check-ups. While I am 100% for medical advancement, something about this does wreak of scary science fiction movies to me. A wireless device implanted under the skin that transmits data about the patient! What if that information is intercepted by an alien spaceship! Who use it to conquer the world! AHHHHHHHHH!

Evidence-Based Medicine

Time published an articled on evidence-based medicine last week. You can read it here. Medrant's response to that article is posted here. EBM is something I haven't read much about. I guess I always thought that medicine was already evidenced-based. Is that naive of me? I do think that Medrant really hits the nail on the head when he says "The science of medicine represents a series of approximations towards truth." Not only is it an approximation towards a truth for a group, but also towards an entirely separate truth for the individual patient. How does medicine combine the ineffectiveness of a treatment for the population as a whole with the possible effectiveness for the individual? Honestly, I have no idea.

Define 'Harms'

The BBC posted an article today entitled "Sexualization 'harms' young girls." What the hell does 'harms' mean? Does it indicate the psychological damage that sexualized images in the media do to the female half of the population? Does it take into account the positive images of women in advertising and on television? Is 'harms' a medical term, or does it have a broader meaning? An expert quoted in that article said "We have ample evidence to conclude that sexualization has negative effects in a variety of domains, including cognitive functioning, physical and mental health, and healthy sexual development." Okay, so let me see if I understand this. Sexualized images on television 'harm' girls. Poor education 'harms' girls. Unhealthy eating habits, pollution, life, 'harms' girls. It is exactly this kind of unclear medical reporting that frustrates me to no end. To make generalizations like this, particularly in regards to such an important topic, misleads the public and compromises scientific research. One could argue it 'harms' them.

Stem Cells, What Can't They Do?

BBC News reports on a new technique for breast augmentation: stem cells. It seems that some Japanese doctors are injecting mixtures of fat and stems cells into the breasts of their female patients. They report significant increases in breast size with an all-natural look and feel. Umm . . . yeah . . . I don't even know what to say.

The Lipstick Sign

Surgeonsblog has a beautiful post about how doctors respond to optimism in patients. It's nice to know that being positive in the face of grave medical circumstances can be beneficial to your health, and to the mood of your medical professional. I also think the Lipstick Sign is hilariously true.

Havidol

Satire: the use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like, in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, etc.

European Abortion Laws

Above is a diagram outlining abortion laws in various European countries. It comes from an BBC News article describing Portugal's referendum to change its own abortion practices. I believe that the abortion debate in the United States suffers because we don't seriously look at abortion laws from other parts of the world. It's as if we think that the United States is the only country in the world that argues over this incredibly contentious issue. I, for one, think that is ridiculous.