The fastest animal on earth may one day influence the design of more effective artificial legs or aid in the development of treatments cerebral palsy. …
Month: September 2009
Reports of influenza at colleges drop for first time
The number of cases of influenza-like illness reported on college campuses dropped 19% the week of Sept. 19-25. President of the American College Health Association …
Experiencing Chinese medicine in Africa
Year: 1984 Setting: Lome, Togo Position: Private practitioner at the branch of the St. Francis Hospital in Lagos, Nigeria In the consultation room on Ikoyi …
AIDS vaccine study results boost morale for US trial
Researchers in the United States are hoping to build on the recently reported success of an experimental vaccine for the AIDS virus conducted in Thailand. …
The blind can see
Via the New York Times, here's a story that gadget-lovers and medical professionals alike can appreciate: With the help of a tiny camera and an …
Frustration turns to hope with AIDS vaccine
I recall three years ago, at the International AIDS Conference in Toronto, hearing virologist Francoise Barre-Sinoussi of the Institut Pasteur in Paris question whether development …
A pill that polices patients
Wireless technology is increasingly becoming a popular solution to streamline health-care practices, but one company is taking the integration of wireless services a step further. …
Riders for Health partners with Stanford business school
Over the past two decades, British nonprofit Riders for Health has been working to reduce the number of deaths in Africa from treatable diseases by …
Are you fit to travel?
Year: 1985 Setting: Bottom of the pyramid of Keops, Egypt Position: Emergency medicine physician for a French multinational company The flight from Paris was uneventful …
The increasing power of the placebo
Steve Silberman has written a fascinating article for Wired about the increasing power of the placebo effect and its potential effect on the pharmaceutical industry. …
Switching drugs on and off with magnetism
Researchers at Children's Hospital Boston have devised a technique that aims to deliver medication to patients on an as-needed basis for an extended period of …
Why health-care professionals should blog
There's a reasonably good post today on the Better Health blog about why health-care professionals should blog. While I don't agree with some of the …
High-fat foods may tell the brain to splurge
Overindulging on a second piece of pie may have less to do with your will power, or lack thereof, than your choice in foods. A …
OK, now drivers who text REALLY freak me out
I'm a vociferous talking-on-cellphone-while-driving opponent. I think people who do it are dumber than dirt, and I USED to think that people who text are …
Gene therapy may cure color blindness
A gene therapy technique developed by researchers at the University of Washington has just been used to cure color blindness in adult monkeys. In the …
Exercising makes you brawny and brainy
Besides a slimmer waistline, here's another reason to lace up your running shoes, take a bike ride or dive into the pool: aerobic exercise makes …