The five most-read stories on Scope this week were:
Image of the Week: Glass sculpture of an HIV virus: Artist Luke Jerram has created a remarkable collection of glass sculptures depicting some of the most notorious microbes. This image illustrates the HIV virus and, as noted on Jerram’s website, was made as an object “to hold, to contemplate the impact of the disease upon humanity.”
Limb regeneration mysteries revealed in Stanford study: Tissue-specific adult stem cells are responsible for the ability of mammals to re-grow the tips of fingers or toes lost to trauma or surgery, according to a Stanford study published in Nature. The finding discredits a popular theory that holds that previously specialized cells regress, or dedifferentiate, in response to injury to form a pluripotent repair structure called a blastema.
The road to diagnosis: How to be insistent, persistent and consistent: Inspire contributor and retired nurse Joan Jahnke shares her 2 ½-journey of seeking a definitive diagnosis for her heart disorder, cardiac endothelium dysfunction. As she explains in the piece, she considered the diagnosis a triumph because standard tests don’t always identify the disease.
The mystery surrounding lung-transplant survival rates: An October article in the San Francisco Chronicle offered a look at the challenges facing lung transplant patients and explored why a significant number don’t live beyond the five-year mark, despite improvements in survival rates.
How can physicians manage their online persona? KevinMD offers guidance: Kevin Pho, MD, an internal medicine physician and prominent blogger, recently authored a book offering doctors guidance in managing their online reputations. In this Q&A, he provides recommendations for doctors getting started in managing their online presence and discusses whether physicians have a responsibility to help patients navigate the sea of online health information.
