JawsBlog

The LHC’s first test was a success!

Not only that–the world didn’t suddenly end either! (Just like people said it would with Y2K, the RHIC, etc.)

The Large Hadron Collider goes online tomorrowl

This calls for a party!

A woman’s ability to enjoy sex shows up in her gait.

And people research this stuff because….? Better yet, people fund this kind of research because….?

This is a quite disturbing story of how the VA is using veterans for clinical trials.

From the allegations in the article, it seems like the VA is ignoring GCP and ICH guidelines as far as the trials go. Do they not have an IRB overseeing these studies?

Are the veterans not warned about the potential side effects before consenting to the study (as they’re supposed to be)?

Shame on the VA for giving the field of clinical trials a bad image.

The use of performance enhancing drugs is not just limited to basebal and other athletic endevors.

Members of the NYPD are now going to be screened for steroids

And in the halls/labs of academia, more scientists are using performance enhancing drugs

Where will it end?

US Air Force to China: our geeks can beat up your geeks

It’s the day to celebrate everyone’s favorite irrational number!

Pi Day 

The idea faulting plastic bags for being very detrinmental to the environment–based on flawed science.

Now it makes sense, since airlines have appeared to stop handing them out with the beverage service, the nuts they used to give had to go to something: plane fueled by nuts

Simply put, the Pentagon’s successful missile hit last nigh is jut cool in the sci-tech-geek sort of way.

Reuters: Japan’s Arcades hurt by Nintendo’s Wii

There are still arcades in existence?

Scientists discover way to reverse memory loss…by mistake Flemming’s discovery of Penicillin was also a mistake…

This list of 50 nerdy pickup lines is quite amusing .

If you find an individual of the opposite gender, who both understands the lines and sees the humor, than you may have found a good match.

Hmm….this sounds more like my kind of thing These scientific minds think and drink alike 

The laws of physics apparently don’t apply to the BBC’s news coverage.

This time the BBC is caught hawking a “free energy machine”

For the non-physics fans out there, an explanation of the first law of thermodynamics (better known as the “conservation of energy“)

Working in a [specialist] medical practice, it’s common to come across this type of patient: “When the Patient is a Googler” The type of patient referenced in the article is a “special” type and this article elicited a chuckle from amongst the office.

(I’ll refrain from providing specific examples out of respect for patient privacy).

There’s a way to be a Good Googler  and well then there’s the example cited in the article.

Over at Slashdot the idea of a science based presidential debate is floated. 

Interesting idea….

Here’s one question for the candidates…

How would you protect the population against the rising threat of dihydrogen monoxide?

James Watson, one of the scientists who uncovered the structure of DNA has retired from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. His loose lips seem to have sunk the scientist.

Hopefully, even in retirement, this great mind won’t totally leave science.

With the FDA’s new recommendation of not giving cold medicine to kids under 6, it’s time for the “Jewish Penicillin” to return to it’s rightful place.

Then again, you can’t really cure a cold with medication; it’s a virus.

The big tech story of the day is the launch of Microsoft’s new online health info portal.

It’s definitely an interesting concept, with some obvious potential pitfalls (e.g. privacy/security, MS software reliability).

From my vantage point as someone who works for a in a health care environment, Microsoft’s idea does have some upsides and some less obvious downsides. Starting with a negative–the difficulty many a physician seems to have with computers and related technology.  As such, they may not realize how to best utilize this technology.

With that aside, HealthVault (or a similar program) could in theory make things easier for both patients and physicians.  Rather than showing up to an appointment and having the doctor’s staff call others offices for notes/information, as a patient could literally have it at his/her fingertips.

Similarly, a patient would be able to store his/her records in one central location, which helps when one is seeking the services with multiple physicians (e.g. specialists)..  It also could provide a PCP with a central information repository.  This could also help the patient with their personal organization. Yet, it’s still too early to judge HealtVault.  Technical questions remain, aside from security issues, such as compatibility with EMR/EHR (Electronic Medical/Health Records) platforms and software.

It’s also worth noting that MS isn’t exactly the first in this game, as some insurance providers have begun to offer PHR’s through themselves as well (Aetna and GHI are two that instantly come to mind).