Corpus Callosum is written by a psychiatrist at a small community hospital somewhere in midwestern USA. Email to cc.scienceblogger at gmail dot com.
July 31, 2007
Category: Medicine
This report (PDF 260KB file) is what set off the controversy over the former Surgeon General of the United States. It is a draft report, entitled The Surgeon General’s Call to Action on Global Health 2006. It was written by...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 11:55 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
July 30, 2007
Category: Meta
This is a visual amusement, courtesy of Websites as Graphs. The top one is Corpus Callosum. The bottom one is the ScienceBlogs main page. The key is as follows:...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 10:48 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
July 29, 2007
Category: Humor
In general, the Corpus Callosum celebrates the entrepreneurial spirit. This may be the best example of Yankee ingenuity I've ever seen. This being a family-oriented site, it would be too risqué for me to show the photo uncropped. Plus, my...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 2:54 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
July 28, 2007
Category: Humor
President George W. Bush will have a brief opportunity to know what it is like to be in command, when VP Dick Cheney undergoes surgery to replace his automatic implantable cardioverter defibrillator. White House spokesman Tony Snow told reporters, "This...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 10:44 AM • 5 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Politics
This is a follow-up to my post from yesterday: I'm not sure what "GOP fingerprints..." are, but I gather it was important to avoid them. The image is from a PDF of a fax, then reduced to fit. Click on...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 1:14 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
July 27, 2007
Category: Photos of Interest
This little gal was in the garage. It's a green toad, Bufo debilis....
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 11:13 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Photos of Interest
OK, here's another front-yard bird....
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 12:26 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Politics
This is why some in Congress are issuing subpoenas and talking about contempt citations. This is why... William Mercer Sara Taylor Michael Elston Monica Goodling Paul McNulty Kyle Sampson Michael Battle Harriet Miers Tim Griffin Rachel Brand ...have resigned. ...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 9:02 AM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Photos of Interest
This bird was in my front yard a couple of days ago. It flew away before I could get a better picture....
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 8:36 AM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
July 26, 2007
Category: Bioethics
For some reason, my Father used to say that when he made an indisputable point of some significance. It is in the Urban Dictionary in case you are curious about the expression. It is also the title of a post...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 8:20 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Photos of Interest
These are sooo precious... The one on the left is the cub. They are Owston's Palm Civets, Chrotogale owstoni ......
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 5:45 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Medicine
Infections with Streptococcus suis have been reported in a cluster in Viet Nam, plus one apparently-isolated case in China. This is not the first outbreak of the pig-borne illness. A larger outbreak occurred in 2005 in Sichuan, China. In 2005,...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 12:20 AM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
July 25, 2007
Category: Politics
Today the US House of Representatives voted to pass H.R. 2929: To limit the use of funds to establish any military installation or base for the purpose of providing for the permanent stationing of United States Armed Forces in...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 9:44 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
July 24, 2007
Category: Photos of Interest
I was reading about the epidemic of vitamin D deficiency, got curious about albinism, and ended up finding this picture of a white lion. It is distributed under a creative commons license, attribution required. The photographer is Stano Novak. The...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 12:33 AM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
July 23, 2007
Category: Politics
The latest American Research Group poll shows the lowest approval rating ever for President Bush, a 2-point decline in the past month. I can't help but think the statement about having the Justice Department ignore contempt citations has...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 8:06 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Medicine
This image shows what can happen to your retina from a sudden increase in venous pressure. What could cause such a sudden increase? Jumping straight down, followed by sudden upward acceleration. The patient initially had 20/400 vision in the affected...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 2:39 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
July 22, 2007
Category: Neuroscience
As reported in the journal, The Lancet, a man has been found who had a small brain, but a normal life. The article is subscription only so I am not even going to link to it. But it is still...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 11:55 PM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Politics
This is from the transcript of a discussion with Olympia Snowe on Face the Nation, earlier today: SCHIEFFER: Already we’re beginning to hear American senior officers in Iraq say, `Well, we may not be able to tell by September if...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 10:23 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Politics
This morning's Washington Post has a headline: Envoy Urges Visas For Iraqis Aiding U.S. Targets of Violence Are Seeking Refuge The idea is that Iraqis who aid the US cause need something to motivate them. I have an idea....
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 11:36 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
July 21, 2007
Category: Medicine
The Sanofi-Aventis obesity pill, rimonabant, will be labeled with stronger warnings as a result of a review by The European Medicines Agency (EMEA). According to the EMEA press release on Acomplia (31 KB PDF file): The European Medicines Agency...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 8:32 AM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Energy
Someone (Jim) at Motley Fool linked to the last LED lighting post. Apparently he tracks the Cree Inc. stock. Anyway, he linked to a site that has more information on the Ann Arbor LED street light project. Part of their...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 7:47 AM • 9 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Photos of Interest
This is marketed as a brush to be used for shampooing dogs. However, it is also very good for dry brushing of cats. It is particularly effective at getting those extremely fine hairs from the undercoat. It is also...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 12:21 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
July 20, 2007
Category: Armchair Musings
The New York Times contained two statements, in different contexts, that say opposite things. The first appears in their "most blogged" box. It is from July 15: The Richest of the Rich, Proud of a New Gilded Age By...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 11:15 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Humor
Satirical images can be fun....
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 1:01 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Humor
A leading publication asks the question, "What if Dick Cheney became President?" (Courtesy of Superdickery.com)
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 11:22 AM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Medicine
There was an outbreak of botulism in the past several days in the United States. The problem was traced to contaminated canned chili sauce intended for use on hotdogs. Product from Castleberry Food Company based in Augusta, Georgia is suspected....
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 1:00 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
July 19, 2007
Category: Energy
It is not taking off very quickly, but it could have a big impact. Raleigh, NC agreed to the "LED City" initiative, joining with a company located nearby, Cree Inc. The initiative is to replace all civic lighting with light-emitting...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 9:24 PM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Politics
Back in February, I wrote about the irony of the Bush Administration touting their efforts to improve food and drug safety, while at the same time planning to close 7 of the 13 FDA laboratories. In the interim,...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 8:25 AM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
July 18, 2007
Category: Politics
The Pentagon needs to crack down on KBR and other contractors, said Dorgan, head of the Democratic Policy Committee. "It requires a change in mind-set at the Pentagon, for them to slam their fist down on the table and say,...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 11:17 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Neuroscience
There is new information indicating that an oxytocin nasal spray could be used to treat shyness. Oxytocin is a peptide hormone best known for its role in childbirth and breastfeeding. These are known as peripheral actions, meaning they take...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 7:04 PM • 5 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
July 17, 2007
Category: Medicine
Clostridium difficile cases are on the rise, according to a study in Archives of Surgery. It seems odd to me that this study would come out now, just a few days after I posted about the same topic. I...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 4:57 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Medicine
This qualifies for "quote of the decade" status. Unfortunately it is in Times Select, but clever persons can figure out how to find the whole text (some, but not all of the time). Actually, the hat tip goes to Ron,...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 8:32 AM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
July 16, 2007
Category: Medicine
Apparently it is now the role of the Chief Executive to tell businesspersons how to run their business. In the context of the pro and con lobbying over the proposed expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, pharmaceutical companies...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 4:49 PM • 8 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Medicine
While looking for information for my last post, I encountered another interesting article at PNAS. This one is about a new molecule that improved survival in mice infected with scrapie. Scrapie is one of the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE)....
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 8:16 AM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Medicine
There is a letter published online at Nature, ahead of the print version, that describes a technique of analyzing an entire genome to find genes that may be associated with disease. The newly-identified gene, in this case, is linked to...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 12:58 AM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
July 15, 2007
Category: Neuroscience
We already knew that varenicline could be used to help people stop smoking. Now there is a report that it can help reduce alcohol consumption, at least for rats. This was reported in PNAS (Varenicline, an α4β2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor partial...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 11:05 PM • 5 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Politics
There is a compilation of polls taken of Iraqis, and of service members, at Iraqanalysis.org. They say it is a comprehensive list. They invite anyone who knows of a poll that they have not included to let them know....
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 12:11 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Science News
An editorial published in Nature indicates that security problems at US biodefense labs are widespread.
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 12:08 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
July 14, 2007
Category: Politics
Knowing full well that it violated the Constitution of the United States, the State legislatures in Arizona, Florida, Louisiana, Texas, and Oklahoma have passed laws that ban the unauthorized use of names or images of members of the Armed Forces....
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 9:05 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Medicine
This press release (HT: medGadget) from King's College tips us off to an article in the journal, Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention. This is something that news sites picked up on. Specifically, the authors reported a relationship between the number...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 12:53 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Medicine
A couple of Parkinson's Disease related items came across the news wires, briefly. There are lessons in both of them, but both leave me with unresolved questions. The first one I noticed was a report based upon a journal...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 8:15 AM • 6 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
July 13, 2007
Category: Social Issues
I'm not the best one to comment on this, not being a starving grad student, but I find it a bit disturbing. In Science today: an article on the unintended consequences of increased NIH funding. NIH funding was doubled from...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 12:41 PM • 7 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Social Issues
Here are ScienceBlogs, we have been resoundingly critical of the nominee for Surgeon General, Dr. James Holsinger. We also have been vociferously critical of the Bush Administration's latest installment of the War on Science, as exemplified by the muzzling of...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 8:02 AM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
July 12, 2007
Category: Science in the Media
One sure sign of acceptance in the mainstream media occurs when a publication gets picked up by Google News (as illustrated in the screen capture image, above). Yesterday, reading the Public Library of Science Medicine journal (PLoS Medicine), I...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 6:02 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Public Health
This is not really news, I guess, but it is a good reminder. In fact I've written about it twice before (12). The first post showed evidence that Americans still are not getting enough folic acid in their diets. The...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 4:01 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Medicine
A study published in the British Medical Journal indicates that use of a probiotic drink can reduce the frequency of antibiotic-associated diarrhea in general, and of Clostridium difficile colitis in particular. Antibiotic-associated colitis is a complication of treatment with...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 7:51 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
July 11, 2007
Category: Medicine
The FDA just can't win. When they restrict something or say something negative, they are being too restrictive or complicit with big pharma. When they approve something too slowly they are insensitive to the needs of patients. When they approve...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 7:08 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Science in the Media
This afternoon, I had the pleasure of hearing Amy Goodman interview Chris Mooney about the subject of his new book, Storm World. It was a segment from Democracy Now! I won't trouble you with a synopsis, you can...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 4:44 PM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
July 10, 2007
Category: Psychiatry
There is yet more information on the possible link between suicide and treatments for depression.
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 11:28 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Medicine
(RWOS=Republican War on Science) In case you haven't noticed (and why would you?), the USA is without a Surgeon General. The old one, Dr. Richard Carmona, unhired himself for unclear reasons last July, as noted on Effect Measure. The candidate...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 9:45 PM • 12 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
July 9, 2007
Category: Armchair Musings
We are most accustomed to seeing power generation windmills on dry land, here in the USA. In Europe, some are on land and some are offshore. They generally are considered eyesores. Myself, I think they are beautiful. I love to...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 12:02 PM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Environment
"It won't be easy, but it is time to ask the American people to be patriotic about something other than war." -- John Edwards...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 11:25 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Psychiatry
Insurance companies have discriminated against their mentally ill customers for years. Sadly, they have done so with t he comlicity of the Federal government. There have been many attempts to change this, but the attempts generally are made...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 8:35 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
July 8, 2007
Category: Politics
...And tell me what the poll means. These are from a poll conducted on July 5, 2007, by the American Research Group (sorry, no permalink): Question: Do you approve or disapprove of President George W. Bush commuting the 30-month prison...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 2:45 PM • 6 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Psychiatry
On June 21, 2007, the American Psychiatric Association issued a press release on the subject of video game addiction. Apparently, it had been rumored n the media that the APA was going to have a vote on whether to classify...
Posted by Joseph j7uy5 at 8:09 AM • 1 Comments • 0 Trac
