Via an incoming link, over at The White Coat Rack, I've found a rather amusing description of the twelve types of medical students one is likely to encounter in medical school. Looking at the description, I realize that I probably was the Overly Academic, the one who "came into med school with plenty of research experience, but hardly any clinical experience." I do have a little quibble with Joshua, though, about his description of the Gunner. At my medical school in the 1980's, no gunner was complete without the multi-colored pen that allows him or her to pick different color pens by…

Well, well, well. The blogging this week has been mostly serious and dense, with discussions of Hitler's mother's breast cancer and two rather long posts about medicine and evolution. I don't know why, but I got a little carried away. In any case, it's Friday, and it's time for lighter fare. And, given my huge CD collection and love of music, what better topic than music? Q Magazine has released a list of the 50 Worst Albums Ever. Naturally, I had to see if any albums I own are on the list, which is as follows (found via D-Listed): 1. Duran Duran - Thank You 2. Spice Girls - All Their Solo…

A Japanese soldier not seen since World War II has been found alive in the Ukraine: TOKYO (AP) - A former Japanese soldier last seen by his family when he went off to fight in the Second World War has surfaced in Ukraine and is returning to Japan to see his relatives after 60 years, the government said Monday. Ishinosuke Uwano, now 83, had been declared among Japan's war dead in 2000. Suminori Arima, a health ministry official in charge of locating war veterans lost overseas, declined to say where Uwano had been for the past six decades or why he had not been in touch with his family in Japan…

Wow. There was quite a response to yesterday's piece about why doctors are seduced by the pseudoscience of "intelligent design" creationism, more so than I expected from what I thought might be a dry topic. A couple of the comments provoked by the post are worth discussing briefly in a separate post, rather than my diving into the comments more, where my response would get buried. For example, Flex commented that many physicians are acting as technicians more than anything else. While agreeing with him that most doctors don't need to be scientists, I would quibble with him about how much his…

I already know what the biggest musical flop of the year 2007 will be. Don't worry; it's not a difficult prediction. I just learned that Michael Jackson is back in the studio recording an album: LONDON Apr 19, 2006 (AP)-- Michael Jackson has returned to the studio and plans to release a new album next year for a record label owned by the son of Bahrain's king. 2 Seas Records, which is owned by Sheik Abdulla bin Hamad Al Khalifa, said Tuesday it had signed an exclusive recording agreement with Jackson, and the new album was tentatively scheduled for release in late 2007. Jackson, 47, moved to…

I've been meaning to write about this topic for a long time. In fact, ever since our illustrious Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, who also happens to be a Harvard-educated cardiac surgeon, came out in favor of teaching "intelligent design" creationism alongside evolution in public school science classes back in August, I've been meaning to write a bit about a tendency that, as both a surgeon and a scientist, I find disturbing. That tendency is for physicians to be far more susceptible than one would think they should be to the siren call of the pseudoscience known as "intelligent design."…

Tom Cruise has apparently told GQ magazine that he plans on eating Katie Holmes' placenta after the birth of their child: Hollywood actor and Scientologist Tom Cruise is planning to eat Katie Holmes' placenta. It is the latest in a series of strange revelations by the 43-year-old 'Mission: Impossible' star about the child he is expecting with fiancée Katie Holmes. Cruise told GQ magazine: "I'm gonna eat the placenta. I thought that would be good. Very nutritious. I'm gonna eat the cord and the placenta right there." I just hope either (1) that Cruise was indeed just joking; (2) that his…

Grand Rounds, vol. 2, no. 30, is up at Fat Doctor. Enjoy.

A few days ago, I fisked the antivaccination posturings of a certain "Libertarian Christian commenator" regarding the Geiers' claim that mercury in the thimerosal used as a preservative in vaccines is a major cause of autism. Many of the comments predicted that Vox wouldn't respond. (Personally, I was hoping that he would but, based on his nonresponse to my earlier fisking of his antivaccination nonsense, figured that he probably wouldn't.) Guess what? He actually did respond. Although I don't want this to turn into a prolonged blog exchange, I figured that, since Vox went through the bother…

I can relate to this one... And, yes, between the hours of 9 PM and 10 PM EDST, don't bother me. I'll be...occupied. But before I settle down, I can't resist posting this special Easter 24 banner:

All the other ScienceBloggers are taking this test, so why not? What Disease Are You? You Are Influenza!Also known as the flu, you are warm, nurturing, and make a great confidante. People admire you for your gentleness and honesty. While you can't literally wipe out 35,000,000 people by causing them to drown in their own phlegm, you sure can clear out a room with your lame jokes.Take this quiz! Quizilla | Join | Make A Quiz | More Quizzes | Grab Code

In 1907, Adolf Hitler's mother Klara died of breast cancer at age 47, when Hitler was only 18. The young Hitler was devastated by her death. Indeed, in Mein Kampf, Hitler described her death thusly: These were the happiest days of my life and seemed to me almost a dream; and a mere dream it was to remain. Two years later, the death of my mother put a sudden end to all my highflown plans. It was the conclusion of a long and painful illness which from the beginning left little hope of recovery. Yet it was a dreadful blow, particularly for me. I had honored my father, but my mother I had loved.…

Cannibal killers have blogs now too....right here.

On this Easter Day, as children look forward to visits by the Easter Bunny, do you ever wonder what the Easter Bunny does the other 364 days a year? I never realized a bunny could be such a sociopath. Finally, I repost a link to DarkSyde's famous reflection, If I Were A Christian as good Easter reading. I'll be back tomorrow...

The fundamentalist Christian right often laments that there is a "war on Christians" by secular society in the U.S. Indeed, as Easter approaches, such complaints inevitably increase. Consider, however, these clearly un-Constitutional clauses in various state constitutions that make atheists ineligible for public office (or at least not accorded the same rights to run for public office), including Mississippi, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. It's unbelievable today that such blatantly un-Constitutional clauses can remain, even today, in the constitutions of…

Out of Finland, comes a video so mind-bogglingly, surrealistically bad that it's oddly entertaining. I couldn't help but watch it with utter fascination at the amount of effort that must have gone into something so strange. Enjoy...I think.

Who needs malpractice insurance, when you could have Sharia law? Check out this question to an Imam by a Canadian doctor regarding his culpability if a patient of his dies, and the Imam's answer: Here's the question (typos not corrected): Im a doctor and i want to ask about if i make a mistake that leads to the death of a patient .. is it considered as killing by mistake ? ... or just a professional mistake what i want to ask that if i caused the death of a patient - by mistake - do i need to pay fedia anf fast for tow consequent months ? .. or it is enough to take the punishment stated by…

I'm not Jewish, but nonetheless found this one pretty funny (via one of the mailing lists to which I subscribe): An elderly man in Miami calls his son in New York and says, "I hate to ruin your day, but I have to tell you that your mother and I are divorcing. Forty-five years of misery is enough." "Pop, what are you talking about?" the son screams. "We can't stand the sight of each other any longer," the old man says. "We're sick of each other, and I'm sick of talking about this, so, you call your sister in Chicago and tell her," and he hangs up. Frantic, the son calls his sister, who…

With all the nuttiness coming out of Tom Cruise in the name of Scientology, it's often forgotten that there are a lot of other Scientologists out there in Hollywood. One of the other most prominent ones is John Travolta. Compared to Tom Cruise, John Travolta seems, superficially at least, the height of reason. Certainly he's a lot less obnoxious about his religion than Cruise is, and he always seems like a likable guy whenever he shows up on the talk show circuit. And, heck, anyone who can earn a commercial pilot's license and fly a 707 around the country has to have something upstairs.…

For the first time ever, a head of state of Austria has admitted that a large proportion of Austrian citizens openly welcomed the Nazis when Hitler annexed Austria: The president of Austria has become the country's first head of state to admit that a large number of its citizens welcomed Adolf Hitler with open arms when the dictator annexed the country. Heinz Fischer said that a "not inconsiderable portion of the population" greeted the Anschluss or annexation in 1938 with "euphoria", despite knowing that "Hitler meant war". In addition many had celebrated Hitler's initial military successes…