Anything that rhymes with orange......

Body Worlds

Body Worlds 3 at Science World, Vancouver

This weekend, I saw Body Worlds with Keith, CJ, Rosemarie and Kiara. It was a really fascinating exhibit! For those of you who haven't heard of it, it is an anatomical exhibition of real human bodies. Now before you guys say this is inhumane and unethical, know that these bodies were obtained by donation. The deceased, prior to dying of course, had signed an agreement or consent for their bodies to be part of this exhibit.  Some people may think of this as very morbid but the exhibit was done really well. The bodies were presented in a very educational format and in no way disrespects the person's dignity or spirit.

I would definitely recommend seeing this exhibit. It doesn't matter if you are not in the health care or health sciences field, or haven't taken any extensive anatomy and physiology courses. It is for everyone! Plus Science World rents out audioguides that provide more information about the exhibit as you walk from one section to the next.

The bodies were apparently preserved using "Plastination" which was invented by Dr. Gunther von Hagens. The whole purpose is to stop the decay of the tissues. You can learn more about this process in their official website:

http://www.bodyworlds.com/index.html

You can also watch a video in this link below to learn about what other people thought about the exhibit:

http://www.scienceworld.bc.ca/bodyworlds/video.html

Lower Back Tattoos and Epidurals

Lower Back Tattoos and Epidurals

A few days ago I watched a news segment aired on CTV regarding lower back tattoos placing women in birthing risks. According to the anesthesiologist interviewed, women in labour who have lower back tattoos may not always have the option of receiving epidural analgesia during labour. Some anesthesiologists have concerns that puncturing tattooed skin with needles used for providing epidurals may  push the pigment/dye into the epidural space and cause a reaction.

This news certainly made me think twice about getting a tattoo on my lower back. I tried to find more information about this issue and came across an article that was published in the "Obstetrical and Pediatric Anesthesia" Journal. This article talked about trying to find research literature from two different scientific research literature databases for information on complications of providing epidurals into tattooed lumbar area. There was no information found providing evidence that such a complication has occurred so the article ended up discussing "implications" of providing epidurals into tattooed lumbar area instead. The authors attributed this lack of evidence as partly due to the lack of or a small number of women with lumbar tattoos who had received epidurals. It is an interesting read. I took the liberty of posting on here the link to the article so that you guys can read more about it. I've also attached a link to the CTV segment about the issue.

1) Journal Article http://www.cja-jca.org/cgi/content/full/49/10/1057

2) CTV news segment http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1108868228321_35/?hub=CTVNewsAt11

Note: if the link for the article doesn't work, i also have the pdf version of the article.

Happy Earth Day!!

HAPPY EARTH DAY!!! APRIL 22, 2006

Hello everybody!

It's been a while since my last blog posting. I just found out that today is Earth Day! I was kinda wondering why I've been seeing so many things on global warming recently. About a couple of weeks ago, I've come across two printed materials covering global warming. Then today, I was browsing online and I saw Earth Day photos which showed signs of global warming and the different steps being taken by different countries to counteract this threat.

One of the printed material I came across mentioning global warming was Vanity Fair's Special Green Issue. I'm still reading it and so far it's okay. One of the main articles in the magazine was written by Al Gore and his main focus was more on the inspirational/philosophical/political side of global warming. There was not a lot of information regarding how we can help reduce global warming in the article however, Vanity Fair did include a portrait of various people who are contributing to this movement. Links to websites that will provide information on global warming are also mentioned in the portraits.  If you are not into buying the magazine, I've included below the list of the links:

1) www.gocarbonzero.org - talks about Go Zero, a program that helps individuals and businesses measure how much they contribute to greenhouse gases and provides them with an easy way to do something about it.

2) www.treehugger.com - i'm not trying to turn everyone into a tree-hugger but if you would like information on alternatives to your way of living, you can check this out. I know it will take me a while before I get on board the waterless washing machine!! I haven't really thoroughly explored this site yet so feel free to let me know about what you guys think.

3) www.stopglobalwarming.org - this one is about a non-political group looking to pressure Washington into taking decisive actions. For everyone living in the States, you guys might want to check it out.

4) www.idealbite.com - this one is about organic products from your average daily foods to denim that hug your buns....

5) www.grist.org - focuses on weightier matters: the battle over a wind farm off Cape Cod: the bad deal chickens get; mountaintop-removal mining in Appalachia; plans to produce methane from dog shit in San Francisco for use in natural-gas systems

6) www.earthday.net - provides information on how we can, in our own little way, contribute to reducing green house gases. We don't have to buy hybrid cars, we just have to be mindful of our car's efficiency when we drive them. When you go this website, I recommend taking the "Ecological Footprint Quiz" cause it estimates how much productive land and water you need to support what you use and what you discard. After answering 15 easy questions you'll be able to compare your Ecological Footprint to what other people use and to what is available on this planet.

All information, except for earthday.net was obtained from Vanity Fair's Special Green Issue.

That's it for me folks. Have a Happy Earth Day today!!

ps. if you do buy the magazine, check out the article "While Washington Slept" - it features photos of how Washington will look like if and when water levels rise due to the melting of the polar ice caps.

Medical Innovation: Type 1 Diabetes

Medical Innovation: Type 1 Diabetes

I've heard a very interesting news about Diabetes research a few days ago. According to the news, researchers at the University of Calgary may have found a way to grow insulin-producing cells in the lab. These lab-grown cells would then be hopefully transplanted to individuals with Type 1 Diabetes thereby freeing them from self-administering insulin injections. How amazing is that??? However, there are still many steps before they get to this stage of the research.

To read up on this news, see this link:

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-03/17/content_4313111.htm

Numerous researchers from the University of Calgary are working on different projects that will hopefully treat Type 1 Diabetes, these projects include the one I've mentioned above and the following:
- transplanting islet cells from organ donors
- transplanting islet cells from newborn sterile pigs
- developing stem cells from pancreas to become islet cells

To read up on these projects: http://www.ahfmr.ab.ca/publications/newsletter/Fall05/www.fall/inside/diabetes.feat.htm

Enceladus: Hello Neighbours!!!

Enceladus: Hello Neighbours!!!

Did you ever wonder if there has been life on other planets in our solar system? I did or I still do! I think Astronomy is such an interesting subject however there is so much to learn. There are so many things that we still don't know and scientists around the world are hard at work everyday to gain more information. One example of their hard work is the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft. This spacecraft is an orbiter as well as a probe. In 2004, it finally reached Saturn and began probing/studying this planet and its moons like Enceladus (picture). Recently, scientists discovered from the data collected that there are geysers present on the moon Enceladus. These geysers apparently are shooting out water which maybe coming from a liquid water pool beneath the surface of the moon. So what does all this mean? Well, scientists seems to think that this water pool maybe capable of sustaining life, i.e.tiny living organisms. Not quite little green men!! or at least not yet!! Maybe someday!!

If you would like more information about the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft, see the link below
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/index.cfm

To read more about the discovery of geysers on Enceladus, see the link below
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11736311/