Gleanings of the Week Ending December 17, 2016

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Ceiling panel cools regardless of climate – I like to read stories about ‘out of the box’ solutions…although I wonder how many of them will prove feasible in the end.

Big Pharma and Distracted Driving are Killing Americans Early – Life expectancy in the US declined in 2015. It’s the first time in 23 years. It’s not a big drop but there is worry that it begins a downward trend. Deaths due to motor vehicle accidents have gone up by 6%. Accidental poisonings increased by 13% with 95% of that from drug overdoses and alcohol. There is related story – from another source: American Death Rate from Drugs, Alcohol, and Mental Disorders Nearly Triples since 1980.

Toward Treating Alzheimer’s Disease with Brain Waves – Another ‘out of the box’ solution…inducing gamma (brain) waves using optogenetics…exposure to flickering light.

“Neural Tourniquet” Zaps a Nerve to Stop Bleeding Anywhere in the Body – An example of bioelectronic medicine…that’s been researched for 15 years.

World Map Reveals What Each Country Does Better than Any Other – I’m not sure how useful this work is…how the ‘best’ about a country was determined. But it is interested to look at ti for a few minutes. The US is best at ‘spam emails’ --- not a positive thing.

Museum in Japan has a collection of 1,700 rocks that look like human faces – I remember ‘seeing’ faces in the patterns of wood veneer…why not rocks too. Some of them look more face-like than others to me.

The appalling reality of Bosnia’s missing dead – Mass graves from 25 years ago – a sad reminder of tragedy that is hard to unravel from what remains.

Reach Out Reporter – Science News for Children – Free Technology for Teachers post and actual site – There is ‘Fact Pack’ about the December Solstice that links to this time of year…I like the video about starling murmurations! The site is designed for teachers…but is useful for anyone interacting with children on science related topics.

A few new maps in National Park Maps – A great site to check before you head out to any of the national parks!

10 Intentional Deformed Skulls from Around the World – I’m taking a Osteoarcheology course on Coursera right now and am reading the articles other students are referencing. Expect more items on the gleanings for next week too.

Gleanings of the Week Ending October 22, 2016

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Invisible Details of Tiny Creatures Uncovered with Laser-Microscope Photos – Details of small creatures…how much of the world we miss entirely if we look only with our un-aided eyes.

What do Americans fear? – Evidently this is the third annual Survey of American Fears from Chapman University.

Obituary for the 25-million-year-old Great Barrier Reef – Another way to think about our impact on Earth.

Sweet Science of Honey – Did you know that honey is anti-microbial and it fights bacteria on multiple levels? So far, honey has not been shown to contribute to resistance either.

Hypothyroidism symptoms linger despite medication use, normal blood tests – A study that shows that not everyone gets symptom relief from the current standard treatment with levothyroxine…and that the medical community is finally beginning to notice.

10 Great Butternut Squash Recipes for Fall and Winter – I like butternut squash so I am always on the lookout for good recipes. Most of the time butternut squash, pumpkin and sweet potatoes can be substituted for each other in recipes too!

Cicada wings inspire antireflective surfaces – Another example of getting materials engineering ideas from nature.

Skip the Math: Researchers Paint Pictures of Health Benefits and Risks – It’s hard to understand the trade-offs involved in many tests and medicines. I was glad to see this attempt --- and hope that doctors become more savvy too.

Calcium supplements may damage the heart – There are growing concerns about potential harms of supplements…and this study about calcium is one example of studies behind that growing concern. The analysis of 10 years of medical tests on more than 2,700 people revealed that while a diet rich in calcium is protective…taking calcium supplements may increase the risk of plaque buildup in arteries and hear damage!

Why sentient tools will be catastrophic to the job market – Sentient tools (example: autonomous cars, warehouse workers, delivery people) are not as ‘sci-fi’ as they used to be. We see early examples of many of them. They will become increasingly able to outperform humans in a variety of jobs. Think of the ripple effect of autonomous cars – on insurance company revenues, on emergency services, on taxi drivers!

The Participatory Patient

I am past the stage in my life that I accept everything a doctor tells me without question. I’ve come to realize that they are specialized and trying to meet patient expectations that can vary considerably. There may be some patients that always want a medical procedure or drug to solve a perceived problem since that is what my doctor seems to expect of patients. My expectation is just opposite; I want to avoid drugs and medical procedures unless absolutely necessary - where it is very clear that the benefit to me is greater than the risk (both short and long term).

I like the standards of care but expect that they are tweaked with data from my particular test results. And I expect the doctor to be current on the recommendations from analysis of similar situations (i.e. the big data of medicine) and be able to clearly explain their rationale for me.

But it is hard to be a participatory patient…and hard on doctors to with new studies coming out all the time and not necessarily in their area of specialty.

The situation that started my thinking about this was a recommendation that I get an ultrasound guided needle biopsy on a thyroid nodule. I did a search and discovered that my nodule was the minimal size for this recommendation. When I met with the surgeon, I brought this up and he admitted that it was ‘low risk, low value’ but recommended that I go ahead and have the biopsy before the nodule got bigger. I acquiesced – but it was marginal.

The procedure was done and then the results came back via the surgeon’s office a few days later: the nodule is benign and I was told to have another thyroid ultrasound in 6 months. In checking the literature, I discovered that new guidelines re thyroid nodules came out from the American Thyroid Association in January of this year…and their recommendation after a ‘benign’ cytology from a biopsy is 12 months for a thyroid ultrasound.

The net of all this is - if I don’t challenge the doctor’s recommendation the ultrasounds will be done more frequently than the guideline and that increases the cost to me (both in $ and time) and to my insurance company.

Now I’m beginning to wonder about the timing of a lot of diagnostics and checks. It is hard being a participatory patient!