John Pickering
I am a pee scientist - Kidney Punch
Mar 07, 2012 •
I’m often asked “What do you do?” Â In order to avoid those glazed over looks, and in honor of World Kidney Day, I present to you Dr John’s five minute intro to his study of Acute Kidney Injury (AKI). What is Acute Kidney Injury and why does it matter? AKI is the very rapid … Continue reading 
Glenn urinates in space - Kidney Punch
Feb 23, 2012 •
Well, it could have been the headline around the world 50 years ago. Â One of my prized possessions is a copy of NASA’s report on the “First United States Manned Orbital Space Flight” which John Glenn flew 50 years ago this week. Â The flight lasted about 5 hours, but that was plenty long enough for … Continue reading 
When doc don’t know - Kidney Punch
Feb 04, 2012 •
I had my 13th general anaesthetic yesterday for the same thing! Â It was, yet another, 50/50 call by the surgeon as to whether this new procedure would work. Â 50/50 calls are not unusual in medicine – to the contrary they are probably the norm. Â Most of us have had the experience of having a doctor … Continue reading 
A brave beginning - Kidney Punch
Jan 24, 2012 •
Food depravation, occupation by fascist overlords, and decades before the invention of PCs and the blog are hardly conducive conditions for research, let alone major breakthroughs.  One man thought not. Willem J Kolff, a physician in Kampden hospital in the Netherlands was perturbed by not being able to do anything for people who went into … Continue reading 
Kidneys are Kool with a capital K - Kidney Punch
Jan 13, 2012 •
The kidney is still very much a black box to me. Â Hence, the box in this mini-infographic (a “minfo”) describing some of the cool stuff our kidneys do. Â As you can tell, it is not just a brilliant filter getting rid of waste products but so much more. Â Dialysis (with the aid of Nephrologists’ potions) … Continue reading 
$100 Dialysis — the vision - Kidney Punch
Jan 09, 2012 •
$100 dialysis will do for health what the $100 computer did for education. I have no expertise in dialysis, I’ve only published one paper and a letter that address it directly. What I know is that there are millions the world over with kidney failure whose only hope is transplant or dialysis.  What I see is that dialysis is … Continue reading 