Jim McVeagh • Sep 22, 2009 •
In the Herald today: Dr Penelope Briscoe, dean of the faculty of pain medicine at Australia and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA), says reform is needed to curb the illicit use and sale of powerful prescription medicines. I view statements like this with some trepidation. I don’t know how it is in Australia, but, in New [...] … Read More
Fabiana Kubke • Sep 22, 2009 •
Deaf Awareness Week runs from the 21st to the 27th of September this year. Deaf Awareness Week has been running since 2004, and this year’s theme is ‘Tender Ears’, focusing on the risks that can lead to hearing loss in childhood and during life. Hearing impairment affects 450,000 New Zealanders. According to the National Foundation [...] … Read More
Alison Campbell • Sep 21, 2009 •
I ran a Schol Bio tutorial out at the uni yesterday & the last exercise we did involved going over a question from last year's paper. This question looked at sickle-cell disease (SCD), which is seen in individuals who are... Read More
Jim McVeagh • Sep 19, 2009 •
Mercifully, there is no blaring “Labtests is evil” news item in the media today, but I note that the Herald can’t resist a dig at Labtests in this article on the tragic story of a woman who died from what appears to be a hypoglycaemic (very low blood sugar) episode. Mrs Pineki had a home visit [...] … Read More
Jim McVeagh • Sep 19, 2009 •
There’s a sad story in the Herald today of a young doctor who has been charged with forging prescriptions for weight-loss pills to keep her awake while working long hours. On the face of it, the judge was probably correct to reject the defenses plea for a discharge without conviction. I have absolutely no wish [...] … Read More
Alison Campbell • Sep 15, 2009 •
I was moved to wonder about this after seeing another article in today's Herald about ageing. Or, more particularly, about slowing/stopping the ageing process & thereby extending the period of our natural lifespan. Rapamycin got a look-in as well. And there... Read More
Fabiana Kubke • Sep 13, 2009 •
>This post was originally posted on the 14th of March, 2009, somewhere else that no longer exists< Brain Awareness week starts on Monday and I thought this was a good time to launch this blog. International Brain Awareness Week is the brainstorm of the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiative, and has now entered its 14th year. [...] … Read More
Alison Campbell • Sep 06, 2009 •
From time to time I've heard it said (by those in the creationist camp) that evolution has no relevance to modern medicine. Um... hello? antibiotic resistance in bacteria, anyone? And an understanding of evolution can also be put to good... Read More
Alison Campbell • Aug 29, 2009 •
A couple of days ago our local paper carried a letter that included the bald statement: "vaccines cause ear infections."My first response to that one was: citations, please! That sort of statement is incredibly dangerous, because it's essentially saying, don't... Read More
Hilary Miller • Aug 08, 2009 •
So NZ has a surprisingly low vaccination rate, and now we are in the middle of a measles outbreak . I hope our low vaccination rates are not due to parents buying into the myth that vaccines cause autism, and thinking they are protecting their children by not immunising them. Anyone who believes this should read the [...] … Read More