ion by Glucocorticoid Receptor B.
Sorry about that. I guess Hotmail isn't set up to allow subject lines long
enough to handle the demanding needs of today's science professionals. Oh well. This blog is brought to you by UNTHSC's Research Appreciation Day. It was last Friday, but I had a test today so now the test is over and I can write about the wonders of exceptionally long-titled research presentations.
The school scheduled no classes last Friday in honor of the research that is being done here on campus. The health science center has more research money pouring in than any other osetopathic school in the world. It also houses the FBI's DNA database and some pretty nifty gene sequencing equipment. Actually, from my usual study spot just down the hall from the front desk of the DNA unit I regularly see sealed evidence bags come in from all over the region (region meaning a multi state parcel of land; around these science types you always have to clarify what you mean by everything).
Anyway, before this turns into a PR piece for my school (although I do really enjoy it; I don't know how anyone ever tries to get through med school without the once-a-week visits to manipulation class) I just thought I'd share with you some of my thoughts and favorite posters from the research hall. If you would like more details on any of the soon to be mentioned (or one of the 100+ unmentioned) projects, yes, I did pick up the abstract book contaning summaries of all the research done at the school this year. First, yes. Dexmethasone significantly decreased phagocytosis of bioparticles in NTM-5 and GTM-3 cells. I know. You all are shocked and amazed. This is truely a bright day for science. Actually, even I'm not sure what exactly that means or what ramifications it holds for the medical community, and that's after staring at the poster trying to read all the 3-D graphs for like 20 minutes. Okay, so that's not exactly the stuff to impress in this blog. Something simpler you say? This was one of my favorites. Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine has been shown to reduce symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Pretty cool, huh? A simple wrist stretch was shown to help as much as really expensive pain medications. Better yet, it's a wrist strech that's so simple even I know how to do it. Speaking of expensive drugs, one experiment studied the substitutive effects of nicotine and Meth (switching back and forth to see if the same brain pathways are triggered). I'm not quite sure who came up with that one. It sounds like it might have been a pet project of one of our raised-in-the-sixties professors. Anyway, turns out there were some common pathways, but nothing really directly linking the two drugs. I for one, am glad to know that... actually I probably shouldn't say that. I mean, I know I'm being sarcastic, and most of you know that, too, but there are just some things that I don't need to project into the public sphere. In other research, more substantial relationships were established between trauma and mental illness. Bariatric surgery (where they put a rubber band around your stomach, or even remove a piece of it) was deemed an effective weight loss measure; this was a confirmatory study. And finally, the dumb gum-chewing California blond has been vindicated. In a meticulous study that charted gum chewing vs. concentration, it was determined with statistical signficance that mastication (chewing) does not have a significant impact on your ability to follow events around you. Any previously supposed link was purely coincidential. That's all from the great world of on campus research. Be sure to check back next year for what I am sure will be an annual update. Thank you and good night and I'm sorry for any misspellings.
I promise I'll learn english again after I learn medicine and the spanish that they say I should learn if I want to be a competent physician in Texas.
-C.J.
I also want to give a shout out to my brothers; Jeff (congrats on the Masters), Jon (congrats on the raise), Brad (Kudos for not killing Ben after two weeks of working with him, you're a good man; Ben, if you read this, I'm really kidding), and finally, G man (way to grow another inch, and also for now owning a suit jacket that goes down half way to my knees, and having hair that looks amazingly like Dirk's at the end of the season; just remember, he cuts his after the playoffs and shaves it every October). You guys all rock.
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