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Mirror Mirror on the Wall

Posted by Dr Tel on January 28, 2012

Reflections on New Health Technology

'Now that's my kind of mirror!'

Is it just me, or are mirrors not as interesting as they use to be? Once upon a time, I’m sure, mirrors were a source of constant fascination. At school, as I distinctly remember, reflections needed to be checked at every opportunity – every break at least – usually with a comb (!) in hand. After haircuts got a bit more sensible there was still the need to make sure cappuccino foam wasn’t moustaching the upper lip, and spinach hadn’t got caught between incisors – even though, at that time, I did not eat spinach.

Now they are the enemy. The mirror is the ex-friend who you see far too often and their very presence is a reminder of ‘Glory days’ and years before the wrinkle, bag and crease.

Bury my heart at Broken Vein.

I even shave in the shower now.

What I do not want is a mirror that tells me even more bad news. So, it was with a heavy heart then that I read about the PhD research of one Ming-Zher Poh at MIT. Poh is working on contact-free and remote ways of measuring vital signs. And guess what? Go on, guess where he is putting all his very clever technology?

Yes, he’s putting it into a mirror. At the moment his medical mirror cam measure breathing rate, heart rate and heart-rate variability – I’m not too sure what that last one is, but I am pretty sure I don’t want to know mine. It’s very clever tech, using the fact that contraction or dilation of your blood vessels alters the amount of light your body will reflect. He hopes to adapt the medical mirror to measure blood pressure as well – and lots of other things.

Great.

Now, not only will your mirror give you a daily update on crowsfeet, laughter lines (ha, ha) and extra pounds it will sneak on your deteriorating physiological condition as well. No way to pretend it’s something that will just ‘go away’, not when the mirror is screaming at you every morning as you clean your teeth – polish the porcelain veneers that it. Maybe they’ll put a link to your local hospital in the mirror as well. Then one day as you stare vacantly at the reflection of your blood-shot eyes, the signal will go out and the next thing you know there will an ambulance at the door, and you will be carted off to the Home for the Reflectionally Compromised.

Well, at least there will be no mirrors there.

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Science news

Posted by Dr Tel on January 6, 2012

Strange things are afoot!

'You put your left foot in, you put your left foot out, in out, in out, you shake it all about! You do the Okey Kokey and you turn around...'

I spent far too much time over the Winterval thinking about the elephant’s foot. Actually before we go any further, let’s get ‘Winterval’ out of the way – nobody really uses it do they? When someone in Birmingham invented it way back in 1997 (and what a long time ago that is suddenly) I’m sure they had just partaken of a large liquid lunch and never really intended the name to hang around forlornly like the last mince pie.

If you want a nice name for the season that is reasonably ‘safe’, just call it Yuletide. Yes, Yuletide! Have a happy Yule! Put the Yule log on the fire! Great eh? Ok, so it comes from ancient Norse and equates to their winter knees up but I, for one, do not argue with Norse Gods – they are big on storms and thunder and lightning and my fence has just blown down.

So, I spent far too much time over Yuletide thinking about the elephant’s foot. Actually, I should correct myself again before we go any further. I actually spent far too much time thinking about the reporting of news about the elephant’s foot.

What you didn’t hear the news about the elephant’s foot?

Blimey where have you been, Lapland?

Briefly; there was an article published in Science: From Flat Foot to Fat Foot: Structure, Ontogeny, Function, and Evolution of Elephant “Sixth Toes”. Ring any (Yule) bells?

This was an interesting article that showed that elephants have massive sesamoids (small, tendon-anchoring bones) that employ a patchy mode of ossification of a massive cartilaginous precursor to form a pre-digit that acts functionally like a digit. Got it? And please excuse me pachyderm anatomists if I get this wrong, but my knowledge of elephant gross structure is somewhat pachy (arf arf). That is not the point though.

The point was, and is, that the story was picked up by somebody in a ‘news’ department who had hit the sherry very early in the season. It resulted in coverage that – once again – just underlined how poorly science is understood and presented by the regular news channels.

I must have heard a dozen different variations on the story during the day and yes, I do listen to too much radio and watch too much TV. First item about Nellie’s Foot I caught seemed to be saying that it had just been discovered that the elephant has six toes – one Patrick Blair first noticed this apparent extra digit some 300 hundred years ago, not exactly news. Then I was informed (around 11 o’clock) that the elephant had evolved an extra toe in a manner that seemed to suggest that this was something sneaky that they had been getting up to recently – probably while David Attenborough was filming polar bears in the zoo. By lunchtime a certain air of confusion was settling in but the consensus seemed to be that indeed this was a real living, walking extra digit – you know like individuals with polydactyly might have, but in this case being functionally useful.

It isn’t the case at all, of course.  

And I was suddenly reminded of the long-running discussion I had with an editor about how many fingers Homer Simpson has on each hand – it’s three plus one thumb for non Simpson lovers. Or is the thumb a finger, in which case it’s four fingers?

No, it’s not Mr Editor – it is four digits!

Homer Simpson evolved from Mickey Mouse and he had four digits too!

You have to take the long view after all, you do not re-jig the whole developmental plan that leads to the foot (elephant’s or otherwise) when evolution can recruit something else that’s ‘handy’ (ouch) and work on that. In this case it was a sesamoid.

It’s sad that this sort of story involves concepts beyond the layman, the theory of evolution is a fabulous thing and part of all our birthrights. But if you can’t report it correctly BBC and chums then please just give up, you gave me a headache that was nothing to do with the sherry. 

 

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Cell Coat – all wrapped up for Christmas

Posted by Dr Tel on December 22, 2011

Seeing is believing

'Santa Baby - come and fix it for me!'

I have a great interest in the animal cell glycocalyx. This is often described as the fuzzy surface coat, or sugar coat, that surrounds animal cells, and it is also the subject of some very fuzzy thinking. The glycocalyx consists of the protruding carbohydrate portions of integral membrane glycoproteins and glycolipds that interact via numerous charged sites with external long chain acid Continue Reading »Cell Coat – all wrapped up for Christmas

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The Lab party gets out of hand!

Posted by Susan MacGregor on December 5, 2011

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Equipment Brochures – everything you need to know, almost.

Posted by Dr Tel on December 5, 2011

Let me make myself clear!

"When the brochure said 'laboratory fume hood', I didn't know they meant the whole laboratory."

I have been looking at the specifications for a lot of laboratory equipment lately. And interesting reading it makes too. The degree of automation, the flexibility inherent, the thought given to costs and safety – it’s all very impressive.

At least I am pretty sure that’s the case. Continue Reading »Equipment Brochures – everything you need to know, almost.

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Science – no laughing matter.

Posted by Dr Tel on November 23, 2011

Joking aside.

 

'Stop me if you've published this one before!'

Apparently, on Twitter, which is a form of shouting into Cyberspace (as we know) a Comedian – who we will call Comedian A – has been complaining about someone who we will call ‘Comedian’ B. I have used the inverted commas there because I have never actually heard ‘Comedian’ B say anything funny. Anyway, Comedian A (who is very funny) has complained that ‘Comedian’ B has used a joke which Comedian A does not think ‘Comedian’ B wrote. Continue Reading »Science – no laughing matter.

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Computer Science

Posted by Dr Tel on November 16, 2011

How the Dalmatian got her spots – a tale of printer ink cartridge angst.

 

Princess Charlotte

I have always loved computers. From the very first day the ‘286’ arrived in the lab, it was love at first sight.

I have always hated printers. From the very first day the ‘tractor feed’ arrived in the lab (the next day – as it were) I have hated them.

They hate me too. However, when closing the door on the lab for the last time (for the time being at least) I thought I had left that jinx far behind … little did I know. Now read on: Continue Reading »Computer Science

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Science on Film

Posted by Dr Tel on November 8, 2011

Bad science in action!

‘My God, Professor Strange! You’ve made yellow!’

 

I was watching the boxset of ‘Fringe Series One’ on DVD this week. Not my fault, it was recommended to me, and not simply by a friend who said: ‘want to see The X-Files with a different name?’

It’s not like that! The X-Files was a TV show about conspiracies involving paranormal activity! This is totally different: it’s a TV show about conspiracies involving ‘Fringe science’. Continue Reading »Science on Film

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Spectroscopy And The Renaissance

Posted by Dr Tel on November 4, 2011

All I want for Christmas!

I do not have any old masters hidden away in the attic. There are no ‘Clarice Cliffs’ currently being used as plant trays in the potting shed, because there is no potting shed. All of my silver is plated and all that glitters here is most certainly not gold.

I have never inherited anything that turned out to be by Fabergee; the most expensive egg I have ever had in my possession probably came from Kinder.

Like most people though I have at some point sat down to watch programmes like ‘Cash in the Attic’ or ‘The Antiques Roadshow – the latter once because you can play a very good game involved copious consumption of alcohol, based on the experts’ estimates. I kid you not. Continue Reading »Spectroscopy And The Renaissance

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Cloning – not the only way forward for agriculture

Posted by Dr Tel on November 1, 2011

Asparagus in autumn – surely not?

Dr Tel goes a bundle on asparagus!

I am a great fan of asparagus. I cannot get enough of it. As this year has seen the first crop from my new allotment (yes, I know everybody just has to have one) I have been served very well. The slightly offensive production of – amongst other things – methanethiol, dimethyl sulfide, dimethyl disulfide bis(methylthio)methane and dimethyl sulfoxide aside, it has to be one of the tastiest vegetables going and a great harbinger of spring. Continue Reading »Cloning – not the only way forward for agriculture

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