I walked into a dragon when I got up this morning. Happy lunar new year!
Best part of staying home sick… Ordering in Lombardi’s pizza and having NyQuil for dessert. (Taken with instagram)
Go Ahead and Live in Sin! Science Says It’s Okay
There are plenty of nice reasons to get married, but increasingly the basic experience of being married doesn’t seem all that different from simply living together without ever making it legal—or living in sin, as our grandmothers like to call it. Now there’s some new research that proves that the line between marriage and cohabitation has been blurred to such an extent that it’s barely visible. The study, which appears in the Journal of Marriage and Family, found that being married doesn’t really have any long term advantage over living together—at least in terms of happiness, health, and one’s social life.
What researchers discovered was that there’s an initial bump in well-being right after a person marries or moves in with someone, as compared to staying single. But this advantage was short lived—in other words, the honeymoon came to an end and people fell back down to reality, which can be a miserable place whether you’re married or single.
How (Not) to Communicate New Scientific Information: a Memoir of the Famous Brindley Lecture
“In 1983, at the Urodynamics Society meeting in Las Vegas, Professor G.S. Brindley first announced to the world his experiments on self-injection with papaverine to induce a penile erection. This was the first time that an effective medical therapy for erectile dysfunction (ED) was described, and was a historic development in the management of ED. The way in which this information was first reported was completely unique and memorable, and provides an interesting context for the development of therapies for ED.”
Interesting memoir on Dr. Brindley’s lecture sent to me by my brother. I’m surprised I’d never heard of this before since it’s pretty hilarious.
Top 10 Reasons to Become a Doctor
On Medscape’s Differential, one of the medical student bloggers posted a great story responding to a former pre-medical student advisor and trained physician’s article, “The Top 10 Reasons Why You Should Not Go To Medical School…and the Single Reason You Should,” who has chosen not to practice medicine.
I think he really has some great points. There were and are times in medical school where I seriously thought, why am I doing this to myself? I definitely lost touch with some old friends and family. I see my friends continue on with their lives and grow up whereas I sometimes feel l like a perpetual student. I felt out of shape, I was really sick sometimes and just straight up exhausted. But, with the end in sight (May 11, 2012!!!!!!) honestly, it’s worth it. Time flies by in hindsight.
Last year, I made pretty extensive new year’s resolutions to be in better contact with my friends and family, make time to read books, cook, volunteer, knit, workout, write, and go out with friends, etc. And it’s been one of the most gratifying years for me. I really got to do all of these things during one of the busiest years of medical school, and write several journal articles (Four of which, will published in 2012, so far!). Better time management really allows you to whatever you want PLUS really feel like you are learning and helping people in a meaningful way. So many of these reasons not to become a doctor really disappear…but you have to really want it, remind yourself why you got into it in the first place and try.
A Bit More Room
Some transit agencies are designing wider seats for their trains.
Let Food Be Thy Medicine: Trash the vitamins, eat better food!
From my food blog…
Best Evidence Review of Dietary Supplements and Mortality Rates in Older Women
Mursu J, Robien K, Harnack LJ, Park K, Jacobs Jr DR. Dietary supplements and mortality rate in older women. Arch Intern Med. 2011;171:1625-1633.
- Nearly half of older adults routinely use dietary supplements,…
Eat Yourself Skinny
Awesome food blog with great, healthy recipes!
Researchers have long tied type 2 diabetes to chronic inflammation, caused by a ramping-up of immune system activity that ultimately damages insulin receptor signalling and leads to insulin resistance. But in September, Umut Ozcan, an obesity researcher at Children’s Hospital Boston, reported that a key inflammatory protein actually reduces insulin resistance in obese diabetic mice, curing them of diabetes. The protein, called XBP-1s, turns on genes that direct the assembly of other proteins that keep insulin function working correctly in the cells.
Could be promising.
Side note: I can’t help but think those donuts in the stock photo look delicious.
Where Christmas lights go to die… and be reborn as slippers.
"Take the world apart and figure out how it works." - Built to Spill, 1994.
