Eyespy: March 2005
Eyepsy brings you the latest quirky medical stories from around the world
Studying the hands of your favourite celebrity will no
longer be a fail-proof way of determining their real age. Dr Ricardo
Lancheros, director of the Colombian Plastic Surgery Centre in
Bogotá, has invented a cosmetic technique to rejuvenate wrinkly
hands. First he uses liposuction to remove excess fat from people’s
stomachs or buttocks and then transfers it to backs of their hands. Eyespy
will now be spending hours checking out celebrity necks instead. http://www.lun.com/
Want to know how your cigarette smoking, alcohol
quaffing, kebab chomping student lifestyle will make you look in years to
come? With new technology from France you’ll be able to face the
future with a “magic mirror” that films you at home. The
results are displayed on a flat screen, liquid crystal display, television
“mirror” linked to a powerful image-processing computer. The
software pieces together all your activities to show an image of your
future physique. There will be several options for the visual feedback,
from weight gain to modifying skin tone to increasing the shadows under the
eyes. Scientists behind the project say showing people the consequences of
being unhealthy could shock them into changing their ways. www.ananova.com
Not only can they walk and talk, but soon robots will
be able to reproduce too. Kim Jong-Hwan, the director of the
ITRC-Intelligent Robot Research Centre, has developed a series of
artificial chromosomes that, he says, will allow robots to feel lusty and
could eventually lead to them reproducing. He says the software, which will
be installed in a robot within the next three months, will give the
machines the ability to feel, reason, and desire. Kim said:
“Christians may not like it, but we must consider this the origin of
an artificial species. Until now, most researchers in this field have
focused only on the functionality of the machines, but we think in terms of
the essence of the creatures.” That “essence” is a
computer code, which determines a robot’s propensity to
“feel” happy, sad, angry, sleepy, hungry, or afraid. Kim says
this software is modelled on human DNA, though equivalent to a single
strand of genetic code rather than the complex double helix of a real
chromosome. www.guardian.co.uk
Eyespy has a message to all those lyricists who have
opined extensively about opposites attracting—you’ve fallen for
nothing more than a cliché. Research in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, published by the American Psychological Association (APA)
has found what really does make a marriage work. Although people tend to
marry those who are similar in attitudes, religion, and values, it’s
similarity in personality that seems to be more important in having a happy
marriage. http://www.apa.org
Before she sets to work each day, Eyespy spends a good
10 minutes deleting emails offering all manner of pharmaceuticals to combat
impotence. So she was pleased to learn that Viagra spammers could soon be a
thing of the past. Microsoft and Pfizer are teaming up to file 17 lawsuits
aimed at cracking down on spammers. The suits are targeted at operations
selling cheaper “generic” versions of the impotence drug
and other Pfizer products. Microsoft is also pressing for action against
three other spammers who advertise online pharmacies under various
names, including Discount RX, Virtual RX, and EzyDrugStore.com. Microsoft
said that together, the spam rings had sent out hundreds of millions of
emails to Microsoft’s MSN Hotmail customers during the past year
alone. That said, Eyespy isn’t convinced their motives are entirely
altruistic. www.guardian.co.uk
A word of warning before you next indulge in a drunken
snog: 40000 parasites and
250 types of bacteria are exchanged during a
typical French kiss. The study by Sweden’s state run pharmacy chain,
Apoteket to publicise the advantages of good oral hygiene, says
couples also exchange 0.7 g of protein, 0.45 g of fat, and 0.19 g of
other organic substances. http://story.news.yahoo.com/
If looking at people’s necks to guess their age
is not quite an accurate enough age gauge for the scientists among you,
then try the middle finger. Tel Aviv scientist Shmuel Levin has found that
the structure of a bone in the middle finger called the proximal phalanx is
a reliable indicator of a person’s age. The finger bone features a
“growth plate” of cartilage. “When you’re young, it
consists more of cartilage,” said Levin. But as the years go by, the
growth plate “ossifies,” or turns to solid bone. Levin and his
colleagues say they can use the size and condition of the growth plate to
estimate age. Eyespy fears the next line in plastic surgery for age
obsessed celebrities might be having your fingers shortened. www.boston.com
A Mexican man has amazed doctors by successfully
performing a chest drain on himself. Pedro Lopez drained fluid from his
lungs that was making his breathing difficult. Specialists said he
performed the operation almost perfectly. Alfonso Torres Aguilar, director
of San Cristobal de Las Casas Hospital, said: “We do this kind of
surgery draining liquid in small quantities. But this man introduced a
needle on himself through his belly bottom and drained three litres of
liquid—without anesthaesia.” www.ewikis.com
studentBMJ 2005;13:89-132 March ISSN 0966-6494
