As I’m sure many of you are aware, the US Preventive Services Task Force issued new recommendations yesterday regarding regular mammograms for breast cancer screenings. Among their recommendations are the following:

The USPSTF recommends against routine screening mammography in women aged 40 to 49 years. The decision to start regular, biennial screening mammography before the age of 50 years should be an individual one and take into account patient context, including the patient’s values regarding specific benefits and harms.
The USPSTF recommends biennial screening mammography for women between the ages of 50 and 74 years. (Grade B recommendation)
The USPSTF recommends against clinicians teaching women how to perform breast self-examination. (Grade D recommendation)

For women like myself who were brought up to think that early detection saves lives, these guidelines are hard to accept. At first I was comforted by reading that they don’t apply to women in high-risk groups. Then I learned that the high-risk group only included women “at increased risk for breast cancer by virtue of a known underlying genetic mutation or a history of chest radiation.” Again, having been taught early on that a strong family history of breast cancer (even without the known genetic mutation) puts one in a higher-risk category, I was shocked to learn that even these people might be counseled to follow the new recommendations. So then I took a closer look at their reasoning.

Turns out the guidelines are based on the idea that routine mammograms for women in their forties (and yearly versus biennial mammograms for women in their fifties) can actually do more harm than good. In their words, “the USPSTF reasoned that the additional benefit gained by starting screening at age 40 years rather than at age 50 years is small, and that moderate harms from screening remain at any age.” So we’re looking at “small” vs. “moderate” here. These “moderate harms” include “psychological harms, unnecessary imaging tests and biopsies in women without cancer, and inconvenience due to false-positive screening results.” They also determined that the number of lives saved by early screening is not enough to counterbalance these harmful effects. For women in their forties, one life is saved for 1904 women screened; for women in their fifties, one life is saved for 1339 women screened. This boils down to a 15% and 14% risk reduction, respectively.

Ok- I am by no means an expert, but I can tell you that I would much rather undergo the “inconvenience of a false-positive,” or what turns out to be an unnecessary biopsy, rather than die of a tumor that could have been detected, had I only found the lump via a self exam or went in for a mammogram at age 48.  I realize that the financial costs (in addition to the psychological costs) of unnecessary imaging tests and biopsies are high, and that one life saved for every 1904 women screened is a very small number.  But, when that one life saved turns to be your mother, or your wife, or your best friend- or YOU- it seems a lot bigger, doesn’t it?

For the past two weeks I have been vexed by an ad on the 151 CTA bus I take to work everyday. It features puzzle- a pie with eight pieces, each of which contain a number. Two of these numbers are missing, and it’s the viewer’s job to figure out what they’re supposed to be.

The reason this ad bothered me so much is because the answer was not written upside down on the bottom of the poster, as one might hope. Instead, you have to go to Marbles the Brain Store and ask an associate (which makes sense, from a marketing perspective). So, this past Friday night, I was very excited to happen upon a Marbles in the new wing of Old Orchard Mall in Skokie.

The bad news: I was not at all correct. The good news? (Read more…)

This past week, while on my way to Cincinnati (my hometown) for a little vacation, I saw this billboard. Go ahead, guess where it’s from.

Yes, Cincinnati does have the fantastic Museum Center at Union Station, which combines our children’s museum, our natural history and science museum, and the Cincinnati History Museum. And you’re right, they are currently showing the “Dinosaurs Alive!” Omnimax film and exhibit.

Unfortunately, this is not their billboard. Instead, it’s from the Creation Museum in Northern Kentucky, which seeks to debunk “evolutionary storytelling” by using “the Scriptures as the ultimate authority on science and everything else.” I don’t know about you, but this sounds pretty suspect to me.

This is not the first time I’ve crossed paths with the Creation Museum. Like I said, I’m from Cincy (about 30 minutes from the museum), so I’m used to seeing their ads around town. However, their older billboards depicted a giant snake with glowing red eyes slithering out of a tree (Garden of Eden, I assume). While the glowing red eyes were a bit alarmist, at least they advertised what the museum was really about– religion. Instead, the new dinosaur billboard implies that you’ll learn real scientific facts. Yes, you’ll see some fossils, but you’ll also see “children play and dinosaurs roam near Eden’s rivers” at an institution that regards Darwin as a “mistaken and fallible man,” completely disregarding his theory of evolution– a theory that, among the scientific community and many members of the public (around 40%), is accepted. Because it’s backed up by real, scientific data. Yes, that 40% should be higher. Unfortunately, “museums” that advocate false information aren’t helping matters.

So, if you find yourself in the area and in search of science, I highly recommend you check out the Museum Center at Union Station’s “Darwin’s rEvolution” exhibit instead. Please.

The Associated Press is reporting that thousands of jumbo flying squid, also known as Humboldt squid or, more alarmingly, “red devils,” are showing up in the shallow waters off the coast of San Diego, taking a number of divers by surprise.

Jumbo squid are usually found in much deeper, tropical waters off the coasts of Mexico and Central America. It isn’t clear yet why they’ve come to California, but this isn’t the first time they’ve taken the trip. Similar incidents were reported in 2002 and 2005. In fact, researchers believe they may have established a population in nearby, deeper waters, possibly due to a change in the number of their prey or predators. Similarly, the squid were likely drawn into the shallower areas as they followed their food.

The swarm presents a rare opportunity for divers to see these amazing creatures up close. However, the “red devils” are known for attacking humans- San Diego divers report being grabbed and knocked around. One even captured the near-theft of his camera light on video.

Many media outlets are referring to the squid’s arrival as an “invasion.” However, as at least one astute commenter pointed out, just who is invading whose territory isn’t exactly clear.

On last week’s edition of NPR’s Science Friday, they talked about a must-see video of a sperm whale stealing a sablefish off of a fishing line near Alaska. After watching it myself, I can confirm that you should check it out.

Fisherman have been upset about stolen fish for quite some time. The problem isn’t just that the whales are stealing the fish- it’s that many of them aren’t leaving evidence. This affects the estimate of the sablefish “fishable population,” which in turn affects fishing quotas. If the fishermen could estimate how many fish were being stolen, these numbers could be included into the totals.

The video reveals not only how the whales are committing the crime, but also how fisherman might overcome the problem. Whales emit sonar pulses to hunt for food. These pulses bounce off of their prey and back to the whales, helping them gauge size and distance. In the video, these pulses can be heard quickening as the whale reaches the line. Then, instead of ripping off the fish, the whale bites down on the line and shakes the fish loose. He keeps emitting the pulses until the fish is released, but doesn’t make any more noise until he has freed his own teeth from the line.

Researchers now think that they might be able to count how often fish are being stolen by tracking patterns of these sonar pulses. However, they’re quick to point out that this video only catches one whale in the act, so much more investigation is needed.

Here’s the video from Science Friday, and here’s an article from National Geographic with a little more info. I encourage you to at least check out the video- just seeing the whale emerge from the corner of the screen, mouth open and teeth pointy, like a creepy shadow puppet, is surreal.

This past Friday, I listened to an interesting story on National Public Radio about the science of what some considered to be near-death experiences. It focused on the account of one woman, Pam Reynolds, who underwent surgery to remove a leaking aneurysm on her brain stem. Because of its size and location, her surgeon, Robert Spetzler of Barrow Neurological Institute in Arizona, chose to place her in “cardiac standstill” during the operation– after lowering her body temperature to 60 degrees, she would flat-line, allowing the doctors to drain the blood from her head and remove the aneursym. According to Spetzler, Reynolds was “as deeply comatose as you can be and still be alive.”

After being placed unconscious, Reynolds remembers hearing a noise and suddenly feeling like she “popped out of the top of her head.” After observing some of the details of her surroundings– the number of doctors, the instruments they were using, and a conversation about the arteries in her groin– she noticed a tunnel and a white light, which appeared around the time doctors lowered her body temperature. She then conversed with her dead uncle and grandmother, who later brought her back to her body. Upon re-entry, she heard “Hotel California” playing in the hospital waiting room.

Afterward, Reynolds assumed she had been hallucinating. After all, her eyelids were taped shut the whole time, and speakers had been placed in her ears that made noises as loud as a plane taking off (these allowed surgeons to monitor her brain stem activity).

However, in a discussion with Spetzler years later, she discovered that her hallucination matched his memory of the actual operation. Michael Sabom, a cardiologist who researches near-death experiences, later examined the details of Reynolds’ account against hospital records. Again, every detail down to the conversation about her arteries, matched.

So how is this possible, when Reynolds couldn’t hear or see? Can a person really be “conscious” outside of their physical body? (Read more…)

An inspiring segment on last night’s episode of 60 Minutes profiled the work of DARPA’s (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) “Revolutionizing Prosthetics” program, a $100 million project intent on advancing a field that, in some respects, hasn’t changed much in more than 50 years.

The piece concentrated on the DARPA-funded DEKA arm, developed by inventor Dean Kamen and his team of 40 engineers. Size and comfort were key issues in designing the limb. The final product is the size of an average person’s arm, weighs around nine pounds, and is buffered from the wearer’s body by small balloons that expand and deflate as pressure on the arm changes (the balloons inflate when the wearer picks up something heavy, and deflate when the arm is at rest).  Controlling the arm using their shoulders and pedals in a specially designed shoe, volunteers demonstrated their ability to pick up and drink from a soda bottle and eat a grape.

The end of the segment touched on the future of prosthetic control, featuring Duke University engineer Jonathan Kuniholm. Kuniholm, who lost his forearm in Irag, demonstrated his ability to control a prosthetic hand using the nerves still intact in the remaining part of his arm. These nerves send out small electrical signals, which a processor in a prosthetic arm can be trained to interpret.

Similar work is being done here by Northwestern faculty member Todd Kuiken and his research team at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. They are using an exciting new procedure called targeted reinnervation to reroute nerves that used to control a missing limb to different, intact muscle areas (rerouting nerves that used to control an amputee’s arm to his or her chest muscles, for example). These reinnervated muscles can then communicate with a prosthesis, again allowing the wearer to control their limb intuitively. Click here to read an SiS article on the Kuiken team’s work.

A few weekends ago, when I arrived at a restaurant where I was supposed to meet a friend, I discovered it was closed for a private party. When I called my friend for an alternate venue, he told me to head west toward Southport and…

West? West didn’t help me at all. I am terrible with directions like this (please- give me a right or left). I realize that, especially in a city like Chicago, one should easily be able to orient themselves and follow cardinal directions. In my defense, it was dark, and raining, so I wasn’t in the mood for a learning experience. But, to be completely honest, I have a hard time finding my way west (or in any other direction) even on a bright, sunny day, unless the lake is in plain sight (east!) or I happen to be holding a compass.

Which is why I was intrigued when I found this article on NPR. Last year, researchers in Europe determined that cows have an internal magnetic compass (like bats) by observing that grazing and resting cows tended to face north or south. Now, they’ve determined that high-voltage power lines can disturb this compass, as cows in surrounding areas graze in random directions. Interestingly, if the power lines run east/west, then cows tend to align themselves east/west as well, further indicating that these magnetic fields affect cow behavior.

So, at least the cows that get lost heading to Southport have an excuse. Me? Not so much.

I admit it – I am secretly a horror film fan. It’s a childhood habit I never grew out of, like macaroni and cheese and Disney World. This past weekend, when my brother was in town (the only person who will still watch these with me), we spent two of our hours together in The Mist, a Stephen King movie from 2007.

It was terrible. This is probably no surprise to any of you who actually remember its release. But, I found it enjoyable (at least harmless) enough until we found out why those giant alien bugs were tromping around in the mist – a team of misguided, fame-hungry scientists working for the military had opened a portal to another dimension, allowing these monsters to pass through and annihilate our planet.

I get it – this is not the first time scientists have been portrayed as mad, or dangerous, in American cinema. It happens all the time. Artistic license is artistic license. (Read more…)

I was out with some friends this past Thanksgiving, trying to explain what I do for a living, when one of the turned to me and said

“Have you heard about that collider in Europe? It’s going to blow up the Earth.”

He was talking about the Large Hadron Collider, a new particle accelerator constructed by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). It stands to teach us a great deal about our universe once it resumes operation later this year. But, after seeing some of the headlines about it in the media, I could understand how one might think it’s going to destroy our planet. (Read more…)