Lovely SEM image of pseudostratified ciliated columnar epithelium. This tissue lines the trachea and upper respiratory tract, and is responsible for sweeping debris out of your lungs, up your wind pipe, and into the back of your throat where you’ll either a) cough it out or b) swallow it. People who are smokers are constantly killing off these cells, which is why smokers are so prone to lung infections; they lack the ciliated cells to keep crap out of their lungs.
Self-Powered Bionic Eye to Restore Eyesight
A team from Stanford University and the University of Strathclyde in the United Kingdom has created a thin prosthetic chip from silicon that electrically stimulates neurons in the retina. Unlike other retinal implants, the device is photovoltaic so it wouldn’t require complicated surgery for a battery-powered setup.
Anonymous asked: Did you all get into medicine?
We all got conditional offers :).
Being a doctor is a huge privilege but carries huge responsibility, and your years as a medical student will prepare you for that role. Complete strangers will trust you with their most intimate concerns and you will touch and change lives. Survey after survey shows that the public trusts doctors…
therewasagirlnamedfats asked: Hello, applying for medicine in the UK, hopefully, I wanted to ask what steps should I take, because I feel like I am lost. I applying for 2013, help?
1) If you’re doing A-Levels then focus on your AS’s right now. More and more universities are starting to look at your AS’s as well as predicted grade, so try to do as well in them as you can.
2) Once AS’s are over, then you will need to start thinking about where you want to apply to. Order prospectuses, have a look online, attend open days, to get an idea. Some important things to consider are the type of course (i.e. whether it’s PBL or traditional), entry requirements, location, five-year verses six-year, which entrance exam (if any) it requires etc.
3) Most of the medical schools in the UK require the UKCAT, which is an entrance exam assessing you on some horrible-sounding things. We would advise you to start working towards it as soon as A.S’s are over. Most people take it during the summer holiday - if you go on the website (just Google UKCAT), it should tell you when registration starts. If you know for certain that you would like to apply to a university that requires the BMAT (Oxbridge/UCL/Imperial), then start preparing for that as well.
4) Start thinking about what you would like to include in your personal statement. Make a list of all your work experience/extra-curriculars/voluntary work, and describe the ways in which each has benefited you e.g. by improving your communication skills - things like that. Also think about why you would like to become a doctor.
5) Now it’s the summer holiday! There are plenty of things that you will be able to do during the summer that will benefit your application. For example, Jiti took part in the Nuffield Bursary Scheme, which involved carrying out a scientific investigation over four weeks at a local university, whilst Jaunebanane did a week of work experience at a hospital and a week of voluntary work at a nursing home. One of our friends even went to Mongolia for three weeks to do work experience! However, don’t forget to have a break! School will become ridiculously busy once you go back in September, so at least one week of no work is necessary.
6) Hopefully your school will guide through this, but the overall gist is that in October or before, you will have to apply to medical school through UCAS. You will only be able to apply to four medical schools in the UK, plus a fifth option for a different degree.
GOOD LUCK! Hope we answered your question adequately, if you want to know about anything in more detail, feel free to ask!
Snappy Answers from the March 13th, 2012 edition of the Medical Post.
Splayed on the table of our atrium sat an old edition of the Medical Post. It was slightly torn and ruffled around the edges but held together easily at its stapled spine. Having arrived early for my afternoon workshop, I pulled it over to pass the time. Skimming through the pages, I saw this full spread and found it quite amusing. In a busy, fast-paced profession like medicine, you have to be able to poke fun at yourself every once in a while.
It takes an artist like Björk to turn the complex process of DNA replication and transcription into something as simple and beautiful as a pop song. For the video of her song “Hollow,” from last year’s app-based album Biophilia, Björk has collaborated with biomedical animator Drew Berry to create a partly-scientific representation of the haunting song.
A close up view of erythrocytes (red blood cells)
Hello everyone! We're three students in the process of applying to med school in the UK. It is on this blog that we will regurgitate any interesting things related to medicine that we find on Tumblr/the internet, and perhaps even document our trials and tribulations as we get closer and closer to med school.
We have our own private Tumblrs as well:
http://jaunebanane.tumblr.com/
http://jiti.tumblr.com/
http://spicyveggieburger.tumblr.com/
Enjoy!
