Tag Archives: mitochondrion

Genetically Engineered Babies, Medical Student Influencers

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Are you buying what med student Instagrammers are selling?

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Photo by MillionsAgainstMonsanto

You’ve probably noticed them.  Cute med students hawking makeup and study guides on Instagram, posting photos of their fav study beverage, and composing carefully arranged shots of the contents of their backpacks, #medstudentlife #sponsored.  Well, who can blame them–med school’s expensive!  But is it a slippery slope, just waiting for some unsuspecting student to lose their ethical footing?  Short Coats Sam Palmer, Miranda Schene and newbies Allie Fillman and Allison Klimesh take a look.

This Week in Medical News

Funny thing:  that stuff you learned about mitochondria?  Wrong.  And with the news that there are now real live genetically engineered babies in the world–thanks to a Chinese scientist with his own ethical problems–we wonder why it was even necessary, what the dangers are to the family who ‘benefited,’ and just where the heck is this young mad scientist, now, anyway?

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Would you be a med student influencer if you could?  Why, and what limits would you set? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email theshortcoats@gmail.com.  Do all three!

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What Skinny Doctors Don’t Get About Their Obese Patients

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Let’s just keep talking about treating obesity

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Photo by rawdonfox

Fifi Trixiebell (not her real name) wrote to theshortcoats@gmail.com asking us to discuss what medical students learn about nutrition, and whether they think the keto diet is just another fad.  Luckily, Madeline Slater, Emma Barr, Kyle Kinder, and newbie Sam Palmer–M1s all–just had a unit on nutrition so that’s an easy one.  But Fifi Trixiebell had written in before, a message which–despite his policy of answering every listener question–Dave had passed over.  Why did he ignore it?  He’s not sure; it was a while back, but it may have triggered him (though, to be clear, it wasn’t Fifi’s fault).  We also discuss an article from HuffPo about the “unique and persistent trauma” doctors visit upon their obese patients.

Plus, with the announcement of the 2018 Ig Nobel Prizes, we cover the weird winners in medicine; and Dave puts his co-hosts to the test on their knowledge of past winners.

This Week in Medical News

Sure, when a person is stressed out, the cortisol and adrenaline circulating in the blood mediate the body’s responses, but what about mitochondrial DNA?  Perhaps your mom really is trying to kill you!

We Want to Hear From You

Have you ever heard from a perfect stranger how to fix your life? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, visit our Facebook group, or email theshortcoats@gmail.com.  Do all three!

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Careless (and Repulsive) Whispers

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Photo by Yogesh Mhatre

Fresh from winter break, Kaci McCleary, Tony Rosenberg, Mark Moubarek, and new co-host Teneme Konne bring us up to date on their activities during their time off.  We hear from co-host Amy Young as she sends in her (surprising?) thoughts on the Grand Canyon.  Meanwhile, the good old mesentery might get a well deserved promotion, from fatty membrane that gets in the way during abdominal surgery but conveniently holds your spleen to full blown organ…so long as you’re an Irish researcher.  Sadly, recent extra-legal efforts to replace fatally flawed mitochondria in human ova with healthy ones might prove to be worthless (and worse).  France declares everyone an organ donor, unless you opt out (you jerk).  And Dave takes everyone on a tour of the murky world of autonomous sensory meridian response on YouTube.  Will we jump on the ASMR bandwagon, or wipe the warm condensation off our ears and sit this one out?

Listeners, share your thoughts with us each week.  Call us at 347-SHORTCT any time, and see our Facebook page for a question to consider every Monday.

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