Monthly Archives: December 2012

 

Is Kindness Key to Happiness and Acceptance for Children?

Posted 28 December 2012 by Jalees Rehman

The study "Kindness Counts: Prompting Prosocial Behavior in Preadolescents Boosts Peer Acceptance and Well-Being" published by Layous and colleagues in the journal PLOS One on December 26, 2012 was cited by multiple websites as proof of how important it is to teach children to be kind. NPR commented on the study in the blog post "Random Acts Of Kindness Can Make Kids More Popular", and the study was also discussed in ScienceDaily in "Kindness Key to Happiness and Acceptance for... Read more

Author Posted in education, journalism, peer review, professionalism, psychology, research, science journalism, science writing, scientific method, scientific methodology | Kommentare 0 Comments | Permalink

Armchair Psychiatry and Violence

Posted 26 December 2012 by Jalees Rehman

Following tragic mass shootings such as the one that unfolded in Newtown, Connecticut, it is natural to try to “make sense” of the events. The process of “making sense” and understanding the underlying causes is part of the healing process. It also gives hope to society that if we were able to address the causes of the tragedy, we could prevent future tragedies. It is not unexpected that mental illness is often invoked as a possible reason for mass shootings.... Read more

Author Posted in journalism, medicine, mental health, mental illness, patients, professionalism, psychiatry, psychology, science journalism, science writing, violence | Kommentare 3 Comments | Permalink

“It Is An Opportunity For Great Joy”

Posted 12 December 2012 by Jalees Rehman

I was about 12 years old when I found out that my grandfather was born on 12/12/12. If he were alive, he would be exactly 100 years old today. I found out about his birthday, when he came to stay with us in Munich for an eye surgery. He was a diabetic and had been experiencing deterioration in his vision. At that time, it was very difficult to find an eye surgeon in Pakistan who would be able to perform... Read more

Author Posted in medicine, patients, personal | Kommentare 3 Comments | Permalink

Can The Heart Regenerate Itself After A Heart Attack?

Posted 5 December 2012 by Jalees Rehman

Some cardiovascular researchers believe that the heart contains cardiac stem cells or progenitor cells which can become mature cardiomyocytes (beating heart cells) following an injury and regenerate the damaged heart. The paper "Mammalian heart renewal by pre-existing cardiomyocytes" published in the journal Nature by Senyo and colleagues (online publication on December 5, 2012), on the other hand, suggests that the endogenous regenerative potential of the adult heart is very limited. The researchers studied the regeneration of cardiomyocytes in mice using... Read more

Author Posted in adult stem cells, cardiovascular, cell biology, gene expression, heart disease, molecular biology, regenerative medicine | Kommentare 1 Comments | Permalink