science – Page 18 – Go Retire Psychiatrist

Yet Another Study Affirming Stair Climbing Is Great Exercise!

There is yet another study showing that climbing stairs is great exercise and could help you live longer. It’s not yet published in a peer-reviewed journal, but it was presented at the recent scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Preventive Cardiology.

Conclusions were that, compared with not climbing stairs, doing so was associated with a 24% reduced risk of dying from any cause. There was a 39% reduced risk from dying of a cardiovascular disease.

One news story about this finding linked to an American Council of Exercise (ACE) article on an international sport called tower running. I’ve never heard of it before.

This could help get you ready for chasing extraterrestrials as shown in the famous fitness documentary Men in Black. Officer Edwards may have had “a real problem with authority” (ironic since he was a New York City cop). But as Agent K pointed out, “So do I. But this kid ran down a cephalopoid on foot, boss. That’s got to be tough enough.”

The point being: if you really know what’s good for you—you’ll take the stairs.

Carver College of Medicine Health Sciences Research Day!

Heads up! The Carver College of Medicine Health Sciences Research Day is on April 26, 2024. The event is open to the public. Find your way to the Medical Research Facility (MERF) by google map.

The University of Iowa Role in the Science Behind Psilocybin for Psychiatric Treatment

On April 9, 2024, the University of Iowa educational podcast, Rounding@Iowa presented a discussion about the study of the use of psilocybin in the treatment of psychiatric and addiction disorders. You can access the podcast below. The title is “Psilocybin Benefits and Risks.” The format involves an interview by Dr. Gerard Clancy, MD, Senior Associate Dean for External Affairs, Professor of Psychiatry and Emergency Medicine with distinguished University of Iowa faculty and clinician researchers.

In this presentation, the guest interviewees are Dr. Michael Flaum, MD, Professor Emeritus in Psychiatry, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, and Dr. Peggy Nopoulos, MD, Chair and Department Executive Officer for the University of Iowa Department of Psychiatry, Professor of Neurology, Pediatrics, and Psychiatry, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine.

All three of these highly respected and accomplished faculty taught me when I was a trainee in the psychiatry department and afterward were esteemed colleagues.

89: Tick-borne Illnesses – Rounding@IOWA

Join Dr. Clancy, Dr. Appenheimer & Dr. Barker as they discuss prevention, diagnosis and treatment of various tick-borne illnesses. CME Credit Available: https://uiowa.cloud-cme.com/course/courseoverview?eid=82296 Host: Gerard Clancy, MD Senior Associate Dean for External Affairs Professor of Psychiatry and Emergency Medicine University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine Guests: Ben Appenheimer, MD Clinical Associate Professor of Internal Medicine-Infectious Diseases Assistant Director, Infectious Diseases Fellowship Program Associate Clinical Director, Infectious Diseases Co-Medical Director, TelePrEP, University of Iowa Health Care University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine Jason Barker, MD Associate Professor of Internal Medicine-Infectious Diseases University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine Financial Disclosures: Dr. Gerard Clancy, his guests, and Rounding@IOWA planning committee members have disclosed no relevant financial relationships. Nurse: The University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine designates this activity for a maximum of 1.0 ANCC contact hour. Pharmacist and Pharmacy Tech: The University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine designates this knowledge-based activity for a maximum of 1.0 ACPE contact hours. Credit will be uploaded to the NABP CPE Monitor within 60 days after the activity completion. Pharmacists must provide their NABP ID and DOB (MMDD) to receive credit. JA0000310-0000-26-038-H01 Physician: The University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine designates this enduring material for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 CreditTM. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. Other Health Care Providers: A certificate of completion will be available after successful completion of the course. (It is the responsibility of licensees to determine if this continuing education activity meets the requirements of their professional licensure board.)

The link icon adjacent to the title of the podcast takes you to the podcast website. The link to the article in Iowa Magazine about the psilocybin research at University of Iowa Health Care tells you more about Dr. Peggy Nopoulos and her role as principal investigator in the study.

There is also a link to the National Library of Medicine Clinical Trials web site where you can find out more details about the study design. You’ll notice a banner message which says: “The U.S. government does not review or approve the safety and science of all studies listed on the website” along with another link to a disclaimer with more details.

Cat-astrophizing About the Association Between Cats and Schizophrenia Risk

It seems like every few years there is a spate of news stories about the supposed risk of developing schizophrenia from having a pet cat. The bottom line is that there is no direct link, but you can’t tell a reporter that. I mentioned the issue in a blog post about a feral cat in our neighborhood last year.

The research about this often has limitations, some of which are pointed out in this web article. A Psychiatric News article published in 2017 presented a reasonable position which apparently no reporters have read.

I’m allergic to cat dander. On the other hand, some cats are important enough to be entrusted with carrying an entire galaxy around their belts, reported in the Men in Black documentary which is in large part about a cat named Orion.

Reminder: FDA Advisory Committee to Meet in May 2024 to Discuss Updating Covid-19 Vaccine:

Just a reminder: the FDA Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) will meet on May 16, 2024 to make recommendations on Covid-19 strain selections for the fall vaccine of 2024-2025.

Our Solar Eclipse Day: A Happening on Terry Trueblood Trail

Yesterday, we went out to Terry Trueblood Recreation Area to see the solar eclipse. It was a gorgeous day for it, although a bit chilly. When we got there about 11:30 AM, the parking lot was pretty empty and only a few people were there. We even ran into a few on the trail who didn’t know about the eclipse at all.

However, as the day went on, more visitors showed up, although by no means a crushing crowd. Sena and I were testing out our pinhole and cereal box viewers, and I practiced using the solar filter with my smartphone. While we were doing that, a woman approached us and we struck up a great conversation about the eclipse, which she was looking forward to as well.

As the time approached for the big event, others took up positions around the park. It didn’t take long for us to share stories with others. A woman shared her pinhole viewer with us. She also shared her eclipse glasses (Sena did as well) with another couple who had a NASA live feed on their large screen smartphone. They in turn shared the NASA live feed with us. The irony was the couple didn’t have eclipse glasses and couldn’t safely look up at the partial eclipse right where we were in Iowa City.

And that’s how we all got to share our experience of 4 eclipses, 3 of them total eclipses (albeit vicariously by the NASA live feed by smartphone) with Carbondale, Illinois as well as Arkansas and Texas. The videos were mesmerizing.

As the eclipse progressed, we noticed it got colder and darker. The birds stopped singing. On the NASA live feed, we heard a reporter excitedly remark that the bats were flying out of the caves because they thought it was nightfall. The Terry Trueblood Park lights turned on it got so dim; then they came back on as the eclipse reversed.

The eclipse itself was spectacular. Even more fascinating was how it brought some of us together with others to share it. It reminded me of an old term “the happening.” It was coined in the 1950s and, although I think it originally referred to artistic events, you could apply it to a lot of big and cool events—like eclipses. It was a happening.

Off to See the Eclipse!

We’ll be off to try to see the eclipse today, because the weather report yesterday (and this morning!) said it would be sunny and warm.

For the occasion, I made a cereal box eclipse viewer just for fun. We’ll see if it works. I sacrificed a box of Raisin Bran for it. Sena wondered where her cereal box viewer was. We had only one box of cereal in the pantry.

And we’ve got some eclipse glasses. Good luck out there!

Partial Social Eclipse Viewing on the Pentacrest April 8, 2024!

The University of Iowa Dept of Physics and Astronomy and the Sciences Library invites the public to view the partial solar eclipse on April 8, 2024 between 12:30 PM-3:00 PM at the Pentacrest and the Sciences Library courtyard. Solar eclipse glasses free while they last.

Solar Eclipse Around the Corner So We May Need to Protect the Cicadas!

The solar eclipse is just around the corner! We’re hoping for decent weather. We’re also hoping that everyone views the event with safety in mind.

University of Iowa Health Care ophthalmologist Dr. Ian Han has great tips on how to observe the solar eclipse on April 8, 2024. He pointed out that eclipse glasses that pass muster for safe viewing of what will be a partial eclipse in Iowa are typically on a list of approved eyewear and often have an ISO (that stands for International Organization for Standardization) number stamped on them. Our glasses have the right stuff!

However, animals sometimes get confused by solar eclipses, including cicadas (see my other post about cicada weirdness posted today). Cicadas might stop singing or maybe their gonads drop off a little sooner than usual, I don’t know exactly. But the zombie cicada gonad apocalypse timing probably makes that a non-issue. I did say “probably.” But how could we protect them if necessary?

There might be a scientific way to custom fit the cicadas with solar eclipse glasses using groundbreaking technology first used in the 1989 documentary film, “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids,” which I have not personally watched but which could be featured on Svengoolie. We’d have to scale up production for possibly trillions of bugs. And I guess we can’t protect their gonads.

But we can all protect our eyes.

Update: I found a very good web site which tells you how to check if your solar eclipse glasses are genuine and protective. In addition to the information above, you can test the eclipse glasses indoors by putting them on. You shouldn’t be able to see anything but the brightest light bulbs and those just barely. You can test them outside as well. On a sunny day, look around at any reflective surface. You shouldn’t be able to see much at all. I tested ours and they passed with flying colors.

Cicada Zombieland

I’m sure you’ve heard the zombie cicada horror movie-like story in the news which sounds like it would make a great episode for the Svengoolie TV show. “Attack of the hallucinating zombie cicadas without gonads” would make a good title. One possible torrid scene suggestion would open in the “living” room (although zombies are not really alive), female (Alice) and male (Fred) cicadas seated on the sofa, lava lamp on the coffee table:

Fred: Alice baby, what’s your sign?

Alice: Your gonads are off, hon.

Fred: Oops. Did I leave them at the racquetball court?

Alice: Hmmm. Have you had your…shots?

Fred: What do you mean?

Alice: You’re not carrying any sexually transmitted diseases, are you?

Fred: I hardly see how that’s possible, since my gonads fell off somewhere. Have another drink of my psychedelic fungus urine, which I am able to shoot out stronger and faster than an elephant!

Alice: Not erotic enough in my book. I’m leaving, Fred.

Fred: Wait a minute, Alice. I’m sure my gonads are around here somewhere; let me check between the sofa cushions!

Cicadas are those bugs which make extremely loud buzzing noises every 13 or every 17 years or whatever, when they dig their way out of the ground to climb trees, molt, and find mates. Sex is the main event for them and possibly trillions of them will be looking to get lucky in the biggest invasion in over 200 years, at least in the southeastern United States.

On the other hand, there is something seriously wrong with some of them. A parasitic fungus with an LSD-like or amphetamine-like substance takes over the males and their sexual equipment just falls right off, replaced by fungus gobs which stick on to other males or females, infecting them and turning them into sex-crazed zombies which kill each other off faster than Woody Harrelson can slaughter the walking dead in Zombieland (a movie I never saw).

This reminds me of a couple of X-Files episodes, as I’m sure it reminds you. One of them is Firewalker in which a silicon-based fungus infects a crew of scientists and kills them off by making them zombie-like spreaders of it, complete with a long, strangely phallic-like sprout which explodes out of their necks, after the victims gradually become psychotic.

The other X-Files episode is Field Trip in which Mulder and Scully get trapped underground covered in a giant gooey fungus which makes them hallucinate their brains out. At the same time, it’s digesting them. Yum.

I don’t think the X-Files producers got the idea for the episodes from the cicada zombies.