Tuesday 31 January 2012

Last week I was in the nursing home once again, and was shadowing the personal carer whom was leading a lady with a dog around to the residents. It was great to see everyone’s different reactions, some seemed delighted!
Last weekend I was up in London and whilst browsing the stalls in Camden found a copy of Freud’s ‘On Psychopathology’ which I am now dipping into every evening.  There are translation issues in places, and so it is proving a tough read, but I’m determined to soak up as much as I can from it... I’m finding it useful to pick up the scientific terminology used. I’m keen to get my hands on other medical related books so I can absorb as much as possible - this week with any luck, I should receive my first Student BMJ which I am excited about; will be useful to keep up with the latest medical news without keeping a constant beady eye on the BBC Health website!

I’m starting to gather information for my stem cells research project which I will begin to summarise here soon. I’m finding it incredible how quickly this area of science is developing; it seems almost weekly I am able to find another new article examining its latest progression! The paper is to be of approximately 3,000 words in length, and if deemed good will be graded published by Medlink. Also hope to catch Junior Doctors at some point, which is always an eye opener! That’s a quick update for now, more will follow suite! 

Sunday 22 January 2012

Prosthetis Lecture!

Last week I went to a lecture on prosthesis organised by my school. I wasn’t aware that the Dorset Prosthetics company was so prevalent until then - the engineer who gave the lecture had worked on numerous high profile cases, even designing and carving a pair of designer wooden legs for a Vivienne Westwood catwalk! He spoke about the importance of the process because of its ability to allow people to move on with their lives after an accident; losing a limb has a powerful psychological impact on the patient. In Sweden, he said, prosthetic limbs are actually fitted while the patient is  under anaesthetic from the amputation – the result being, that when they wake up there is less of a psychological impact on the patient. In the UK patients usually have to wait a few months for the treatment. The art of prosthetics has progressed rapidly in recent years – it bears a stark comparison to the evidence of loss of limbs in the World War One literature I have been studying for my English AS! Prosthetic limbs these days are radically advanced and able to move and correspond to the patient’s movement using gyroscopic technology, and so cope with a variety of terrains. The nature of the prosthetic limb depends on the client – although for every limb four pairs are made – one for day and one for night time, one for sport, and one for swimming, the requirements of the client can depend on their lifestyle. The model who sported the wooden Vivienne Westwood carved legs had created a variety of legs which allowed her to adjust her height, pursue her athletics career and even legs which looked like jellyfish! Her method of coping after her trauma was inspiring – she had managed to turn her disability into her individuality. It made me see the importance of a strong psychological mindset after a trauma. 

Friday 20 January 2012

Spent yesterday afternoon at the nursing home, getting to know everyone a little better and feel like I’m developing a good relationship with the residents! Sadly the chap I had been speaking to for the past few weeks wasn’t around, but didn’t want to ask too much in front of the other residents in case something has happened... He’s a great man and I’ve had some good chats with him about his life and the things he has seen and done, including his time in India as an engineer so we traded stories about our experiences! Next week, with any luck, I’ll have the opportunity for some one-to-one time with residents on the rounds so I’m looking forward to that!

Thursday 19 January 2012

Playing God

Last night I watched an episode of Horizon about synthetic biology, which opened my eyes to the cutting edge science which is on the cusp of breaking into the medical world.

 The first case examined the use of genetic engineering at Utah State University, where researchers had isolated the gene which causes the production of spider’s silk, and inserted it into a goat embryo in order to allow goats to produce the proteins in spider silk. The protein was extracted from the milk of the goat and the researchers were able to synthesise spider’s silk. This withholds great medical potential; the silk can be used in both tendon and ligament repair, because it has the ability to be both strong, and elastic enough, as well as being bio-compatible – allowing it to be accepted into the human body (without immune-response or inflammation).

A later case looked at a NASA medic, who was tasked with assisting astronauts deal with radiation in space. The idea consisted of inserting genetically modified bacteria into astronauts, which could release a therapeutic molecule to help the astronauts with radiation sickness. The bacteria would be contained within ‘bio-capsules’ which consist of carbon nanotubes which contain hole too small for synthetic bacteria to escape, but large enough to allow the therapeutic molecules out. These look to be an important discovery for future medicine in terms of containing drugs at a molecular level which are inserted into the body – an important drug delivery system which can be triggered by the infection it is trying to prevent. Most importantly, carbon nanotubes are accepted into the body (they are bio-compatible).

The final case examined the brain; the centre of art, culture and emotion. It showed a professor at Massachusetts Institue of Technology who is developing a new strand of synthetic biology - synthetic neurobiology. The basis of his experimentation was to enable the ability to control the brain. The process involved stimulating different areas of the brain where specific neurone-receptors were residing. The subject of the experiment, a mouse, had a synethtic virus inserted into its brain, which deposited genes (extracted from green algae which requires light sensitivity to photosynthesise) on neurones in the brain, which made the neurones sensitive to light, tiling the surface light solar panels. Proteins from the algae were produced which, when exposed to light, produced electrical pulses. The scope of this discovery I found phenomenal and intensely fascinating. In the future, humans may have the power to directly influence neurones in the brain which control emotions and decision making, or perhaps find new pathways around psychological disorders. Directly affecting individual neurones is not possible with pharmaceuticals, as they can also cause side effects in other areas of the brain.

The programme also examined the creation of the first synthetic life form, created by Craig Venter in 2010. This concept particularly opened my mind to what life actually is. In fact that day we had been learning about the first life forms in Chemistry and how life was able to exist in precise conditions and develop a niche in which to exist. Then I reflected these ideas to medicine: what does it mean to keep somebody alive? What does it mean to die? It honed the importance of this profession and furthered my fascination with medicine. 

Wednesday 18 January 2012

Futures...

You are reading this because one day I want to become a doctor.

Here I will document my journey to achieving my dream; my thoughts, inspirations and experiences. It will act as a reference point throughout my experiences and a voice for my mind!

The title of my blog:  ‘An Interpretation of Dreams’ reflects the nature of my prose (interpreting my dream to become a doctor), whilst referencing the book by Sigmund Freud, a great inspiration of mine (although not a qualified doctor), made famous for his discovery of the discipline known as ‘psychoanalysis’. Here, I too shall attempt to interpret my dreams and vivify them.

I’m currently studying Biology, Chemistry, Maths and English Literature at A Level, all of which are stimulating me greatly. I also offer my services at a local nursing home, and enjoy playing and creating music in my spare time. At this moment I’m particularly interested in General Practice and Psychiatry as potential areas to enter in the medical field, but I’ll be interested to see if and how my decision changes as time goes on!

The journey continues....