The human cost of World War I was enormous. The prolonged trench …
The human cost of World War I was enormous. The prolonged trench warfare ended the lives of 1.8 million Germans, 1.7 million Russians, 1.4 million French, 1.2 million Austro-Hungarians, and over 900,000 British. 112,000 American troops also died, mostly from disease. Many of those who didn't die were left with horrible wounds. Here, plaster casts of the mutilated faces of soldiers wounded in battle are shown next to their reconstructions, carried out with the aid of new prosthetic devices. They represent one legacy of the First World War and the imperfect attempts to contend with its gruesome effects.
Principles of tomographic imaging using ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, and ultrasound. Emphasis …
Principles of tomographic imaging using ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, and ultrasound. Emphasis is placed on fundamental physics and mathematics involved in image formation, including basic interactions, data acquisition and reconstruction. Planar radiographic imaging, multi-dimensional tomography (X-ray CAT, PET, SPECT), ultrasound, and NMR imaging covered. 22.56J aims to give graduate students and advanced undergraduates background in the theory and application of noninvasive imaging methods to biology and medicine, with emphasis on neuroimaging. The course focuses on the modalities most frequently used in scientific research (X-ray CT, PET/SPECT, MRI, and optical imaging), and includes discussion of molecular imaging approaches used in conjunction with these scanning methods. Lectures by the professor will be supplemented by in-class discussions of problems in research, and hands-on demonstrations of imaging systems.
Michael Yantsos contracted AIDS through intravenous drug use while in prison in …
Michael Yantsos contracted AIDS through intravenous drug use while in prison in 1983. Yantsos was one of thousands who became infected before information about the disease or adequate treatment was available. As a result, Yantsos, like most Americans, knew next to nothing about the disease when AIDS struck during the early 1980's. Many associated the disease with gay men, who were its first victims, but the epidemic soon spread to other populations – first to intravenous drug users, and then to heterosexuals. Reagan era cuts in drug treatment programs and the "war" on drugs that pushed thousands of addicts into prison also contributed to the disease's spread.
This website by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality clearly explains …
This website by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality clearly explains the common communication barriers in a medical setting, along with techniques to overcome them. Language, hearing, and visual barriers can be overcome by visuals, video aids, written instructions, and medical interpreters. The website provides directions on how to facilitate conversation between the patient, medical professional, and translator. As an interactive activity, students should role-play how they would introduce each communication technique to a patient when there is a communication barrier. By reading and role-playing, students should feel confident communicating with patients through the use of communication aids.
Through this lesson and its associated activity, students explore the role of …
Through this lesson and its associated activity, students explore the role of biomedical engineers working for pharmaceutical companies. First, students gain background knowledge about what biomedical engineers do, how to become a biomedical engineer, and the steps of the engineering design process. The goal is to introduce biomedical engineering as medical problem solving as well as highlight the importance of maintaining normal body chemistry. Students participate in the research phase of the design process as it relates to improving the design of a new prescription medication. During the research phase, engineers learn about topics by reading scholarly articles written by others, and students experience this process. Students draw on their research findings to participate in discussion and draw conclusions about the impact of medications on the human body.
On May 4, 1886, in Chicago's Haymarket Square, a bomb exploded during …
On May 4, 1886, in Chicago's Haymarket Square, a bomb exploded during a labor demonstration protesting the police shootings of four striking workers. In response, the government and business groups nationwide strengthened the police and the military in an effort to curb labor militancy and public disorder. As part of its coverage of the Haymarket incident, one newspaper displayed this scene from Chicago's police headquarters, showing the construction of a criminal identification system based on photographs. The Rogues' Gallery" served as an archive to identify individual criminals (including political dissenters and labor activists) and to discern
In a class demonstration, the teacher places different pill types ("chalk" pill, …
In a class demonstration, the teacher places different pill types ("chalk" pill, gel pill, and gel tablet) into separate glass beakers of vinegar, representing human stomach acid. After 20-30 minutes, the pills dissolve. Students observe which dissolve the fastest, and discuss the remnants of the various pills. What they learn contributes to their ongoing objective to answer the challenge question presented in lesson 1 of this unit.
In 1918 and 1919 the Spanish influenza killed more humans than any …
In 1918 and 1919 the Spanish influenza killed more humans than any other disease in a similar period in the history of the world. In the United States a quarter of the population (25 million people or more) contracted the flu; 550,000 died. In the early 1980s, when historian Charles Hardy did interviews for the Philadelphia radio program "The Influenza Pandemic of 1918," he was struck by the painful memories as many older Philadelphians recalled the inability of the city to care for the dead and dying. In these excerpts from Hardy's radio program, Clifford Adams, an African American from the South; Anna Lavin, a Jewish immigrant; Anne Van Dyke and Elizabeth Struchesky; and Louise Abruchezze, an Italian immigrant, discussed their shared experience in Philadelphia--shocked by the scale of the influenza outbreak, none could fathom the lack of respect shown for those who had died.
Nineteenth-century laborers faced a variety of work-related ailments: from rheumatism and pneumonia …
Nineteenth-century laborers faced a variety of work-related ailments: from rheumatism and pneumonia to lead palsy and carbon monoxide poisoning. Yet governments rarely regulated workplace conditions and the United States lagged far behind industrialized European nations in such regulation. In the Progressive era, however, a movement to regulate dangerous industrial working conditions arose, and one of its most prominent leaders was a physician named Alice Hamilton. In this selection from her 1943 autobiography, Hamilton described her residency at Jane Addams's Hull House in the late 1890s and her participation in the Illinois Occupational Disease Commission.
Subject provides a comprehensive overview of human pathology with emphasis on mechanisms …
Subject provides a comprehensive overview of human pathology with emphasis on mechanisms of disease and modern diagnostic technologies. Topics include: general mechanisms of disease (inflammation, infection, immune injury, host response to foreign materials, transplantation, genetic disorders and neoplasia); pathology of lipids, enzymes, and molecular transporters; pathology of major organ systems; and review of diagnostic tools from invasive surgical pathology to non-invasive techniques such as optical spectroscopy, functional imaging, and molecular markers of disease. The objectives of this subject are achieved by a set of integrated lectures and laboratories, as well as a student-driven term project leading to a formal presentation on a medical, socioeconomic, or technological issue in human pathology.
In this video segment adapted from A Science Odyssey, follow two scientists …
In this video segment adapted from A Science Odyssey, follow two scientists and their Nobel Prize-winning efforts to cure bacterial infections using penicillin.
Students reinforce their knowledge of the different parts of the digestive system …
Students reinforce their knowledge of the different parts of the digestive system and explore the concept of simulation by developing a pill coating that can withstand the churning actions and acidic environment found in the stomach. Teams test the coating durability by using a clear soda to simulate stomach acid.
Students experience the steps of the engineering design process as they design …
Students experience the steps of the engineering design process as they design solutions for a real-world problem that could affect their health. After a quick review of the treatment processes that municipal water goes through before it comes from the tap, they learn about the still-present measurable contamination of drinking water due to anthropogenic (human-made) chemicals. Substances such as prescription medication, pesticides and hormones are detected in the drinking water supplies of American and European metropolitan cities. Using chlorine as a proxy for estrogen and other drugs found in water, student groups design and test prototype devices that remove the contamination as efficiently and effectively as possible. They use plastic tubing and assorted materials such as activated carbon, cotton balls, felt and cloth to create filters with the capability to regulate water flow to optimize the cleaning effect. They use water quality test strips to assess their success and redesign for improvement. They conclude by writing comprehensive summary design reports.
Inquiry-Based Bioengineering Research and Design Experiences for Middle-School Teachers RET Program, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute,
Timothy S. Vaillancourt, Terri Camesano, Kristen Billiar, Jeanne Hubelbank
Eighteenth-century New Englanders increasingly found themselves living within the imperial context of …
Eighteenth-century New Englanders increasingly found themselves living within the imperial context of the European wars and Enlightenment ideas that flowed across the Atlantic. John Barnard, the long-time minister of Marblehead, Massachusetts, was influenced by those ideas. He took the traditional path toward becoming a Congregational minister by attending an English school, grammar school, and then Harvard College, the main supplier of the region's clergy and integral to its intellectual life. While Barnard held traditional providential beliefs in God's responsibility for events, his life history also revealed an increasing layer of newer scientific beliefs and values. Less isolated than their 17th-century predecessors, the New England ministry at the turn of the 18th century traveled to Europe and took part in the increasing English book trade that brought European ideas to them, as seen in Barnard's autobiography.
Radiation Oncology is a rapidly changing field with new advances being made …
Radiation Oncology is a rapidly changing field with new advances being made daily. As a consequence, any textbook becomes out-of-date almost immediately after it is published. Thus, the WikiBook format is ideal for a textbook of radiation oncology, as updates can be made constantly as new information becomes available.
Laboratory or field work in earth, atmospheric, and planetary sciences. To be …
Laboratory or field work in earth, atmospheric, and planetary sciences. To be arranged with department faculty. Consult with department Education Office. This course introduces fundamentals of radon physics, geology, radiation biology; provides hands on experience of measurement of radon in MIT environments, and discusses current radon research in the fields of geology, environment, building and construction, medicine and health physics.
" The science essay uses science to think about the human condition; …
" The science essay uses science to think about the human condition; it uses humanistic thinking to reflect on the possibilities and limits of science and technology. In this class we read and practice writing science essays of varied lengths and purposes. We will read a wide variety of science essays, ranging across disciplines, both to learn more about this genre and to inspire your own writing. This semester's reading centers on "The Dark Side," with essays ranging from Alan Lightman's "Prisoner of the Wired World" through Robin Marantz Henig's cautionary account of nano-technology ("Our Silver-Coated Future") to David Quammen's investigation of diseases that jump from animals to humans ("Deadly Contact")."
Like many other industries, shoe manufacturing changed in the early 19th century. …
Like many other industries, shoe manufacturing changed in the early 19th century. Previously, most shoemakers worked in their homes or small workshops (called ten-footers")
Who invented the computer? Like many important technological developments, the invention of …
Who invented the computer? Like many important technological developments, the invention of the computer cannot rightly be attributed to a single person. It is clear, however, that World War II was crucial to the emergence of the electronic digital computer. The first general-purpose electronic computer was the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer, the ENIAC, sponsored by the U.S. Army's Ballistics Research Laboratory at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland and developed at the the Moore School of Electrical Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. The leaders of the project were physicist John W. Mauchly and a young electrical engineer, John Presper Eckert. In this interview, done in 1988 by David Allison and Peter Vogt for the Smithsonian Institution, Eckert described how the war provided "the opportunity"and the money to solve "engineering problems, scientific problems in general"that interested them.
Research and development scientists at Bell Laboratories introduced a device in 1947 …
Research and development scientists at Bell Laboratories introduced a device in 1947 that heralded a technological revolution with widespread consequences for consumers, industry, and the armed forces: the tiny transistor. Replacing the vacuum tube as the basic component for a host of electronic products, this semi-conductor solid-state device and such later developments in electronics as the integrated circuit, lasers, fiber optics, and digitization techniques, allowed the miniaturization of conveniences as with radios and computers, and made possible many aspects of present-day life and work--from telecommunications to automated factory operations. The following Collier's article from 1954, by renowned World War II reporter and novelist Cornelius Ryan, dubbed the new science "Stereatronics" and predicted revolutionary changes in the offing. Though the name did not survive the times in which it was coined, the electronics industry it described would soon become the largest manufacturing industry in the United States.
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