Health Interest Support Group Online

The Health Interest Support Group

Are you interested in the newest trends and studies in the health sector? This community is the place for you! With blogs and discussions on the newest developments in the wonderful world of health science, this community is a must read for the curious minded!

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[Id and Ego] Psychologists Identify the Facebook and Twitter Personality Type

I think we all knew it was only a matter of time. Psychologists have identified a personality type for both facebook and twitter users. What... Read More ▶
[Id and Ego] 8 Things You Can Tell Just By Watching Hands

Communication is about much more than what you actually SAY. We communicate through our clothes and personal belongings. We communicate through our preferences. We even,... Read More ▶
Doctor Review - Smartphone Health Apps

Scare away mosquitoes. Calculate calories from a photo. These are just a few of the most useful and interesting apps for your health on the... Read More ▶
[A New Itch] Top 10 Medical Breakthroughs of 2011

Click on through to see the top ten medical breakthroughs of 2011 listed in very succinct and un-boring paragraphs. Merry X-Mas All! Read More ▶
[Id and Ego] Catch A Lie in 20 Seconds!

It s that special time of the week again! Time for fun with human folly it s your psychology tidbit of the week Id and... Read More ▶
[The Cold Boot] The Ultimate Spit Test

Researchers want you to spit on your Iphone! Can you believe the nerve of these scientists sometimes? Fret not fellow techies, all your questions will... Read More ▶
[Id and Ego] The Nose Knows! Study Shows We Can SMELL Personality Traits

This week: the realm of psychology news is abuzz this week with the prowess and powers of the nose! Seems having a nose is a... Read More ▶

What's New in Health Interest

0
Brad Plaggemars posted the blog Song Stuck In Your Head? Here's Why.
Why do songs get stuck in our heads? How does it happen? In this article, I will explain why we go around hearing the same song over and over again in our heads.
2/20
2
E.M. Wollof posted the blog [A New Itch] Hi, My Name Is History And I'm A Circle.
Just a little bit of history repeating....
2/17
- sprouty said:
  maybe someone can engineer some vancomycin resistant yesinia?2/17
- E.M. Wollof said:
  No doubt that would definitely be a direct route to killing the bacteria involved in the virus, but would it be a permanent solution to an ever evolving being? Let's face it, that's what a virus is, a being.2/20
5
Jeffrey VanWingen M.D. posted the blog MRSA and The Flesh Eating Bacteria - Should We Worry?.
There's been a lot of frightening press on MRSA and Flesh Eating Bacteria, but are these fears justified? How much of a treat do these diseases ACTUALLY pose?
2/12
- Bri Luginbill said:
  Thanks for posting this, Dr. V. What sorts of prevention measures do you suggest we take to help avoid MRSA?
  
  My husband had MRSA a long time ago before I met him. I am not sure how he got it, but he had to drop from 16 credits to 9 credits that semester in college and he could barely do much but just go to those classes and sleep. But he did get over it and is very healthy now.2/13
- Jeffrey VanWingen M.D. said:
  Bri, the best way to prevent MRSA is hand washing or use of hand sanitizer. Using a body soap with antibacterial properties also helps when bathing or showering. Use particular caution when in a hospital or nursing home.2/13
- Jessica Corwin, RD said:
  Thank-you for helping to spread awareness of both MRSA and the flesh-eating bacteria... I was recently made aware of the latter when my Aunt entered the hospital for a bladder infection. The bacteria had already spread and the doctors were unable to keep up with it. Within a few short days, she had already left us to be with her husband in Heaven...
  
  This bacteria is very serious. This and other hospital induced infections are something we must all be aware of...2/13
- sprouty said:
  Dr. V, do you mean to use the antibacterial soaps and hand sanitizer when you're around potential MRSA exposure? Wouldn't avoiding antibacterial products the rest of the time keep your own microflora strong?2/14
- Jeffrey VanWingen M.D. said:
  Great question! Hand washing or hand sanitizer are recommended as a "universal precaution." By this I mean that they are recommended routinely. It is good practice for a healthcare professional to wash hands or use sanitizer before and after touching any patient. In the same way it is recommended that we wash our hands or use sanitizer before touching food that will enter our mouths. As far as hand washing vs. hand sanitizer, this has been studied extensively by hospitals. The results show time and again that the sanitizer is the same in eradicating bad bacteria from our hands. There are some controversies in this with issues arising from frequent hand washing and eradicating normal skin bacteria from our hands. Overall, though, hand washing/sanitizer use greatly outweighs not using them.2/15
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Erin Froehlich posted the blog [Id and Ego] Psychologists Identify the Facebook and Twitter Personality Type.
I think we all knew it was only a matter of time. Psychologists have identified a personality type for both facebook and twitter users. What does your network say about you? Read on!
2/10
- Bri Luginbill said:
  Wow, very interesting! I am a facebook user and I don't even have a twitter. It makes sense about the older and younger part. My sister-in-law and brother-in-law are older than me and they really utilize twitter. I still haven't gotten into it, but hey maybe as I get older I may use one. ;)
  
  On the other hand, my dad and mom use facebook but not twitter and they are in their 50's...but maybe they are outliers in the study because they didn't have facebook when they were younger. If that makes sense?2/13
- Erin Froehlich said:
  Well, you know, it's an average. The finding aren't going to apply to everyone. It's more of a trend or tendency than a truth. :)
  
  Interesting thought - I wonder how much of these differences are actually certain types of people being attracted to a certain type of site. I'd bet that these sites influence our personality as much as we impose our personalities on them. I think the differences in site's structure that lends itself to a lot of these characteristics - the things you can do with facebook as opposed to twitter.
  
  I'd be interested to see a comparison between the perceived personality of a person on facebook and that same person on twitter. Maybe it's just that facebook makes people seem more neurotic and sociable and twitter makes people seem more open and intellectual.
  
  Chicken or the egg....2/13
- Bri Luginbill said:
  "Interesting thought - I wonder how much of these differences are actually certain types of people being attracted to a certain type of site"
  
  Now that you mention that...I wonder that too. twitter moves so fast and its easy to get little snippets of info instead of searching for it and having a conversation on facebook. So I wonder if people who just want quick fast info and not a conversation are more likely to use twitter vs. facebook. Hmmmm.
  
  I also wonder if people who are more likely to be reserved or quieter in social situations like twitter more while those who are very social/outgoing like facebook more. 2/13
- Bri Luginbill said:
  This blog brings up a lot of great things to think about, thanks for posting, Erin!2/13
3
E.M. Wollof posted the blog [The Cold Boot] Magical Jaw Recontruction and Express Lane Diagnosis.
If you didn't take away from the title that there are two shiny gems of tech awesomeness waiting for you beyond this link, then please let me tell you there are two shiny gems of tech awesomeness waiting for you beyond this link....
2/9
- Laura Hogg said:
  Whoa! Some pretty awesome stuff there...it would have been awfully nice when I was really sick this past summer not to have to go into a doctor when I just wanted to know if I actually had strep or a copycat virus...
  
  And 3-D printing body parts? Awesome.2/9
- Dayton said:
  yay I jus downloaded the skematic for the new iphone...itl be done printing in a few hours...2/10
- Bri Luginbill said:
  I'm with Laura, 3-D printer able to make synthetic body parts?? awesome!
  
  Also, for the device that you spit on to measure what sorts of viruses, bacteria, etc could be in your body...pretty amazing as well. 2/10
0
E.M. Wollof posted the blog [A New Itch] A Week of Honest Discovery and Life Changing Sightseeing.
As I was perusing the interwebs for the next virus to infect eager minds with I stumbled across....well....I stumbled across way too much stuff. Turns out, the first true week in February is a hot time for research studies to publish their findings...read on to learn more....
2/9
4
Erin Froehlich posted the blog [Id and Ego] The Future of Social Robots.
Hello and welcome back to Id and Ego the psychology blog for psychology nerds. ;) This week: social robots. While it may seem like the stuff of science-fiction imaginings, as time goes on, the line between human and machine grows ever thinner. Could a robot ever really be the...
2/3
- Dayton said:
  I think it would be awesome if I.Robot was real! but could a machine ever be better than a human? I think that is a bit of a stretch. 2/3
- Bri Luginbill said:
  I absolutely love the RUBI robot...that picture of it holding a person is adorable! It's great to have technology be so advanced like this. I think these kinds of social robots that encorage social behavior would be great children with autism. Sometimes, depending on the child, it's less scary to connect with technology than a person at first.
  
  As for is I Robot could be in our future, I think there is a VERY high change that it will be. At the rate and the direction these robots are advancing it will probably happen within our lifetime! 2/6
- Nancy said:
  I hope not - although at this time I do believe some do serve a purpose.2/7
- Erin Froehlich said:
  I mean, when you think about it how do we function? Electrical impulses.
  
  ALL we need to do is duplicate that in a machine! *slight sarcasm intended* :)
  
  Humanoid - social robots with personalities, tastes, memories... all those things we think of as making us us - if even possible - seem like something that is far off in our future. Yet, when I think of just how much technology has advanced since I was a kid - we got our first computer when I was 6 - but it's NOTHING like the computer I'm typing on now, got on the internet when I was 9 - but it's nothing like the internet this site is hosted on... who knows?!2/7
3
E.M. Wollof posted the blog [The Cold Boot] Crank That Until Your Heart's Content.
Yet another beautiful discovery from that group we call researchers, aka scientists. Out of Purdue comes a new type of sustainable energy device....in your body.
2/3
- sprouty said:
  makes us bass players ever more important. just think, i could be saving lives!2/3
- Bri Luginbill said:
  Whoa this is pretty cool! Any idea when they would release this technology for consumer use? Or has it already happened? Right now my pacemaker battery lasts 10 years...but I always listen to music loudly...so this would be pretty cool to have when it's time to get a new battery. My grandma and I could rock out to some tunes together!?! :P
  
  I may ask my doctor about this. thanks for posting, E.M.!2/6
- E.M. Wollof said:
  Much of the time, when research like this is released, it is only after they have perfected the design. There is so much testing still needed, along with all the regulations and restrictions (hoops) that must be gained/jumped through. So, while I would love to assure the general public that something like this will be available to the you very soon, alas, I can not.2/6