Bullets: Liars, Leonardo, and space experimentation

Some quick morning bullets.

• A UK heart surgeon, Mr. Francis Wells (anyone else find it strange that he goes by the title “Mr.” rather than “Dr.”?) has pioneered a new way of restoring normal mitral valve function by studying the heart diagrams made by Leonardo da Vinci. His technique allows him to avoid some of the drawbacks that current repair operations introduce. Mr. Wells has successfully treated 80 patients with the technique. Three cheers for Leonardo?
• Pathological liars often have anatomically different brain structures which allow them to create complex lies quickly, with relatively little inhibition. Excess white matter in the prefrontal cortex (used for high-level thought) and decreased gray matter (which mediates inhibitions) giving them an edge over anti-social people and normal control subjects.
• Yesterday, I wrote about Gary Olsen, the third “space tourist,” and how calling him simply a tourist was unfair. As a materials scientist, it stands to reason that he’ll conduct experiments on himself. He’ll be investigating space sickness, lower back pain, and be collecting data on microorganisms inside in the ISS.

I find the commentary on Leonardo da Vinci interesting. It’s been said that some of the best doctors come from backgrounds outside medicine: particularly engineering because they bring a different mindset and way of looking at problems with them when they go to medical school. With no formal background in medicine, da Vinci brought an engineering perspective to the table when he looked at the body and drew his illustrations and diagrams. I think it’s all sorts of cool that even today, people are learning from his work.

3 Comments »

1. I think the custom in the UK is for general medical practitioners to call themselves “Dr.XYZ” while specialists/consultants/surgeons call themselves “Mr.XYZ” even though they have an MD and then some more training after that.

   Comment by eldan — October 5, 2005 @ 12:23 pm

2. My understanding is that surgeons go by the title of ‘Mr.’ while other doctors use ‘Dr.’ This practice dates from the dawn of the profession, times when surgeons were not medically trained, but rather people skilled with the use sharp blades – barbers. Barbers and surgeons used to belong to the same Guild in the 16th-18th centuries, and even when they split in the 18th century surgeons retained the title ‘Mr.’ which is now one of higher, rather than lesser, prestige in the medical community.

   Comment by Nik M — October 7, 2005 @ 9:08 am

3. da Vinci’s Advances in Heart Surgery

   Polyscience.org draws attention to advances made in heart surgery by Mr. Francis Wells, a U.K. heart surgeon. Wells found a better way to repair damaged valves, which is great by itself. But what’s terribly interesting is that his discovery was …

   Trackback by BigBlogLog — October 11, 2005 @ 11:46 am

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