Thursday 16 July 2015

Baby incubators, now a staple of premature infant care, were pioneered where?


Credit: How-To Geek

Take the quiz here:
http://www.howtogeek.com/trivia/baby-incubators-now-a-staple-of-premature-infant-care-were-pioneered-where/

Very surprising answer, but demonstrates a few things:
1. conservatism of the medical profession
2. conservatism which is understandable in a profession charged with responsibility for so many human lives
3. conservatism which is understandable in a profession with such high malpractice insurance expenses (Saw a story somewhere about a medico who entered medical practice in the first half of the 20th century. Initially, he was paying $70 per year for malpractice insurance. By the time he retired, this had climbed to $70,000 per year!)
4. if you have a new medical idea, be prepared for a long, hard slog to get it accepted — witness the discoverers of glycemic index & the value of insulin for treating diabetes
5. everything is obvious once you know the answer

http://io9.com/5885939/babies-in-incubators-were-once-an-attraction-at-coney-island / incubators staple of premature infant care millions of premature at-risk babies kept stable temperatures tucked safely inside glass plastic enclosures delicate bodies were ready to handle full exposure the outside world intuitively protect premature babies doctor created championed incubator Dr. Martin Couney wasn’t taken seriously medical establishment incubators failure of the establishment value of the incubators how critical keeping premature babies alive Couney unconventional approach incubators Coney Island Coney Island New York island famously amusement parks hot dogs clever incubators created approached owners Luna Park prominent amusement park on Coney Island set up a sideshow filled with incubators house premature babies charge admission admission fee cover the expenses of staffing exhibit caretakers nurses families premature babies care without expense put premature babies on display sideshow act amusement park saved the lives of thousands upon thousands of children decades Couney parents of premature babies nothing that can be done frantic parents New York City hail cabs rush their frail children Coney Island Dr. Couney innovative incubators curiosity of the public help babies establishment finally came babies Coney Island project had saved incubators became a staple fixture neonatal care wards across the country /

Mountains of Pluto


Credit: NASA/Corbis/The Guardian

Ice mountains — 11,000 feet (3350 metres) tall in the image above — rising above plains of frozen methane & nitrogen in the most detailed images so far, from NASA’s New Horizons.

No impact craters in any of the photographs so far seen. This indicates a surface which has recently been formed — & a geologically active planet.

New Horizons is now more than a million miles past Pluto & moving towards the Kuiper Belt.

http://www.theguardian.com/science/live/2015/jul/15/nasa-pluto-new-horizon-photos-discoveries

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-16/nasa-releases-new--images-of-pluto/6623136 / New Horizons mission Pluto NASA’s most recent revelations the edge of our solar system first ever close-up of Pluto’s surface young icy mountain range ascends 11,000ft evidence water ice no impact craters lead scientist Alan Stern surprising diversity of activity on Pluto first high resolution image of Charon dwarf planet’s largest moon orbital partner active world cliffs run hundreds of miles across canyons four to six miles deep early data planetary activity radioactive heat internal ocean energy stored during formation causes for the activity small distant worlds scientists Plutonian geology researcher John Spencer Pluto has so much diversity Cathy Olkin Stern Spencer Olkin Nasa briefing data New Horizons, now more than a million miles past Pluto and voyaging out into the Kuiper Belt at the edge of our solar system transmit data about Pluto Charon next 16 months atmosphere water ice volatiles category of active chemicals puzzle Dwayne Brown NASA headquarters piles of stuff with grooves on it John Spencer erosion mountain building baffling ice mountain range heart region Tombaugh Reggio small mid-size worlds complex active larger worlds Triton solar system most similar to Pluto Plutonian geology Charon moons of Uranus so much data to investigate data other worlds activity worlds tidal heating Pluto has so much diversity /