Imagine the Future of Health and Medicine: TEDMED 2012

April 11, 2012 | by

There’s one place where you can learn about the latest innovations in technology, science, health and medical research from some of the most influential thought leaders in their fields: TEDMED.

TED, which stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, is the world’s most famous conference on the ideas that shape the world. For the past three years, there’s been a special TED just for health and medicine — TEDMED — where passionate doers and thinkers go once a year to experience the power of new ideas, hear amazing and inspiring talks, meet innovative people, and leave transformed.

The annual TEDMED conference started today. TEDMED brings together 1500 thinkers and doers from a wide array of medical and non-medical disciplines. For the next three and a half days (April 10-13) at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., this uniquely diverse community will explore the ideas, innovations and challenges that will help shape the future of health and medicine for 300 million Americans … and the world.

TEDMED is hosting over 60 speakers this year, including Francis S. Collins, the Director of the National Institutes of Health; Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, President and CEO, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; Joel Salatin, Polyface organic farmer and author; and Ivan Oransky, Executive Editor of Reuters Health.

TEDMED has no agenda and no policy prescriptions. Instead, the organization seeks to serve the nation — and the world — by creating a safe place where people with very different ideas can come together to talk, to learn and to celebrate the amazing world we live in.

Gold Nanostars Target Drug Directly to the Cancer Cell Nucleus

April 10, 2012 | by

Nanotechnology, which offers powerful new possibilities for targeted cancer therapies, has been generating a lot of excitement in the cancer research community. Northwestern University scientists recently developed specialized nanoparticle that can deliver a drug directly to a cancer cell’s nucleus — an important feature for effective treatment [1].

Gold nanostars

National Public Health Week: A Healthier America Begins Today

April 5, 2012 | by

This week is National Public Health Week (NPHW). The annual observance brings U.S. communities together to recognize the contributions of public health and highlight issues that are important to improving the public’s health. The theme for National Public Health Week (NPHW) 2012 — A Healthier America Begins Today: Join the Movement — addresses the issue of prevention and wellness.

National Public Health Week

County Health Rankings Show What Influences Residents’ Health

April 4, 2012 | by

The 2012 County Health Rankings were released this week [1]. Now in their third year, the Rankings are increasingly being used by community leaders to help them identify health challenges, take action and improve the health of their residents.

2012 County Rankings

The Rankings are published on-line every year by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). Using a standard way to measure how healthy people are and how long they live, the Rankings assess the overall health of nearly every county in all 50 states.

Tracking Blood Glucose? There’s an App (and Hardware) for That

April 3, 2012 | by

Diabetics often need to test blood glucose levels several times a day in order to make appropriate decisions about nutrition and, in the case of type 1 diabetics, insulin administration. Medisana, a German company, has developed hardware and an app that allow diabetics to test — and keep track of — blood glucose on an iPhone or iPad. The hardware, called the GlucoDock, connects to an Apple mobile device. The user puts a very small drop of blood on a test strip, and inserts it into the device. GlucoDock, via the VitaDock software, measures blood sugar and records the measurement for personal data tracking purposes.

GlucoDock