Dose of DMU blog » Biomedical Science

6 Feb

Unlocking the “Legos” of life

DMU has a new student organization that’s also a feather in the University’s cap: The Genetics Student Interest Group of Des Moines University recently made DMU one of only seven medical schools in the U.S., and the first and only osteopathic medical school, to earn affiliation with the American College of Medical Genetics (ACMG).

Alisdair “Rod” Philp, Ph.D., a DMU assistant professor of biochemistry and nutrition, was inspired to help students create the group because of student anxiety over genetics questions on medical licensing examinations. He is an elected affiliated scientist of the ACMG, which enabled the student interest group’s affiliation. Philp says the rapid advancement in genetic knowledge and research, along with DMU students’ interest in both, affirmed the idea for such an organization.

8 Nov

Just 116 years ago…

by Barb Boose

It’s hard to imagine medicine without x-rays, but the technology is a relative youngster in health care. Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen, professor of physics and director of the Physical Institute of the University of Wurzburg, Germany, stumbled on x-rays quite by accident working late one November night in 1895 in his laboratory.

Today, Nov. 8, is celebrated as X-ray Discovery Day in salute of this life-changing, life-saving technology.

7 Nov

Celebrate National Radiologic Technology Week!

by Barb Boose

Yesterday, Nov. 6, marked the beginning of National Radiologic Technology Week, celebrated annually to recognize the vital work of R.T.s across the nation. According to the American Society of Radiologic Technologists (ASRT), the celebration takes place each November to commemorate the anniversary of the x-ray’s discovery by Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen on Nov. 8, 1895.

Radiologic technologists shed a lot of light in health care.

6 Sep

Going bananas!

by Barb Boose

Many scholars think it was what got Adam and Eve kicked out of the Garden of Eden. It’s wreaked havoc in nature and among laborers on plantations in Central America and beyond. Today, Americans eat more of them than the number of apples and oranges combined: Yes, the humble banana is all this and more – the inspiration behind the term “banana republic,” the world’s most popular fruit, a go-to for potassium-seeking athletes and now a species endangered by a fast-moving fungus that might annihilate it.

How would you feel if bananas went bye-bye - forever?

6 Aug

Happy birthday to A.T. Still!

by Courtney Tompkins

Today marks A.T. Still’s 182nd birthday. He is known as the father of osteopathic medicine. Osteopathy is a whole body approach to health that recognizes the integral role in wellbeing played by the musculoskeletal system. We are very proud to be the second oldest osteopathic medical schools in the United States. Learn more about what osteopathic medicine is.

Having the D.O. program at DMU also impacts all our other programs in approach, overlap and understanding and that gives our grads an edge. Wouldn’t you want to know your health care practitioner understood other disciplines and had a whole body outlook on your health?

19 Jul

Freaky foods

by Barb Boose

When it comes to new technological developments, some of the strangest ones involve food. For example, the Daily Telegraph recently reported that scientists at Maastricht University in the Netherlands are working to produce a real hamburger that doesn’t require slaughtering any animals: The Dutch scientists say the “vitro meat,” made from beef mince grown from 10,000 stem cells extracted from cattle, could make it possible for people to continue eating meat even as livestock production becomes unable to feed the world’s quickly growing human population.