Do you want to know more about supporting youth diagnosed with autism? How about new treatments for Alzheimer’s disease, malignant melanoma, migraine and more? Want to explore the ethics of medically treating family members, the health effects caused by the World Trade Center attacks on September 11, 2001, or the “slippery slope” of the increased use of medical interventions in labor and delivery?

You can learn about these and many other topics thanks to members of DMU’s physician assistant Class of 2012. Right now they are wrapping up their rotations and preparing to present their master’s projects, which they’ll do next Tuesday through Friday, May 29-June 1.

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Did your mother ever tell you to chew your food slowly and thoroughly? If so, it appears her advice was spot-on for weight control: A recent Iowa State University study found that chewing each bite 40 times before swallowing causes healthy young adults to eat less.

James Hollis, an ISU assistant professor of food science and human nutrition, and Yong Zhu, a doctoral research assistant, divided 20 ISU students into two groups, instructing one to chew their pizza 15 times per bite and the other group, 40 times per bite. They monitored the subjects’ appetites and took blood samples to study plasma glucose levels and hormones, reported an ISU news release.

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I’m a fan of our own DMU Magazine, and the spring issue is no exception. It showcases great ideas and writing about our work here in the areas of obesity and nutrition. At DMU, we have scientists, scholars and students working on a number of different approaches to both the disease of obesity and the food policy that drives larger health care issues. I enjoy reading of the work of my colleagues on campus and around the country.

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I’ve been writing about diet and obesity for an upcoming DMU Magazine, which has made me think a lot about habits. Particularly bad ones – like mindlessly eating that bag of potato chips, regularly bingeing on too many desserts or eating those greasy chicken nuggets your kid left on his plate.

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While I admit that I don’t understand every article, Wired magazine is one of my favorite reads for its provocative topics, cutting-edge creativity and smart writing. In the March issue’s cover article, “The Forgetting Pill,” author Jonah Lehrer explores emerging research that indicates someday a person with a traumatic memory – a deadly car accident, an act of violence, war – will be able to take a drug that targets that memory and “erases” it, relieving the person of post-traumatic stress disorder.

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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.

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