Web 2.0: Medical e-books and the Importance of Digital Literacy

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ew weeks ago I went to UCLA Medical Center. Medical students were presenting their posters about the work they did during the summer. There were many interesting ones, but there was one that caught my attention. It was about how publishers are changing from paper publications to electronic publications during the last years. This week I read a post from K.S. Descartin. She wrote about her experience with the use of e-books and all the advantages that this fact represents. Even when I like a lot techno-gadgets. I have to admit that they still have disadvantages when compared with paper materials. While you can access lot of information with a simple click. You depend on the duration of the battery of your device to access the information you want. And actually you have to buy the gadget - what not all can afford -. And what about if the system crash. No internet connection. Have you think about that? What will happen if you can not access the information you want the moment you need it. Of course technology has lot of advantages we can not deny too. But, are we using these technologies efficiently? These things make me think about the importance of digital literacy again. And the fact there is still a lot to learn. Somehow each one of us learn about it by our own. I have not found a formal course to learn about it. I think now more than ever, with lot of information you can access if you know how, learning is a matter of motivation more than a merely passive act.

This is a funny video just to think why digital literacy really matters:

   Recommended links:
   Medicine 2.0 in action (blog carnival)
   Medicine 2.0 Tool: Study On The Go With Medical e-Books plus Some Experiential Babbles & Lessons On Integration
   How to Use Web 2.0 to get Medical Ebooks
   Using Web 2.0 to Access Medical Ebooks Online and More

Web 2.0 : Learning Molecular Biology Online

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olecular Biology is for sure a really interesting subject. Here two links to amazing lectures from UC Berkeley and MIT. We can access them on internet for free. I recommend the lectures at the MIT. The lecturers not only know what they are talking about, but they show the passion they feel for this field. And sometimes this is really important to motivate students to learn. The photo above shows Linus Pauling holding models of water molecules in a classroom at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena.

   Molecular Biology Lectures Online

   Name:Bio 1A General Biology Lecture
   Source:UC Berkeley
   Date: Spring 2007
   Tip: To watch streaming video, to listen and to download MP3.

   Name:Introduction to Biology
   Source:MIT OPEN COURSE WARE
   Date: FALL 2004
   Tip: To watch streaming video click here.

   Molecular Biology PowerPoint Presentation
   Name:MBB 222-3 Molecular Biology and Biochemistry
   Source:Simon Fraser University
   Date: Fall 2003
   Tip: To find PowerPoint presentation on internet with Google, type what you are looking in the search box followed by FILETYPE:PPT ( example: molecular biology filetype:ppt ).

   Recommended links:
   Linus Pauling A Documentary History
   Linus Pauling from Nobelprize.org
   Linus Pauling Scientist for the Ages

Web 2.0 : An Useful Tool to Study Embryology

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mbryology for sure was one of the most difficult subjects I took at the university. I was clueless about embryology and the human development inside the uterus. Trying to figure out just by looking at static graphics was so hard for me. When I found this material on internet I said to myself that how come I could not learn it before. So this is for those who are studying embryology for the first time and for them who just like to learn. The draw above is named "The foetus in the womb" was made by Leonardo da Vinci (c1510-12)

   Embriology Lectures Online
   Name:Human Embriology
   Source:Temple University
   Date: 2005
   Tip: you will find here presentation with audio, animations, etc, really excellent page.

   Embriology Animations Online

   Name:Human Embriology Animations
   Source:Indiana University
   Date: unknown
   Tip: animations with no audio, review system by system development.

   Name:Embryonic Folding
   Source:University of Cincinnati
   Date: 2006
   Tip: animations with audio, 3D animations.

   Dare to use your computer
   If you to download Embryonic folding you can install FlashGet and the Firefox addon Flash Got. To download the movies to your PC try with Quicktime Pro to download it click here.

   Recommended links:
   Universal Leonardo
   The drawings of Leonardo da Vinci
   Leonardo da Vinci from bbc.co.uk

Web 2.0 : A tool to Study Histology by Your Own

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am thinking about what we can learn at home without the necessity of moving out of there, and without the necessity of spending lot of money in tuition fees, books, transportation, etc. While doing that I start with these posts. The links I put here are all around the blog, but because I notice people do not spend time checking all the blog, I decide to select the best links and share them directly with all of you. This post is about Histology, like many other courses of basic sciences I studied at medical school, I did it in black and white only, from photocopied books I could afford. Now internet allows new generation of doctors avoid this, and study from really good material they can access for free. The photo above is "Santiago Ramón y Cajal at work", to learn more about him click in the links at the end of the post.

   Histology Interactive Tutorial
   Name:Virtual Textbook of Interactive Histology
   Source:University of Calgary
   Date: 2001
   Tip: You can listen audio, and watch the slides.

   Histology Interactive Atlas
   Name:Virtual Slidebox Histology
   Source:University of Iowa Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology
   Date: unknown
   Tip: It is always useful to add some images we like to our work. If you want to capture the images, an useful tool you can use is FastStone Capture. It used to be a freeware, but now they make it a shareware. If you want to use the freeware version click here to download it.

I think these two pages are excellent; however for medical student it is never enough. They want to have all sources of information available, even if they can not read all the information they have in hands. For those check my histology links in del.icio.us and check this links to find histology books. Finally, this phrase that is just beautiful: "The stories condemn useless rhetoric and unquestioning obedience, the qualities Cajal found most inimical to science".

   Recommended links:
   Santiago Ramón y Cajal from Wikipedia
   Santiago Ramón y Cajal from Nobelprize.org
   The strange science fiction of Santiago Ramón y Cajal

Web 2.0: A tool to Study Anatomy by Yourself

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he following is a post based on a premise "What I can learn without going to a medical school". The links posted here contain information that is available for free on internet. Anyone can watch, listen, read, capture and download -if you know how- what is there. The image above is The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp, oil on canvas by Rembrandt van Rijn, 1632. To learn a little bit more about this painting click here.

Anatomy Lectures:
IB 131 General Human Anatomy
source: UC Berkeley
date: Fall 2006 Course
to watch, to listen, to download audio.
streaming: General Human Anatomy Fall 2005 on Google

Anatomy Dissection Videos
Medical Gross Anatomy - Dissection Videos
source: The University of Michigan
to watch embedded in the site click here.
to download the movies to your PC try with Quicktime Pro to download it click here.

Anatomy Atlas Online
Anatomy of the Human Body
author: Henry Gray
not enough: Visit this link click here you will find more than 140 anatomy books to download or visit Del.icio.us.

Finally, I want to share with you what I read last week on the wall of a room at Sun Valley Middle School: "We do not know what we can do until we try".