Tag: heart research

Cardiac research: more fun facts

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 9 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas    ♥   @HeartSisters

Do you have a book in your life that you keep opening just for the pure delight of reading it again? I am that obsessed with the book called The Exquisite Machine:  The New Science of the Heart, published by MIT Press. In fact, I keep this book beside my favourite red chair so it’s always handy for re-reading random chapters. I’ve been doing this ever since veteran cardiac researcher Dr. Sian Harding wrote the book in 2022, and I can also say I haven’t felt this way about other books I love.  So I can’t resist sharing with you some fun facts about our hearts and the research I’ve learned about from Dr. Harding’s work:    . Continue reading “Cardiac research: more fun facts” →

Falling in love – with a tiny heart muscle cell

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 9 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas   ♥  @HeartSisters   

Her book starts off with a gripping description of the human heart:

“When I look at the human heart beating in the chest during surgery, or lying in a dish when removed for transplant, it just looks like a glistening lump of meat. It’s hard to associate that solid muscle with Valentine’s Day decorations, or the romantic literary description of hearts soaring, bursting, sinking and breaking.

“But once upon a time, I fell in love  – with a cell.”

The object of Dr. Sian Harding’s affection was a cardiomyocyte, a single heart muscle cell, just 1/10 of a millimetre long, and about the width of a human hair.       .        Continue reading “Falling in love – with a tiny heart muscle cell” →

First we had peer review – and now patient review!

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 25 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥  @HeartSisters

You already know that research papers submitted for publication in medical journals are first subject to peer review before a final decision to accept the paper is made. Peer review is a time-honoured way to evaluate scientific or academic papers by others working in the same field.  But The British Medical Journal, the world’s oldest, has launched a unique initiative to include patient review of submitted studies as well. Here’s how BMJ explains this project:
 Continue reading “First we had peer review – and now patient review!” →