Author: russhodge

I am a science writer at the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in Berlin, author of fiction and popular science books, an artist, and a professional musician who performs on the viola da gamba and Medieval and Renaissance stringed instruments. I edit manuscripts of all types and teach the full range of scientific communication skills. I am doing theoretical work in this subject - see for example https://goodsciencewriting.wordpress.com/2018/03/11/ghosts-models-and-meaning-in-science/

Best of PubMed #20: CHICKEN special!

This week’s special topic: The science of chickens!

 

Birth lessons from a chicken
Remer M.
Midwifery Today Int Midwife. 2009 Spring;(89):49.
PMID: 19397165

 

Strange sensation after a chicken stew.
Kaemmerer D, Hörsch D.
Dis Esophagus. 2012 Feb;25(2):177. doi: 10.1111/j.1442-2050.2010.01132.x. Epub 2010 Nov 12.
PMID: 22335202

 

Is chicken soup an essential drug?
Ohry A, Tsafrir J.
CMAJ. 1999 Dec 14;161(12):1532-3.
PMID: 10624412

 

Funky chicken.
Taylor DA.
Environ Health Perspect. 2004 Jan;112(1):A50.
PMID: 14714546

 

Social change and health law: the court as can-opener; the legislature as soup.
Curran WJ.
Am J Public Health. 1971 Dec;61(12):2518-9.
PMID: 5128622

 

Passage of feed through the adult rooster.
Sibbald IR.
Poult Sci. 1979 Mar;58(2):446-59.
PMID: 530908

 

Hatching headless chickens from rational eggs.
Taylor I.
Lancet Oncol. 2001 Mar;2(3):131.
PMID: 11902560

 

The headless chicken syndrome.
Dickson N.
Nurs Times. 1989 Feb 22-28;85(8):24-5.
PMID: 2928235

 

Making the headless chicken squawk.
[No authors listed]
Lancet. 1988 Oct 22;2(8617):941-2.
PMID: 2902385

 

A surgical procedure for devocalizing the rooster.
Madsen DE.
Vet Med Small Anim Clin. 1967 Feb;62(2):114-8.
PMID: 5182625

 

[Penetration of light through the head of the Golden Comet rooster].
Viggiani E, Salzarulo L.
Boll Soc Ital Biol Sper. 1978 Mar 30;54(6):565-9. Italian.
PMID: 743474

 

Ocular injury from a rooster attack.
Kronwith SD, Hankin DE, Lipkin PH.
Clin Pediatr (Phila). 1996 Apr;35(4):219-20. Review.
PMID: 8665758

 

Cryopreservation of rooster sperm.
Buss EG.
Poult Sci. 1993 May;72(5):944-54.
PMID: 8502616

 

[Rooster on top even in woe – a hen below even in excellence: patriarchy, spousal relations, and the table of duties].
Eilola J.
Hist Ark. 2002;116:100-27. Finnish.
PMID: 17352057

 

Rooster attacks in childhood.
McGregor RS, Kavle E, Urbach AH.
Pediatr Emerg Care. 1992 Aug;8(4):216-7.
PMID: 1513733

Best of PubMed – Christmas Special!

“Here comes Santa Claus“: what is the evidence?
Highfield ME.
Adv Emerg Nurs J. 2011 Oct-Dec;33(4):354-8. doi: 10.1097/TME.0b013e318234ead3.
PMID: 22075686

“Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus“.
Angelica JC.
J Pastoral Care Counsel. 2011 Spring-Summer;65(1-2):10.1-2.
PMID: 21928502

Visiting Santa: an additional look.
Trinkaus J.
Psychol Rep. 2007 Dec;101(3 Pt 1):779-83.
PMID: 18232433

Hemoglobin’s moving around (to the tune of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”).
Ahern K.
Biochem Mol Biol Educ. 2007 Nov;35(6):478. doi: 10.1002/bmb.118.
PMID: 21591150

Santa Claus and staff retention.
Olivi PM.
Radiol Manage. 2005 Sep-Oct;27(5):10-1.
PMID: 16294580

Visiting Santa: an informal look.
Trinkaus J.
Psychol Rep. 2004 Oct;95(2):587-8.
PMID: 15587225

[Is Santa Claus still needed?].
Tamminen T.
Duodecim. 2003;119(23):2317-22. Finnish.
PMID: 14768260

Do reindeer and children know something that we don’t? Pediatric inpatients’ belief in Santa Claus.
Cyr C.
CMAJ. 2002 Dec 10;167(12):1325-7.
PMID: 12473618

The tooth fairy, Santa Claus, and the hard core drinking driver.
Chamberlain E, Solomon R.
Inj Prev. 2001 Dec;7(4):272-5.
PMID: 11770650

[Why is Santa Claus bowed?].
Leirisalo-Repo M.
Duodecim. 1998;114(23):2481-6. Finnish.
PMID: 11757148

Neurogenetics: three wishes to Santa Claus.
Coutinho P.
Arch Neurol. 2000 Jan;57(1):59.
PMID: 10634444

[Santa Claus as a consultant. “Then we together will rejoice, children’s eyes will shine with joy”].
Puumalainen AM, Vapalahti M.
Duodecim. 1997;113(23):2467-70. Finnish.
PMID: 10892154

Santa Claus: good or bad for children?
Nelms BC.
J Pediatr Health Care. 1996 Nov-Dec;10(6):243-4.
PMID: 9052114

Perhaps there is a Santa Claus.
Van Eldik DT.
J Fla Med Assoc. 1994 Dec;81(12):795-6.
PMID: 7861106

Encounter with reality: children’s reactions on discovering the Santa Claus myth.
Anderson CJ, Prentice NM.
Child Psychiatry Hum Dev. 1994 Winter;25(2):67-84.
PMID: 7842832

Do you believe in Santa Claus?
Atkinson J.
Nurs Stand. 1988 Dec 31;3(13-14):20-1.
PMID: 3068551

Epidemiology of reindeer parasites.
Halvorsen O.
Parasitol Today. 1986 Dec;2(12):334-9.
PMID: 15462756

A letter to Santa Claus.
Shusterman C.
Am Laund Dig. 1985 Dec 15;50(12):14-6.
PMID: 10275266

In the absence of Santa Claus.
Tebben MP.
Public Health Rep. 1985 Jul;100(4):355.
PMID: 19313171

Picture Reports: Influenza virus, Santa Claus, or a mouse playing tennis?
Getty B.
Br Med J (Clin Res Ed). 1984 Dec 22;289(6460):1744.
PMID: 20742372

Children’s belief in santa claus: a developmental study of fantasy and causality.
Prentice NM, Schmechel LK, Manosevitz M.
J Am Acad Child Psychiatry. 1979 Autumn;18(4):658-67.
PMID: 541471

Imaginary figures of early childhood: santa claus, easter bunny, and the tooth fairy.
Prentice NM, Manosevitz M, Hubbs L.
Am J Orthopsychiatry. 1978 Oct;48(4):618-28.
PMID: 707613

Santa Claus will probably be coming.
Ammer DS.
Hosp Purch Manage. 1977 Dec;2(12):2-3.
PMID: 10305079

A note on the absence of a Santa Claus in any known ecosystem: a rejoinder to Willems.
Baer DM.
J Appl Behav Anal. 1974 Spring;7(1):167-9.
PMID: 16795462

The d.a. Who was Santa Claus?
Peyraud AP.
CAL. 1972 Dec;36(6):26-30.
PMID: 4510978

Santa Claus drawings by Negro and white children.
Coyle FA Jr, Eisenman R.
J Soc Psychol. 1970 Apr;80(2):201-5.
PMID: 4924834

Barefoot in the hospital park or yes Virginia, there is a Mrs. Santa Claus known as the administrator’s wife.
Spencer V.
Hosp Manage. 1967 Dec;104(6):33-7.
PMID: 6063631

Charlie’s Santa Claus.
Stollard ML.
Nurs Times. 1965 Dec 24;61(52):1762.
PMID: 5849676

The northwest Santa and Mrs Claus–the real thing!
Copeland JA.
Caring. 2008 Dec;27(12):26-9.
PMID: 19278113

A visit from the Candy Witch: factors influencing young children’s belief in a novel fantastical being.
Woolley JD, Boerger EA, Markman AB.
Dev Sci. 2004 Sep;7(4):456-68.
PMID: 15484594

Why Rudolph‘s nose is red: observational study.
Ince C, van Kuijen AM, Milstein DM, Yürük K, Folkow LP, Fokkens WJ, Blix AS.
BMJ. 2012 Dec 14;345:e8311. doi: 10.1136/bmj.e8311.
PMID: 23247980

Song: the E. coli song (to the tune of “rudolph the red-nosed reindeer“).
Ahern K.
Biochem Mol Biol Educ. 2006 Nov;34(6):426. doi: 10.1002/bmb.2006.494034062569.
PMID: 21638738

 

Best of PubMed #19

The cheerleader who won’t shake her pom pons.

Tremblay P.

Int J Orthod Milwaukee. 2008 Spring;19(1):37.

PMID: 18512662

Why Barbie is perceived as beautiful.

Magro AM.

Percept Mot Skills. 1997 Aug;85(1):363-74.

PMID: 9293600

Why Barbie feels heavier than Ken: the influence of size-based expectancies and social cues on the illusory perception of weight.

Dijker AJ.

Cognition. 2008 Mar;106(3):1109-25. Epub 2007 Jun 27.

PMID: 17599820

Math is hard, Barbie said.

Begley S.

Newsweek. 2008 Oct 27;152(17):57.

PMID: 18972952

Mathematicians talk tough to new barbie.

[No authors listed]

Science. 1992 Oct 16;258(5081):396.

PMID: 17833126

Can we keep up with Barbie?

Lamacki WF.

CDS Rev. 2009 May-Jun;102(3):48.

PMID: 19530471

Slip an extra locust on the barbie?

Delamothe T.

BMJ. 2013 May 20;346:f3293. doi: 10.1136/bmj.f3293.

PMID: 23690504

The young and the clueless.

Bunker KA, Kram KE, Ting S.

Harv Bus Rev. 2002 Dec;80(12):80-7, 133.

PMID: 12510540

Older male vs. younger female: a lawsuit waiting to happen.

Talbot T.

J Mich Dent Assoc. 2010 Dec;92(12):20.

PMID: 21291087

Ideal female brow aesthetics.

Griffin GR, Kim JC.

Clin Plast Surg. 2013 Jan;40(1):147-55. doi: 10.1016/j.cps.2012.07.003. Epub 2012 Sep 8. Review.

PMID: 23186765

Are there pit bulls with lipstick in your midst?

Briles J.

Tar Heel Nurse. 2009 Jul-Sep;71(3):13-4.

PMID: 19637643

NIH peer review reform–change we need, or lipstick on a pig?

Fang FC, Casadevall A.

Infect Immun. 2009 Mar;77(3):929-32. doi: 10.1128/IAI.01567-08.

PMID: 19168745

Do cosmetics enhance female Caucasian facial attractiveness?

Mulhern R, Fieldman G, Hussey T, Lévêque JL, Pineau P.

Int J Cosmet Sci. 2003 Aug;25(4):199-205. doi: 10.1046/j.1467-2494.2003.00188.x.

PMID: 18494902 [PubMed]

Improving lip wrinkles: lipstick-related image analysis.

Ryu JS, Park SG, Kwak TJ, Chang MY, Park ME, Choi KH, Sung KH, Shin HJ, Lee CK, Kang YS, Yoon MS, Rang MJ, Kim SJ.

Skin Res Technol. 2005 Aug;11(3):157-64.

PMID: 15998326

Lipstick and pearls.

Perrier ND.

Surgery. 2002 Jun;131(6):663-4.

PMID: 12075179

Being Barbie: the size of one’s own body determines the perceived size of the world.

van der Hoort B, Guterstam A, Ehrsson HH.

PLoS One. 2011;6(5):e20195. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0020195. Epub 2011 May 25.

PMID: 21633503

Abstract

A classical question in philosophy and psychology is if the sense of one’s body influences how one visually perceives the world. Several theoreticians have suggested that our own body serves as a fundamental reference in visual perception of sizes and distances, although compelling experimental evidence for this hypothesis is lacking. In contrast, modern textbooks typically explain the perception of object size and distance by the combination of information from different visual cues. Here, we describe full body illusions in which subjects experience the ownership of a doll’s body (80 cm or 30 cm) and a giant’s body (400 cm) and use these as tools to demonstrate that the size of one’s sensed own body directly influences the perception of object size and distance. These effects were quantified in ten separate experiments with complementary verbal, questionnaire, manual, walking, and physiological measures. When participants experienced the tiny body as their own, they perceived objects to be larger and farther away, and when they experienced the large-body illusion, they perceived objects to be smaller and nearer. Importantly, despite identical retinal input, this “body size effect” was greater when the participants experienced a sense of ownership of the artificial bodies compared to a control condition in which ownership was disrupted. These findings are fundamentally important as they suggest a causal relationship between the representations of body space and external space. Thus, our own body size affects how we perceive the world.

Best of PubMed #18

The muddy catfish.
Campbell BA.
J Pastoral Care Counsel. 2008 Spring-Summer;62(1-2):157-8.
PMID: 18572554

Don’t call me ‘four eyes’.
Springen K.
Newsweek. 2004 Oct 4;144(14):65-6.
PMID: 15516105

“Don’t look back; something might be gaining on you”.
Alpert JS.
Am J Med. 2009 Oct;122(10):885.
PMID: 19786151

Just don’t call me Mr. Mom.
Braiker B.
Newsweek. 2007 Oct 8;150(15):52-5.
PMID: 19178109

[Misunderstandings – man has 4 ears].
Niedermeyer M.
Aktuelle Urol. 2012 May;43(3):147-8. German.
PMID: 22950137

It wasn’t my fault….
Freeman JW.
S D Med. 2006 Nov;59(11):483-4.
PMID: 17180848

Make a stink.
Linton O.
Acad Radiol. 2008 Aug;15(8):1082.
PMID: 18620129

Computers, doctors, and toilet training.
Greene AR.
MedGenMed. 2000 Dec 11;2(6):E5.
PMID: 11335855

Apostrophe catastrophe.
McNamee D.
Lancet. 2006 Nov 11;368(9548):1636.
PMID: 17098068

Uncle Ernie and friends.
Goodman JR.
Cell Mol Biol (Noisy-le-grand). 2005 Sep 5;51(2):125-31.
PMID: 16178125

Curing lawyers.
Friedman JH.
Med Health R I. 2005 Apr;88(4):106.
PMID: 15974043

Questionless answers.
Carroll RJ.
J Indiana Dent Assoc. 2008 Fall;87(3):33.
PMID: 19248339

Hissy fits revividus.
Hall PF.
CMAJ. 1998 Dec 15;159(12):1478-9.
PMID: 9875255

[How to kill your own lecture].
Cervenka J.
Cesk Epidemiol Mikrobiol Imunol. 1991 Mar;40(2):115-9. Slovak.
PMID: 1827361

Note: This one was submitted by Robert Zinzen, new group leader at BIMSB, MDC – Thanks, Robert!
http://arxiv.org/abs/1310.3737
Law of Urination: all mammals empty their bladders over the same duration
Patricia J. Yang, Jonathan C. Pham, Jerome Choo, David L. Hu

The urinary system evolved to eject fluids from the body quickly and efficiently. Despite a long history of successful urology treatments in humans and animals, the physics of urination has received comparatively little attention. In this combined experimental and theoretical investigation, we elucidate the hydrodynamics of urination across five orders of magnitude in animal mass, from mice to elephants. Using high-speed fluid dynamics videos and flow-rate measurement at Zoo Atlanta, we discover the “Law of Urination”, which states animals empty their bladders over nearly constant duration of average 21 seconds (standard deviation 13 seconds), despite a difference in bladder volume from 100 mL to 100 L. This feat is made possible by the increasing urethra length of large animals which amplifies gravitational force and flow rate. We also demonstrate the challenges faced by the urinary system for rodents and other small mammals for which urine flow is limited to single drops. Our findings reveal the urethra evolved as a flow-enhancing device, enabling the urinary system to be scaled up without compromising its function. This study may help in the diagnosis of urinary problems in animals and in inspiring the design of scalable hydrodynamic systems based on those in nature.

Best of PubMed #17

Don’t make me take off my belt.
Horseman RE.
J Calif Dent Assoc. 2003 Feb;31(2):174, 173.
PMID: 12636321

Dentists are suicidal.
Worley KF.
J La Dent Assoc. 1977 Summer;35(2):6.
PMID: 267692

Have you told your laboratory man you love him?
Schwartz LJ.
Ill Dent J. 1977 Jun;46(6):281. No abstract available.
PMID: 275213

Are you expecting a miracle?
Hardy F, Stuart LM, Ross LA.
J Md State Dent Assoc. 1982 Apr;25(1):19-20.
PMID: 7042882

YouTube: Increasing your bug views.
Frischknecht F.
Biotechnol J. 2009 Jun;4(6):786.
PMID: 19548247

Helium walks into a bar…
Malow B.
Nature. 2008 Dec 11;456(7223):709.
PMID: 19079038

[“Will you play with me?”].
Le Moal-Sommaire A.
Soins Psychiatr. 1999 Jul-Aug;(203):4-6. French.
PMID: 10876575

What the domestic found.
McLeod J.
Nurs Times. 1978 Oct 12;74(41):1695.
PMID: 250759

[A dialogue between a meridian and a traveller].
Flora F.
Assist Inferm Ric. 2008 Apr-Jun;27(2):108-11. Italian.
PMID: 18630495

Not quite right in the head.
Eaton L.
Ment Health Today. 2009 Apr:32-3.
PMID: 19408381

Frogs on a plane.
Rigg J.
Science. 2008 Jul 4;321(5885):37.
PMID: 18599759

‘Give ’em the old razzle dazzle’.
Stein WE.
Northwest Dent. 2003 Sep-Oct;82(5):10.
PMID: 14603633

When the plumbing failed: an allegory.
Freeman JW.
S D J Med. 2002 Feb;55(2):57-8.
PMID: 11865706

Weeds up her bottom.
Levy R.
Br Dent J. 2001 Feb;Suppl:20-2.
PMID: 11246994

Best of PubMed #16

You’d better bring your own meat sauce.
Stewart RW.
Indiana Med. 1985 Feb;78(2):140, 142.
PMID: 3973374

It’s 8 a.m.: do you know where your paradigm is?
Hutchins HA.
Hosp Mater Manage Q. 1997 Aug;19(1):6-11.
PMID: 10168475

I can make your brain look like mine.
Hasson U.
Harv Bus Rev. 2010 Dec;88(12):32-3.
PMID: 21188897

[Tooth dye in humorous poems].
Takahashi M.
Dentisuto. 1975;1(1):104-5. Japanese.
PMID: 782935

Effect of alcoholic intoxication on the appreciation of different types of humor.
Weaver JB, Masland JL, Kharazmi S, Zillmann D.
J Pers Soc Psychol. 1985 Sep;49(3):781-7.
PMID: 4045704

The lecture from hell.
Ernst E.
Complement Ther Nurs Midwifery. 2003 Nov;9(4):209-10.
PMID: 14556771

Gossip, humor, and the art of becoming an intimate of Jesus.
Capps D.
J Relig Health. 2012 Mar;51(1):99-117.
PMID: 20652409

A funny thing happened on the way to the scanner…
Taylor R.
Anaesthesia. 1998 Dec;53(12):1237.
PMID: 10193246

Take the rabbits.
Shimp WS.
Ann Intern Med. 2009 Dec 1;151(11):820.
PMID: 19949150

I’m Barbarella, fly me.
Radcliffe M.
Nurs Times. 1995 Feb 15-22;91(7):165.
PMID: 7885882

A farewell to arm.
Orenstein JB.
Ann Emerg Med. 2000 Nov;36(5):536-7.
PMID: 11054212

Nursing bra brouhaha.
Napoli M.
Am J Nurs. 2009 Jul;109(7):13.
PMID: 19546623

Cheap thrills #1: It’s Godzilla! No, wait, just a really big platypus!

“Cheap thrills” is a new column devoted to those cases in which scientists and/or their media cronies go waaaay out and oversell a story to get HITS on their websites. Sometimes this reflects nothing more than the heavy hand of an over-caffeinated headline writer, but sometimes the scientist is fully complicit. For example…

For those of you who missed this magnificent story yesterday, researchers from the University of New South Wales in Australia have discovered GODZILLA! Well, not really; they found a fossil of a platypus. And it was an astounding TWO TIMES the size of a modern platypus – over a meter long!!! This dramatic discovery, naturally, prompted one of the discoverers to call the beast “Godzilla”. See the story here:

http://news.yahoo.com/extinct-godzilla-platypus-found-australia-014351630.html

My memory of Godzilla is a city-crunching lizard, about 1,000x the dimensions of anything found in nature today, several times the size of the largest dinosaurs… But a three-foot platypus? Give me a break. Is there something about Australia that makes everything look bigger, or is it just me?

This is not just the work of a press officer; the scientists played along. Here are some quotes from the original article:

“It pretty well blew our minds,” University of New South Wales professor Mike Archer told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. of the animal, which is estimated to be about twice the size of the modern platypus.

“And then bang out of the blue drops this monster. Platypus Godzilla.”

And my favorite: Archer goes on to say…

“Platypus Godzilla. You can imagine the humorous scenes where somebody looks at the modern platypus and says ‘That’s not a platypus’ and and then picks up this monster and says ‘That’s a platypus’.”

Sigh. Evidence that scientists have a sense of humor? All right, it’s painful, but at least give them marks for making an effort…?

Another headline for this winning story:

“Scientists discover monstrous, flesh-eating platypus”

from the link:

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/weird-wide-web/scientists-discover-monstrous-flesh-eating-platypus

At least that story’s a little more… modest. This press release quotes another researcher on the paper, Suzanne Hand, who seems a bit less outspoken. Sorry, Mike, I’ll be getting my news from Suzanne from now on.

Best of PubMed, Halloween Special part 3: Monsters & co.

An acute anxiety state in an adolescent precipitated by viewing a horror movie.
Mathai J.
J Adolesc. 1983 Jun;6(2):197-200.
PMID: 6886163

Frankenstein and the hot potato.
Leeder S.
Aust N Z J Public Health. 1999 Jun;23(3):227-8.
PMID: 10388161

Who can control this son of Frankenstein?
Nazer G.
Nurs Mirror. 1979 May 3;148(18):7.
PMID: 255283

[Why is doctor Jekyll a physician? …and how closely related is he to Frankenstein?].
Schöldström U.
Lakartidningen. 1998 Mar 4;95(10):1028-30. Swedish.
PMID: 9528256

Dr. Frankenstein, I presume? Who’s to kill, or should we kill the monster we have created?
Prior JT.
N Y State J Med. 1981 Jul;81(8):1266-8.
PMID: 6789258

The monster in the server room.
Gentry R.
Dermatol Nurs. 2008 Aug;20(4):311-2.
PMID: 18819227

Bug-eyed monster.
Dowd C.
Nurs Stand. 1997 Nov 5-11;12(7):16.
PMID: 9418444

Chasing the monster.
Cordell T.
N C Med J. 2007 Sep-Oct;68(5):331-2.
PMID: 18183752

A monster problem meets its match when the Monster Cigarette comes to town!
[No authors listed]
Mich Nurse. 2003 Apr;76(4):12-3.
PMID: 12764943

The monster has a name.
Harrelson SL.
J Pract Nurs. 1995 Sep;45(3):15-7.
PMID: 7494200

The monster test.
LEHMAN E.
Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1960 Nov;3:535-44.
PMID: 13760440

What do you do with little monsters?
Peyraud AP.
CAL. 1971 Oct;34(4):14-8.
PMID: 4256358

There’s a new monster in my office.
Layman GA.
Dent Econ. 1975 May;65(5):23-6.
PMID: 1055086

Jan lives with “the monster”.
Carlson J.
Australas Nurses J. 1972 May;1(11):8.
PMID: 4483943

When the “Martinsburg Monster” picks you out.
Martinson R.
Dent Manage. 1968 Feb;8(2):34-44.
PMID: 5236517

[The good monster Cyborg].
[No authors listed]
Riv Med Aeronaut Spaz. 1967 Jul-Sep;30(3):354-63. Italian.
PMID: 5597660

Taming the monster in the chair.
Peyraud AP.
CAL. 1965 Nov;28(5):1-7.
PMID: 4221033

Feeding the monster in the middle.
Waldrop MM.
Science. 1989 Jan 27;243(4890):478.
PMID: 17799183

A pestilent monster on prowl.
Mathew NM.
Health Millions. 1998 Jan-Feb;24(1):2.
PMID: 12348527

[The history of the speckled monster].
Rimar Y.
Harefuah. 2006 Aug;145(8):611-6, 629. Hebrew.
PMID: 16983849

Country doctor and speckled monster.
Empson J.
Nature. 1996 May 2;381(6577):26.
PMID: 8609981

Extinction of the speckled monster celebrated in 1996.
Copeman PW.
J Med Biogr. 1998 Feb;6(1):39-42.
PMID: 11619875

Taming the measurement monster.
Spath PL.
Front Health Serv Manage. 2007 Summer;23(4):3-14.
PMID: 17621923

The monster at our door.
Samuelson RJ.
Newsweek. 2006 Sep 18;148(12):51.
PMID: 17037901

Fighting the monster.
Maxmen A.
Nature. 2010 Jul 15;466(7304):S18-9. doi: 10.1038/nature09243.   Erratum in: Nature. 2010 Aug 26;466(7310):1134.
PMID: 20631699

Should we be afraid of the Green Monster?
Rumbaugh K.
Crit Care Med. 2009 May;37(5):1826-7.
PMID: 19373066

An unidentified monster in the bed.
Ginsberg D.
Mcgill J Med. 2009 Jan;12(1):31-8.
PMID: 19753285

The cookie monster.
Reece RL.
Conn Med. 2011 May;75(5):307.
PMID: 21678847

Monsters under the bed.
Wallis L.
Nurs Stand. 1999 Nov 3-9;14(7):18-9.
PMID: 11075117

Where monsters hide.
Shaw BW Jr.
Liver Transpl. 2001 Oct;7(10):928-32.
PMID: 11679995

Attack of the pocket monsters: no lasting effects.
Faught E.
Epilepsy Curr. 2004 Sep-Oct;4(5):198-9.
PMID: 16059499

Monsters at the gate: are you making people barf?
Dick T.
JEMS. 2005 Sep;30(9):26.
PMID: 16373096

Love and other monsters: an introduction.
Smith HF.
Psychoanal Q. 2006 Jul;75(3):685-8.
PMID: 16924970

Monsters are people too.
Levy J, Foulsham T, Kingstone A.
Biol Lett. 2013 Feb 23;9(1):20120850.
PMID: 23118434

Magnetic resonance imaging monsters and surgical vampires.
Schaefer GR, Matus HL, Goetz C, Arora VM.
Arch Surg. 2011 Nov;146(11):1333; author reply 1333-4. doi: 10.1001/archsurg.2011.284.   Erratum in: Arch Surg. 2012 Jan;147(1):56.
PMID: 22106330

RAINFALL AND MONSTERS.
LEES B.
Clin Med (Northfield Il). 1964 Jan;71:17-8.
PMID: 15446101

Monsters, monitors and the merry mousketeers.
Worley E.
Am J Nurs. 1969 Jul;69(7):1443-5.
PMID: 5192668

Closet monsters.
Alty CT.
RDH. 1995 Nov;15(11):30-1.
PMID: 9534477

[A defense against the troll?].
Migotto C.
G Ital Nefrol. 2012 Jan-Feb;29(1):9. Italian.
PMID: 22388897

Controlling the troll.
Kalil AC, Lyden E, Stoner J.
Ann Intern Med. 2006 Mar 21;144(6):457-8; author reply 458.
PMID: 16549868

My daughter is a Klingon.
Bennett HJ.
J Fam Pract. 1994 Sep;39(3):295-6.
PMID: 8077912

The invisible woman.
Krausz R.
Int J Psychoanal. 1994 Feb;75 ( Pt 1):59-72.
PMID: 8005765

Shrunken head (tsantsa): a complete forensic analysis procedure.
Charlier P, Huynh-Charlier I, Brun L, Hervé C, de la Grandmaison GL.
Forensic Sci Int. 2012 Oct 10;222(1-3):399.e1-5. doi: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2012.06.009. Epub 2012 Jun 27.
PMID: 22742740

Superzilla.
Dick T.
EMS Mag. 2008 Oct;37(10):32.
PMID: 18959334

Cow costume not (always) required.
Putre L.
Hosp Health Netw. 2013 Jul;87(7):65.
PMID: 23961591

 

Best of PubMed: Halloween Special part 2: Vampires, ghosts, zombies, the devil et al.

For the complete “Best of PubMed” craziness, click the link in the menu on the left!

Influence of Valentine’s Day and Halloween on birth timing.
Levy BR, Chung PH, Slade MD.
Soc Sci Med. 2011 Oct;73(8):1246-8. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.07.008. Epub 2011 Jul 28.
PMID: 21880409

Goblins go “owwww”. Kids who eat all their candy could go home with more than a stomachache.
Gupta S.
Time. 2003 Nov 3;162(18):99.
PMID: 15069841

Halloween psychosis.
Schwartz J.
J Am Geriatr Soc. 1992 Mar;40(3):297.
PMID: 1538053

Halloween eye safety.
[No authors listed]
Optometry. 2007 Oct;78(10):560-1.
PMID: 17982807

Vampire wedding.
[No authors listed]
Nature. 1992 May 21;357(6375):192.
PMID: 1589016

Hereditary somnambulism in Dracula.
Altschuler EL.
J R Soc Med. 2003 Jan;96(1):51-2.
PMID: 12519810

Fear of reproduction and desire for replication in Dracula.
Colatrella C.
J Med Humanit. 1996 Fall;17(3):179-89.
PMID: 11613544

[The blood of the dead].
THOMASSET J.
Avenir Med. 1951 Apr;48(4):70-1. Undetermined Language.
PMID: 14820730

The patients from hell.
Radcliffe M, Cort L.
Nurs Times. 2001 Oct 11-17;97(41):22-4.
PMID: 11966017

Letters of thanks from hell.
Silverman K.
Soc Sci Inf (Paris). 1983;22(6):947-68.
PMID: 11618145

I, zombie.
Skokowski P.
Conscious Cogn. 2002 Mar;11(1):1-9.
PMID: 11883985

Turning patients into zombies.
Raspberry W.
Washington Post. 1978 Dec 11:A25.
PMID: 11648952

The ethnobiology of the Haitian zombi.
Davis EW.
J Ethnopharmacol. 1983 Nov;9(1):85-104.
PMID: 6668953

Attack of the email zombies!
Schorle T.
Pa Dent J (Harrisb). 2012 Nov-Dec;79(6):33-4.
PMID: 23495487

I, zombie.
Skokowski P.
Conscious Cogn. 2002 Mar;11(1):1-9.
PMID: 11883985

Zombies in the night.
Lenaghan J.
Nurs Stand. 1997 Jun 25;11(40):17.
PMID: 9277186

Snow White and the zombies.
Palmer B.
Eur Eat Disord Rev. 2008 May;16(3):245. doi: 10.1002/erv.874.
PMID: 18438980

Voodoo Barbie and the dental office.
Neiburger EJ.
N Y State Dent J. 2001 Jun-Jul;67(6):26-7.
PMID: 11501242

Entertaining Satan.
Demos J.
Am Herit. 1978;29(5):14-23.
PMID: 11631374

Supping with the devil.
Carrington AC.
Br J Theatre Nurs. 1994 Sep;4(6):33.
PMID: 7633080

Proliferating principles; or how to sup with the devil without getting eaten.
Leader N.
Disasters. 1998 Dec;22(4):288-308. Review.
PMID: 9874895

[The devil takes the hindmost].
Ritz E.
Dtsch Med Wochenschr. 2006 Apr 13;131(15):803. German.
PMID: 16607598

The orbit, the devil and the ageing cheek.
Paridaens D.
Orbit. 2007 Sep;26(3):145-6.
PMID: 17891641

The name of the devil.
Wing KT.
Cleve Clin J Med. 2008 Dec;75(12):845-6.
PMID: 19097288

The night of the red devil.
McLean J.
Nurs Mirror Midwives J. 1972 May 26;134(21):22.
PMID: 4482818

The red devil revisited.
Plana JC.
JACC Cardiovasc Imaging. 2013 Aug;6(8):886-8.
PMID: 23948379

Keeping details from the devil.
Boyce N.
US News World Rep. 2003 Mar 10;134(7):62.
PMID: 12645478

Beware cloth devils
Greenhalgh T.
BMJ. 2000 Jul 8;321(7253):123A.
PMID: 10884274

Does the devil wear prada or flip-flops? Flip-flops or ties?
Hitchcock BJ, Hagerman XY.
Mark Health Serv. 2010 Spring;30(2):32.
PMID: 20550005

[How the Devil got into a school in Brittany].
Nau JY.
Rev Med Suisse. 2012 Dec 19;8(367):2462-3. French.
PMID: 23346754

The face of the devil finally revealed.
Abdullgaffar B.
Int J Surg Pathol. 2013 Apr;21(2):149. doi: 10.1177/1066896912475081.
PMID: 23516168

The devil in Dolores’ dentition.
Horseman RE.
J Calif Dent Assoc. 2006 Mar;34(3):258, 257.
PMID: 16895081

The devil (and the doodles) is in the details.
Sullivan-Fowler M.
Watermark (Arch Libr Hist Health Sci). 2008;32(1):12-4.
PMID: 21355341

On being possessed by the devil.
Ujhely GB.
Perspect Psychiatr Care. 1972;10(5):202-9.
PMID: 4487643

Child of the Devil.
Frank HF.
Can Med Assoc J. 1956 Nov 1;75(9):778. English, French.
PMID: 20325369

The devil in the dark chocolate.
[No authors listed]
Lancet. 2007 Dec 22;370(9605):2070.
PMID: 18156011

I saw satan fall like lightning
Farrell L.
BMJ. 2000 Apr 8;320(7240):1017A.
PMID: 10753175 [PubMed – as supplied by publisher]

Entertaining Satan.
Demos J.
Am Herit. 1978;29(5):14-23.
PMID: 11631374

A case of possessive state with onset influenced by ‘door-to-door’ sales.
Satoh S, Obata S, Seno E, Okada T, Morita N, Saito T, Yoshikawa M, Yamagami A.
Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 1996 Dec;50(6):313-6.
PMID: 9014228

Are ghosts scarier than zombies?
Diaz-Leon E.
Conscious Cogn. 2012 Jun;21(2):747-8; author reply 749-50.
PMID: 21708473

Exorcism-resistant ghost possession treated with clopenthixol.
Hale AS, Pinninti NR.
Br J Psychiatry. 1994 Sep;165(3):386-8.
PMID: 7994512

Ghosts who appear by degrees; or, the strange case of the phantom authors.
Davenport HW.
Pharos Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Med Soc. 1990 Summer;53(3):36-7.
PMID: 2399276

Induction of an illusory shadow person.
Arzy S, Seeck M, Ortigue S, Spinelli L, Blanke O.
Nature. 2006 Sep 21;443(7109):287.
PMID: 16988702

Ghosts: strange goings on in hospital.
Hearne K.
Nurs Mirror. 1981 Dec 23-30;153(26):24.
PMID: 6916311

Things that go bump in the night: the parasomnias revisited.
Mahowald MW, Ettinger MG.
J Clin Neurophysiol. 1990 Jan;7(1):119-43. Review.
PMID: 2406282

Ghost in the tree.
Di Gallo A, Kuehne T.
Lancet. 2008 Nov 1;372(9649):1570.
PMID: 18984190

[The ghost and its victims].
León CA.
Acta Psiquiatr Psicol Am Lat. 1974 Oct;20(5):339-51. Spanish.
PMID: 4477691

[Dogs, man-wolves and full moon].
Goddemeier C.
Psychother Psychosom Med Psychol. 2002 Jun;52(6):286-7. German.
PMID: 12066256