Web page potpourri: a column devoted to informative alternative health resources on the internet

Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients,  Feb-March, 2004  by Marjorie Roswell

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This month I focus on a selection of visual resources on the web. My brain seems to be calling for a change from the constant flow of informative words (which are usually my passion). Apparently this change in focus is reflected by changes in brain blood flow, as well.

Brain MRI

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/emotions/images/5b58.jpg

Background: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/emotions/frontiers.html

The subject in this image was asked to look at faces while posing for a functional MRI. The image reveals increased blood flow to a portion of the brain's visual cortex.

Powers of 10

http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/java/scienceopticsu/powersof10/

This set of slides starts 10 million light years from the Earth, and zooms in by powers of ten, ending with subatomic particles. It's a pleasure to watch.

How Mercury Causes Brain Neuron Degeneration

http://www.fp.ucalgary.ca/unicomm/Gazette/April4-01/mercury.htm

http://commons.ucalgary.ca/showcasetv/mercury

This technical five-minute video shows what happens to brain neurons upon exposure to low levels of mercury: they degenerate. You'll need QuickTime to view the time-lapse video, and a lot of patience to wait for the full download. It's worth the wait. The video was prepared by the University of Calgary Faculty of Medicine, and was submitted to a neurological journal, apparently one of the first videos to undergo peer-review.

The Meatrix

http://www.themeatrix.com

Anyone even slightly concerned about factory farming will find this video engaging. A web development firm offered a grant of a free Flash animation to a non-profit which sent in the best proposal. They did an excellent job for the winning organization, the Global Resource Action Center for the Environment. Moopheus (a cow), will be your guide in The Meatrix.

Food pictures

http://www.international-food-safety.com/pictures.htm

The International Food Safety Consultancy, a private company, has put together an impressive set of links to images of food safety. Some of the links show graphic images "depicting non-compliance in the livestock industry." There are also plenty of pictures of bugs (both entomological, and bacterial).

Giant Microbes

http://www.giantmicrobes.com/

This company makes stuffed animals that look like tiny microbes, only they're a million times actual size. Check out Bad Breath (Porphorymonas gingivalis), Athlete's Foot (Trichophyton mentagrophytes), Stomach Ache (Shigella), and other adorable huggables.

The Molecular Expressions Photo Gallery

http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/micro/gallery.html

Silicon Zoo: http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/creatures/index.html

The photomicrographs (photographs taken through a microscope) found on this site work both as art and as science. If they were available in higher resolution, I'd frame almost any one (or all) of them. Scroll down from the home page to see a selection of pictured items ranging from AIDS therapy, to a collection of Wines. Also, don't miss the "Silicon Zoo." Who would imagine that a computer chip designer might leave an image of Dilbert in the midst of his or her work? One memory integrated circuit sports a flying elephant, complete with superman-style cape.

Snowflake Bentley Museum

http://snowflakebentley.com/museum.htm

Vermonter Wilson "Snowflake" Bentley was first person to photograph a single snow crystal in 1885. This website shares some of his images, and offers a tour of the museum devoted to his work and life. No two snowflakes are alike. Check out the "Match the Flakes" game, to see if you can match duplicate images of the same flake.

The Paper Project: A New Light on Paper

http://lsvl.la.asu.edu/paperproject/gallery.html

This site offers beautiful microscopic pictures of paper. The Scanning Laser Confocal Microscopy Web Gallery offers both 2D, and 3D images. You'll need red-blue' "anaglyph" glasses to view the 3D versions.

Agriculture Research Service Image Gallery

http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/graphics/photos/

Some of these pictures are gorgeous, and they're free, and in the public domain. My favorite picture of all is this one: http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/graphics/photos/k3839-3.htm

This gorgeous photograph of colorful produce is worth downloading in the high-resolution format. You'll have to fill out a form to download, but there's no cost. I posted a color print of this image behind our microwave oven at work, with hope that it might inspire my health policy colleagues to eat more natural foods. The USDA also offers free images at the link below. Scroll towards the bottom of the page to find the image links: http://www.usda.gov/oc/photo/opclibra.htm

Included among the images are the expected warm and fuzzy, "Farmer spraying his peach orchard," and "Spraying pesticide on peas near Walla Walla, Washington." Then again, there are some truly gorgeous pictures from the photographer's trips to Cuba and to a Navajo Reservation in Arizona. Click on the "Features" box to find these.

Visible Human Project Gallery

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/research/visible/visible_gallery.html