Author: Andrew Thaler

Marine science and conservation. Deep-sea ecology. Population genetics. Underwater robots. Open-source instrumentation. The deep sea is Earth's last great wilderness.

The Way We Heal – the biology of scar formation

Posted on By Andrew Thaler 4 Comments on The Way We Heal – the biology of scar formation
Science

Humans, we are fragile creatures. We bend and break and tear. Lacking a rigid exoskeleton, dense armored plates, calcium carbonate shells, our skin becomes our first line of defense against a hostile, machete-filled world. Fortunately, while we do break, we can also heal ourselves through a wonderfully complex system of self-repair.

As stated earlier, this is not a medical blog and we have limited experience discussing medicine. For more detailed and experienced medical blogging, please check out two of my favorite medical blogs, Science-based Medicine and White Coat Underground. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be liveblogging my body’s own healing process as I recover from a machete blow to the head.

The physiology of wound healing and scar formation in the human body is a complicated and fascinating.

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Finding Melville’s Whale – Enter Ahab; to him, Stubb (Chapter 29)

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Chapter 29 of Herman Melville’s classic – Moby Dick. Read along with us and discuss this chapter or the book as a whole in the comments. Visit this page for the complete collection to date: Finding Melville’s Whale. Enter Ahab; to him, Stubb Greybeards – for those who walk the deck at night, the sky is … Read More “Finding Melville’s Whale – Enter Ahab; to him, Stubb (Chapter 29)” »

Watch me heal, day 1 – 4

Posted on By Andrew Thaler 11 Comments on Watch me heal, day 1 – 4
Science

Those of you following me on twitter have probably heard that I had a little accident this weekend. And by “little accident”, I mean I got hit in the head with a machete. And by “got hit in the head” I really mean hit myself in the head while clearing brush. This has afforded me two opportunities: the first was the chance to see my own skull (how often does that happen?) and the second was the chance to document the healing process.

We don’t do a lot of medical blogging, primarily because we’re not in a medical field. There are excellent resources out there if you’re interested in medical blogging – Science-based Medicine and White Coat Underground are my favorite.

Below the fold are some rather tame pictures (but perhaps disturbing if you don’t like a little gore) of my head, post stitches. Sadly I was not in the right mindset to get a good picture of the injury before repair.

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Finding Melville’s Whale – Ahab (Chapter 28)

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Chapter 28 of Herman Melville’s classic – Moby Dick. Read along with us and discuss this chapter or the book as a whole in the comments. Visit this page for the complete collection to date: Finding Melville’s Whale. Ahab It was the knights that ran the ship in those first many days, well-suited to the task. … Read More “Finding Melville’s Whale – Ahab (Chapter 28)” »

Three Ways to Support Science!

Posted on By Andrew Thaler 1 Comment on Three Ways to Support Science!
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There’s still a week left in the Science Bloggers Donors Choose challenge and we’re short of the $50,000 goal. So if you haven’t yet, head on over to our Donors Choose giving page and make a donation. No matter how small, every dollar helps. Can’t make the donation? That’s ok, too. We’re offering a $50 … Read More “Three Ways to Support Science!” »

Finding Melville’s Whale: Knights and Squires (Chapter 26 and 27)

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Chapter 26 and 27 of Herman Melville’s classic – Moby Dick. Read along with us and discuss this chapter or the book as a whole in the comments. Visit this page for the complete collection to date: Finding Melville’s Whale. Knights and Squires A fearless man is far more dangerous, and the first mate, Starbuck, will … Read More “Finding Melville’s Whale: Knights and Squires (Chapter 26 and 27)” »