A walk through video featuring the department of microbiology at JJM Medical College, Davangere, Karnataka, India
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Microbiology department, JJMMC, Davangere - Video
From Chemtrails to Pseudo-Life- The Dark Agenda of Synthetic Biology – Video
As the natural world dies around us, what will take its place? Planetary engineering includes bioremediation measures to bring us genetically engineered trees and crops. And what of humans themselves
Read this article:
From Chemtrails to Pseudo-Life- The Dark Agenda of Synthetic Biology - Video
Clips from the 2011 PASI: Advanced Tunicate Biology course – Video
A collage of video clips from the 2011 NSF - Pan American Advanced Studies Institute: Advanced Tunicate Biology, Integrating Modern and Traditional Techniques for the Study of Ascidians Videos feature Dr. Rosana Rocha, Kerrianne Ryan and Max Maliska Video by: Richard Pierce Edited by: Rebecca Rissanen Bocas del Toro Research Station, Panama, 2011
Continued here:
Clips from the 2011 PASI: Advanced Tunicate Biology course - Video
known the main causes of chronic health conditions
Many behavioral risk factors, chief among them smoking, heavy drinking, and obesity, are known the main causes of chronic health conditions. The previous studies showed that the chronic health conditions, like cancer, diabetes, or heart disease, in turn are primary drivers of health care spending, incapacity, and death.
But a recent study found that survivors of breast cancer have a much higher risk of evolving a second breast cancer than women in the common population have of developing a first breast cancer. Unfortunately, little is known about what lifestyle factors may make survivors more vulnerable to a second cancer. “We found that obese women had a 50 percent increased risk, women who consumed at least one alcoholic drink per day had a 90 percent increased risk, and women who were current smokers had a 120 percent increased risk of developing a second breast cancer.” Read more...
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Heavy Smoking Tied to Advanced Kidney Cancer
(HealthDay News) -- Smoking increases the risk of advanced kidney cancer, researchers report.
In a new study, a team from Duke University Medical Center reviewed the cases of 845 patients who had had surgery for kidney cancer -- or renal cell carcinoma -- between 2000 and 2009. They found that current and former smokers were 1.5 to 1.6 times more likely to have advanced cancer than nonsmokers.
Heavy smoking (smoking for a longer period of time and smoking more) was associated with advanced renal cell carcinoma. Kicking the habit reduced the risk of advanced disease by 9 percent for every 10 years that a former smoker was smoke-free, the investigators found.
The findings were slated for presentation Sunday at a special press conference at the American Urological Association's annual meeting, in Washington, D.C.
Another study scheduled for presentation at the same briefing found that rates of bladder cancer did not fall along with lower rates of smoking in the United States.
The researchers examined a national database and found that lung cancer rates declined along with decreasing per capita consumption of cigarettes between 1973 and 2007, but the same type of consistent decline was not seen in bladder cancer rates. Read more...
Ayurtox for Body Detoxification
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Beckman Scholars Program
The Beckman Scholars Program is targeted to students majoring in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), who are American citizens or permanent residents of the United States who are interested in a mentored research experience in the biological or chemical sciences. Eligible students must be current sophomores and juniors at the University of Arizona and be willing and able to work full time for a minimum of 10 weeks for two consecutive summers and part time during the intervening academic year.
The application requires students to prepare a research proposal based on a Scientific American article found on the UA Beckman Scholars’ website at: https://ubrp.arizona.edu/beckman.cfm . Finalists will be interviewed by a selection committee and are required to work with one of the fifteen Beckman Faculty mentors listed on the website.
The Scholarship is quite generous and is designed to support future STEM leaders. The deadline for the 2012 Beckman Scholars is JANUARY 27, 2012 at 5 pm. Applications should be turned in to the UBRP Office in Life Sciences South,
Room 348Questions should be directed to Carol Bender, Director, UBRP & BRAVO! (bender@email.arizona.edu or 621-9348).
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The Northern Arizona University (NAU) PA Program in Phoenix
Thinking about becoming a Physician Assistant?
Are you applying now to schools or planning to soon?
The Northern Arizona University (NAU) PA Program in Phoenix is in the process of accepting applications for the inaugural class matriculating August of 2012 and will be talking about their application process and PA school this Thursday, December 1st at 4:00pm in Room 2117 at the UA College of Medicine.
Don’t know how to get there from main campus? It’s easy! Take the Puple or Teal CatTran to the College of Medicine and head to the 2nd floor to Room 2117. There will be a sign on the door.
Please click this link and register with your name and email to let us know you’re coming (not required, but it gives us an audience count).
http://www.eventbrite.com/event/2488741894
The application for the NAU PA Program in Phoenix for the class matriculating in August 2012 is available online at https://www.applyweb.com/apply/northazg/. They are not using the Centralized Application Service until next year’s cycle. The application deadline is December 15th. Go to the talk to get tips about how to submit a strong application!
If you have any questions or would like more information, please visit their website at:
http://www.nau.edu/CHHS/PA/Welcome/
or contact Program Coordinator Kay Look or Associate Clinical Professor Michelle DiBaise at 602-728-9515.
Source:
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Baylor’s Cancer Genetics Lab to Offer Ion AmpliSeq Cancer Panel on PGM
November 30, 2011 in GenomeWeb – Clinical Sequencing News
By Julia Karow <mailto:jkarow@genomeweb.com>
Baylor College of Medicine's Cancer Genetics Laboratory is about to launch a sequencing-based test on the Ion Torrent PGM that uses the firm's Ion AmpliSeq Cancer Panel to target mutations in 46 cancer genes.
The lab is among the first in the country to use targeted next-gen sequencing in a clinical setting for cancer. Washington University School of Medicine's Genomics and Pathology Services Laboratory recently introduced a similar test on the Illumina HiSeq, targeting 28 cancer genes (CSN 11/22/2011 <http://www.genomeweb.com/sequencing/wash-u-med-school-offers-28-gene-cancer-dx-panel-hiseq-through-clia-lab> ).
Baylor's test, which the CLIA- and CAP-certified CGL will start offering in December, targets 739 mutations in 46 commonly mutated cancer genes. It will be priced under $2,000, and its turnaround time will be around seven to 10 days, although it is possible to complete the test within a day or two, according to Marilyn Li, the lab's director and a professor of molecular and human genetics at Baylor.
While Baylor will offer the test on a research basis, it can be ordered by both basic researchers and doctors. "It's truly a research tool at this point in time," said Condie Carmack, the lab's general manager. And while insurance will not initially pay for it, the CGL will look into whether the test could be reimbursable. The panel could replace, at a lower cost, existing tests that sequence small numbers of genes, he said.
Initially, the test will be based on the Ion AmpliSeq Cancer Panel that Ion Torrent launched for the PGM in October (CSN 10/12/2011 <http://www.genomeweb.com/sequencing/life-tech-launches-cancer-panel-amplicon-sequencing-kit-ion-pgm-plans-510k-filin> ). That panel uses single-tube PCR to amplify 190 amplicons in 46 cancer genes from 10 nanograms of DNA in 3.5 hours, according to the company, and can detect mutations down to a frequency of 5 percent.
According to Li, the coverage for the targeted mutations varies between less than 100x to close to 10,000x, with an average coverage of about 2,000x.So far, the CGL has not had problems with homopolymer regions, which the PGM is said to have trouble with. "We are aware that it could be a problem [but] it does not seem to be an issue with this AmpliSeq product," Carmack said.
Ion Torrent selected the genes for the panel after seeking input from several cancer researchers, including the Baylor team. It includes somatic mutations in genes commonly mutated in cancer as well as germline mutations found in inherited forms of the disease.The reason CGL chose the Ion Torrent platform for the test is its quick turnaround time and low cost per run. At the moment, the lab has two Ion Torrent sequencers that share one Ion Server, but it considering purchasing "a couple" more PGMs.
The Illumina MiSeq did not exist at the time they were developing the test, according to Carmack, and while the lab also has a HiSeq, its turnaround time was too slow and its throughput too large. "We really wanted something quick, inexpensive, and compact," he said.
Another advantage of the Ion Torrent panel is that it can be customized, and in future versions of the test, the CGL plans to add or omit genes or to sequence some genes with greater depth. "That is very appealing to a lot of researchers, as well as to clinical trials," Li said. According to Ion Torrent, AmpliSeq custom panels can include "hundreds of genes" or DNA regions up to 500 kilobases in size.
Initially, the test will run on the Ion 314 chip, though CGL is considering moving it over to the higher-throughput 316 or 318 chips. This would allow them to deepen the coverage, add more genes to the panel, or multiplex samples.
While the lab is currently not using the Ion OneTouch to prepare samples for the PGM, it already has the instrument in house and is planning to test it.
Focusing on the 'Clinically Useful'
There are several reason why CGL opted for a targeted cancer gene panel, rather than analyzing whole cancer exomes or genomes, Li said.
For one, the mutations targeted by the panel are interpretable, whereas large-scale sequencing yields many variants that "may not be clinically useful," and confirming them all takes a long time. "That doesn't meet the need of cancer diagnosis," she said. In addition, the cost of targeted sequencing is still much lower than that of whole-exome or whole-genome sequencing, and the turnaround time is shorter.
Also, because the test is less complex than exome or genome sequencing, it was easier to implement it in the clinical lab, she said. Lab technicians were able to achieve the same results as the R&D lab relatively easily.
For whole-exome or whole-genome sequencing for cancer to become practical in a clinical setting, she said, its cost will have to come down to that of a single-gene test, and the data analysis will need to be able to extract relevant results quickly.
Another Baylor lab, however, is already forging ahead with clinical whole-exome sequencing, albeit for inherited diseases rather than cancer. Earlier this month, Baylor announced the opening of the CLIA-certified Whole Genome Laboratory, which offers a whole-exome sequencing test for the diagnosis of genetic disorders, with plans to move to whole-genome sequencing in the future (IS 11/16/2011 <http://www.genomeweb.com/sequencing/baylor-whole-genome-laboratory-launches-clinical-exome-sequencing-test> ). Like the CGL, the WGL is affiliated with Baylor's department of molecular and human genetics and its Medical Genetics Laboratory, but it also closely collaborates with the Human Genome Sequencing Center.
There are some types of mutations that the CGL's current cancer panel, which focuses on point mutations and small insertions and deletions, cannot detect — for example, translocations, copy number variants, or epigenetic changes. "There is no one technology that is going to cover it all," Li said. But CGL is hopeful that further improvements of the Ion Torrent platform will enable it to analyze both copy number variants and translocations.
The cancer panel is only one of more than 135 tests the CGL offers, including sequencing of single genes, deletion and duplication testing, chromosome analysis, FISH, and chromosomal microarray analysis.
Many of these tests, which target mutations found in inherited cancers, were already offered by Baylor's Medical Genetics Laboratory, from which the CGL split off about a year ago. "We are moving them over under the CGL banner and expanding our content in somatic and acquired cancers," Carmack said. The reason CGL was founded as a separate entity is that its focus on both non-inherited and inherited forms of cancer required special expertise in cancer genetics, he explained.
The CGL — a joint project of the department of molecular and human genetics, the department of medicine's hematology and oncology division, the department of pathology, the Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center at BCM, and the Texas Children's Hospital Pathology Laboratory — still works closely with the MGL, which shares the same location, about a mile and a half from the main Baylor campus.
Besides molecular testing for guiding patient treatment and prognosis, the CGL offers clinical trial services to companies and conducts research to discover new cancer genes, markers, and tests for them, both on its own and in collaboration with industry.
Source:Agfa HealthCare unveils integrated digital pathology/PACS* solution at RSNA
Earlier this week at RSNA, the tradeshow of tradeshows and the single best week for cab drivers in the city of Chicago, Agfa HealthCare announced a combined pathology and radiology PACS solution building on their radiology experience and backbone.
Little curious they would choose to do this at a radiology show rather than say at say, USCAP or one of the dedicated pathology informatics/digital pathology meetings and not clear to me from this press release if they have built their own scanner for pathology slides or using someone else's device. I suspect the latter. Either way -- cool news piece with another player in the digital pathology space with shared pathology/radiology diagnostic imaging at a big operation with 1,600 teaching beds.
Now the large radiology vendors such as GE, Philips and Afga in this space, who will be the next company with extensive radiology PACS and image acquisition/management to enter the digital pathology market?
And will this help drive a convergence towards Departments of Diagnostic Medicine/Imaging? And if that does happen wouldn't pathologists be better positioned and suited to be the gatekeepers of the images as a percentage of volume of information from those images?
One of the most popular posts I have written is now nearly 3 years old entitled Departments of Diagnostic Medicine? I think because of the picture of the cast of House, still a good show and one of my personal favorites. I wasn't warm to the idea then but coming around to the idea this may happen with digital pathology scanners, radiology image/management experience and combined collective intelligence of radiologists and pathologist to use synergistic technologies for diagnosis, staging and progonosis.
- Press release
- Mortsel, Belgium/Greenville, SC
- November 29, 2011 04:00
• Solution currently implemented for clinical review at the La Pitié-Salpêtrière teaching hospital in Paris, France.
• Solution links new, pathology slide scanning device with dedicated analytical workstation to enhance data sharing of radiology and pathology images.
• A critical step towards improved productivity and enhanced quality assurance in pathology for university hospitals and large clinics.
(RSNA 2011, Booth #8350) Agfa HealthCare announces today that it has successfully implemented a comprehensive solution that, for the first time, integrates digital pathology with X-ray imaging and informatics through its IMPAX Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) platform. This solution, revealed at the 97th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), is currently in clinical review at the La Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital, a 1600-bed Paris teaching hospital. It includes a high-throughput, whole slide scanning device coupled with dedicated workstations used by pathologists to view digital pathology images that support more confident diagnosis through specific clinical applications.
Solution facilitates collaboration between care providers in hospital
Once slides are digitally scanned, the pathologist selects the Regions of Interest (ROI) to be automatically integrated into the IMPAX PACS. Combining digital pathology and radiology images onto the same image management system results in multiple advantages including improved multidisciplinary team discussions such as tumor boards, better education within teaching hospitals, enhanced research and more expedient peer review. Integration also offers excellent workflow optimization in terms of image management and facilitates collaboration between clinicians, radiologists and pathologists, resulting in improved communications and a more streamlined workflow.
Pathology now joins other medical specialties on digital network
Anatomical pathology is the last medical discipline to be digitized; radiology, orthopaedics and cardiology have long benefited from the move from analog to digital workflows.
"Combining radiology and pathology images represents a critical step towards integrated diagnostics where a multi-disciplinary approach and sub-specialization are highly used, such as in a large teaching hospital," says Prof. Philippe Grenier, Head of Radiology at La Pitié-Salpêtrière. He adds that such advances take image management beyond the radiology department toward an enterprise model characterized by broader clinical access, more data from various sources and better communication between medical disciplines. The correlation of radiology and pathology images is expected to provide more efficient, higher quality patient care.
"Digital pathology offers more and better tools. By integrating our digital images within the PACS, I believe we'll reach a new level of clinical care management workflow," comments Prof. Frédérique Capron, Head of Pathology at La Pitié-Salpêtrière.
IT leadership assists successful pathology integration
Agfa HealthCare leveraged its current expertise in digital imaging informatics, storage and distribution by offering digital pathology solutions linked to scanning devices and analytical workstations, as well as the integration of pathology images within radiology storage instances. This complete solution facilitates the exchange of clinical data in multiple forms. The solution deployed at La Pitié-Salpêtrière includes IMPAX PACS. Plans are to expand, in other selected sites, the integration within IMPAX Data Center with XERO viewer for long-term data storage and distribution. The IMPAX Data Center Viewer, powered by XERO, is an enterprise medical image viewer that allows clinicians secure access to patient information, independent of location, on a variety of web-enabled devices. It serves a key role in creating a longitudinal patient record that can store X-ray images and related information, including cardiology and now pathology scans and demographics.
"We are pleased to work with La Pitié-Salpêtrière as part of our commitment to digital pathology," says Jérôme Galbrun, Global Head of Business Development, Agfa HealthCare. "The benefits of the digital pathology solution extend far beyond the pathology department. We aim to develop comprehensive solutions to improve access to sub-specialty care, greatly increase information sharing and reduce diagnosis time, particularly in remote locations."
Agfa HealthCare's digital pathology solution is currently in pre-clinical validation phase and expected to be available in 2012.
* Note: Not available in Canada or the U.S.
Source:A funny thing happened to me on the way to the doctor’s office
Never one to be too far from my laptop or willing to see a nice digital image of pathology slides I mentioned I could in a few minutes while waiting our turn at the pediatrician's office for the flu shot.
So, armed with laptop, my personal Mifi 2200 card and a few minutes, I was able to view in real time the effect of changing the gamma on some scanned cytology slides.
The value of Pathology 2.0 - digital pathology combined with other taken for granted technologies that provides the world at your fingertips - anytime, anywhere collaboration in a few minutes between a cellular phone call and waiting for the flu shot.
The question here of course is whether, if this were a "real" case, could I review the images and make an opinion based upon the images presented to me standing, waiting in a doctor's office.
Technically, I am in a doctor's office, or at least the waiting area. A real doctor. One that sees actual patients in their entirety - mainly their right or left arm this particular clinic, rather than just representative slices of their tissues.
The short answer - for primary diagnosis (let's for the sake of argument leave out "H&E" from these words) based on guidance from the FDA and CLIA earlier this month appears to be no. As a consult, I think the guidance is this use case is reasonable and presents less potential risk and potentially huge benefit not otherwise possible as an intended use.
"Hey, I have an interesting case I would like to show you - are you near a computer?"
"Sure, let me just turn off the football game, go into my home office with my radiology-grade monitor I actually picked up on eBay from a teleradiologist and review the case with you."
Anyways, I was able to view crisp, clear images quickly and accurately, outside of my office and was comfortable with the images being representative of the glass slide.
If we don't control the environments we conduct these practices in, regulatory efforts will tell us how to conduct them (enter CLIA '88).
Recall the history of CLIA - beginning in 1987, a series of newspaper and magazine articles were published on the quality of laboratory testing. Also, simultaneously television programs were aired concerning the number of laboratories that were not subject to either federal or state regulations. Congress held hearings in 1988 and heard testimony from “victims” of faulty laboratory testing. Specific concerns were raised about the validity of cholesterol screening and the accuracy of Pap smear results.
Section 4064 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 [OBRA-87 - Public Law 100-203], enacted on December 22, 1987 amended Section 1861(s)(11) to require physician offices that performed more than 5000 tests per year to meet regulations. Laboratory testing in both physicians’ offices (POLs) and rural health clinics that did not accept and perform tests on referral specimens would not be subject to these revisions because both the Medicare and CLIA statues [Section 1861(s)(11) of the Act and section 351(I) of the PHS Act] respectively precluded the regulation at that time of POLs and RHC that performed tests only for their own patients.
On October 31, 1988, Congress enacted Public Law 100-578 in response to the congressional hearings. PL 100-578 greatly revised the authority (PHS Act) for the regulation of laboratories.
This law revised section 353 of the PHS Act (42 U.S.C. 263a) amending CLIA-67 by expanding the Department of HHS’s authority from regulation of laboratories that only accepted and tested specimens in interstate commerce to the regulation of any laboratory that tested specimens for the diagnosis, prevention, or treatment of any disease or impairment of, or the assessment of the health of human beings.
Then on December 19, 1989, Congress enacted OBRA-89 (Public Law 101-239). Section 6141 removed the provision under section 4064 of OBRA-87, which would now require certification of all laboratories performing tests. In addition, it required laboratories participating in the Medicare/Medicaid programs to comply with CLIA-88 requirements.
On February 28, 1992, the final regulations for CLIA-88 were published with an implementation date of September 1, 1992. Sections of the CLIA requirements were to be phased in allowing previously non-regulated laboratories to become accustomed to the regulations. The regulations adding Provider-Performed Microscopy Procedures (PPMP) were published on March 24, 1995. Work is currently in progress with the CDC and CMS to develop final CLIA regulations, which will reflect all comments received since the September 1, 1992, Federal Register publication and the development of new technologies.
On April 24, 2003, the revised CLIA regulations went into effect.
Of course most of us recognize that while you could do this on a boat, at the beach or on a golf cart, reasonable pathologists would not do this. They might take blood bank or toxicology calls but not review images. Most practicing pathologists have been called away from meetings, outdoor activities, dinners, movies, shows, etc... to do just this. It's not that they are technically unable to do it, it is just that they have it done it yet. Physicians don't take night and weekend call from their offices. It kind of defeats the purpose of being "on call". Even before cellular devices and remote access to hospital network applications.
Source:Pathology Informatics Faculty Position – University of Chicago
Pathology Informatics Faculty Position The Department of Pathology at The University of Chicago is seeking an academically oriented MD or MD/PhD to serve as Director of Pathology Informatics.
The Director will be responsible for providing leadership and strategic development of the Laboratory Information System (LIS) and its integration with the Electronic Health Record (EHR) within The University of Chicago Medical Center's Laboratories relating to the diagnosis, management and pathogenesis of human disease. The Director will also participate in investigative and educational activities within the various informatics and computer science communities at The University of Chicago and the affiliated Argonne National Laboratory in the advancement of integrated programs in biomedical informatics, including citywide initiatives in proteomics and informatics grid development, as well as a genetic array facility. Primary certification or qualification for examination by the American Board of Pathology and ability to obtain an Illinois medical license are required. Candidates must possess dynamic leadership and strong administrative skills, with the ability to guide and mentor junior colleagues and staff, as well as to foster excellent professional relationships across large and diverse organizations. Preference will be given to candidates additionally able to provide pathologist services in another area having current need within the clinical laboratories. Academic rank will be commensurate with the level of training and experience. INTERESTED APPLICANTS MUST APPLY ONLINE, including a CV and names of three references at: http://tinyurl.com/UCPathologyInformatics
The University of Chicago is an Affirmative Action / Equal Opportunity Employer.
Source:One Night Only! An Evening of Victorian Variety, Macabre Merriment, and Horror Live on Stage! The Grand Guignol Spectacular Tickets Now Available!
Tickets for my Grand Guignol Birthday Spectacular on December 10th at The Coney Island Museum are now available for purchase here. And, just to whet your whistle, I post above a sketch of the specially commissioned set by NYU’s Chris Muller which will frame this unforgettable evening of "Victorian Variety, Macabre Merriment, and Horror Live on Stage" (click on image to see larger, more detailed version.) If you are interested in attending, we urge you to to purchase tickets soon, as they are sure to sell out!
Full info for the event follows. Hope very much to see you there!
Grand Guignol Variety Show at The Coney Island Museum
Featuring classic Grand Guignol performances, film, toy theatre, song, dance, film and more, followed by a DJed after-party
Date: Saturday, December 10th
Time: 8:00 (doors at 7)
Admission: $25 (tickets available here)
Location: The Coney Island Museum, 1208 Surf Avenue, Brooklyn
Presented by Morbid Anatomy, Atlas Obscura and The Coney Island Museum and curated by Joanna Ebenstein & John Del GaudioFrom turn-of-the-century Paris through the 1960s, the Theatre of the Grand Guignol gleefully celebrated horror, sex, and fear with infamous productions featuring innocent victims, mangled beauty, insanity, mutilation, humour, sex, and monstrous depravity in a heady mix that attracted throngs of thrill-seekers from all echelons of society, making it the progenitor of today’s blood-spilling, eye-gouging, and limb-hacking “splatter” films.
Join us on December 10th at the Coney Island Museum for a one-night-only ode to The Grand Guignol and its legacy. Our evening of variety theatre was developed in conversation with Mel Gordon, author of Grand Guiginol: Theatre of Fear and Terror; Participants will include Doll Parts, Meg Moseley, Robert Munn, GF Newland, Melissa Roth, Shannon Taggart, Alison Termine, Ronni Thomas, and Kathleen Kennedy Tobin with a newly commissioned set by NYU’s Chris Muller (seen above) and the role of Master or Ceremonies filled by Lord Whimsy. Projects include stagings of two classic Grand Guignol plays, a toy theater version of Bryusov’s “The Sisters,” a harmonious and creepy rendition of “Dry Bones,” and more, all followed by an after-party with music and Hendrick’s Gin cocktails courtesy of Friese Undine.
Tickets available here.
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"Human Zoos: The Invention of the Savage," Exhibition, Musée du Quai Branly, Paris, Through June 2012
Four Open Slots for Tonight's Anthropomorphic Mouse Taxidermy Class!
Four slots have just opened up for tonight's anthropomorphic mouse taxidermy class with Susan Jeiven class at Observatory! Full details follow; if interested in attending, please email me ASAP at morbidanatomy [at] gmail.com. Emails will be considered in the order received.
Anthropomorphic Mouse Taxidermy Class with Susan Jeiven: Back by Popular Demand
Date: TONIGHT Tuesday, November 29th
Time: 7 PM-11 PM
Admission: $60
Presented by Morbid Anatomy
Anthropomorphic taxidermy–the practice of mounting and displaying taxidermied animals as if they were humans or engaged in human activities–was a popular art form during the Victorian and Edwardian eras. The best known practitioner of the art form is British taxidermist Walter Potter who displayed his pieces–which included such elaborate tableaux as The Death of Cock Robin, The Kitten Wedding, and The Kitten Tea Party–in his own museum of curiosities.
Tonight, please join Morbid Anatomy and taxidermist, tattoo artist and educator Susan Jeiven for a beginners class in anthropomorphic taxidermy. All materials–including a mouse for each student–will be provided, and each class member will leave at the end of the day with their own anthropomorphic taxidermied mouse. Students are invited to bring any miniature items with which they might like to dress or decorate their new friend; some props and miniature clothing will also be provided by the teacher. A wide variety of sizes and colors of mice will be available.
No former taxidermy experience is required.
Also, some technical notes:
- We use NO harsh or dangerous chemicals.
- Everyone will be provided with gloves.
- All animals are disease free.
- Although there will not be a lot of blood or gore, a strong constitution is necessary; taxidermy is not for everyone.
- All animals were already dead, nothing was killed for this class. All mice used are feeder animals for snakes and lizards and would literally be discarded if not sold.
- Please do not bring any dead animals with you to the class
More information can be found here. Mouse shown above was created in our last class, created by attendee Ronni Ascagni. More mice from that class can be found here.
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Call for Work for 2nd Annual Morbid Anatomy Holiday Fair, December 17th and 18th
This year, Morbid Anatomy will be teaming up with our sister spaces Observatory and Proteus Gowanus to host a 2-day holiday fair over the weekend of December 17th and 18th, from 12-6. If any of you local artists, craftspeople, photographers and/or makers of macabre, uncanny or unusual objects, artifacts, or curiosa out there are interested in selling work, please contact us at morbidanatomy [at] gmail.com for more details. Please note: in order to participate, must be able to man your own table for the duration of the event.
Image: Crocheted Skulls by Dewey Decimal Crafts, a featured seller at last year's fair. More of her work can be found here.
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"Dissection as Studio Practice" Illustrated Lecture and Studio Art Class with Artist Laura Splan at Observatory
I am super excited to be announcing the upcoming class "Dissection as Studio Practice" at Observatory on Sunday, January 8th. I met the teacher--Laura Splan--at a conference many years back now. Since then, I have been a big fan of her work, a few examples of which can be seen above, including--top to bottom-- an installation view of her current solo show Reformulations; a blood-on-watercolor composition entitled "Elaborative Encoding"; and 3 images from her "Doilies"series of 2004, a set of computer machine embroidered doilies with the design of each doily based on a different viral structure; pictured here, top to bottom: Herpes, Sars, and Influenza.
This class--open to all experience levels--will "survey the use of dissection in contemporary art practice through an illustrated lecture, discussion and collaborative art project"; it will also provide a terrific opportunity to work with an accomplished and sophisticated conceptual artist while gaining insight into process and method behind the creation of iconic and powerful works dealing with dissection and the body. I, for one, simply cannot wait!
Full description of the class follows. Class size is limited; if interested, be sure to RSVP via email to morbidanatomy[at]gmail.com. You can see more of Laura Splan's work by clicking here. Hope very much to see you there!
CLASS: Dissection as Studio Practice
Lecture and Studio Art Class with artist Laura Splan
Date: Sunday, January 8th
Time: 1-4 PM
Fee: $60
*** Class size is limited to 20; please RSVP to morbidanatomy[at]gmail.comThis class will survey the use of dissection in contemporary art practice through an illustrated lecture, discussion and collaborative art project. We will examine the conceptual and cultural significance of cutting, excavating, disassembling, labeling, observing and displaying “bodies.” The lecture will present a brief history of dissection as well as work by contemporary artists exploring imagery, tropes and methods of dissection. The collaborative project will be a fun and lively hands on exploration of the meaning of dissection in a work of art. Participants should bring an object, artifact or specimen to “dissect” for the group exercise. Additional supplies, tools and materials will be provided. No prior art training is required.
Laura Splan is a Brooklyn based visual artist. Her mixed media work explores historical and cultural ambivalence towards the human body. She was recently a Visiting Lecturer at Stanford University where she taught “Art and Biology” in the Art & Art History Department. She has been a Visiting Artist at the New York Academy of Sciences, California College of Art, San Francisco Art Institute, Maryland Institute College of Art, and Cal Arts. She curates the visual portal DomesticatedViscera.com. Images of her artwork can be found on her website: LauraSplan.com.
You can contact Laura through her website with any questions about the class by clicking here.
If you are interested in signing up for this class, please email me at morbidanatomy[at]gmail.com. To see more of Laura Splan's fantastic work, click here. This class is one of the newest installments in the series newly termed The Morbid Anatomy Artist Academy; to find out more about that--including a full class list thus far--click here.
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Biology 1A – Lecture 37: Integration: Nervous system – Video
General Biology Lecture
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Biology 1A - Lecture 37: Integration: Nervous system - Video
Seeking Volunteers for Grand Guignol Spectacular Next Saturday, December 10
Hi all! We are currently seeking a few volunteers to help with next Saturday's Grand Guignol Spectacular at The Coney Island Museum. We need a couple of folks to help with scene transitions during the show, and an experienced stage manager to help for the day of the show. All volunteers, of course, will be rewardd with free admission to the event!
Interested parties can email me here: morbidanatomy [at] gmail.com. More on the event can be found here.
Thanks so much and, either way, hope to see you there!
Image: From a Life Magazine story circa 1947 about the Grand Guignol entitled "Sick! A House of Horrors." More on that here. Caption reads: "Realistic throat-cutting, performed in The Hussy by honest farm lad on his depraved, scheming wife, is achieved by a trick dagger which contains 'blood' in the handle."
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Genetics Court Case Palopoli 2.mov – Video
A court case of the future: Jenn Ettics is suing her parents for genetically modifying her at birth. She believes that Chromo Labs made a mistake and affected her art genes when they modified her for favorable athletic genes.
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Genetics Court Case Palopoli 2.mov - Video
Genetic Engineering – Seven Wonders of the Microbe World (6/7) – Video
Free learning from The Open University http://www.open.edu --- This video explores the ways in which humans are learning to exploit microbes to produce medicines, fuel and food. (Part 6 of 7) Playlist link - http://www.youtube.com --- Study 'Biology' at the Open University: www3.open.ac.uk
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Genetic Engineering - Seven Wonders of the Microbe World (6/7) - Video