Surgery remains a ‘macho’ field

When researchers asked male and female medical students about careers in surgery, they found many similarities, concludes a research in the Archives of Surgery. Women were less likely than men to say they were put off by the surgeon’s workload, and less likely to cite family concerns as a deterrent to a surgical career. They were about as likely to find a mentor. And men and women said they had had the same interest in going into the field ? at least, before their surgical training rotation. But in the end, the researchers found, many of the women were dismayed by what they saw as “the surgical personality” and the persistence of an “old boys’ club”. The women were much more likely to see sex discrimination, usually from male surgeons, than the men. “Surgery remains a ‘macho field,” the researchers wrote in the journal.

Fast food fat varies by countries

The chicken nuggets and french fries sold at a McDonald’s in New York City may be healthier than those sold in Europe, a study showed recently. Three Danish doctors found widely varying levels of unsaturated fatty acid known as “trans fat” in foods purchased at McDonald’s Corp and KFC fast food chains in 20 countries. Studies show eating five grams of the fat per day increases the risk of heart disease by 25 per cent. In the large nuggets and fries meal, the amount of trans fat varied from less than one gram in Denmark to more than 10 grams in New York City, according to the research published in last week’s New England Journal of Medicine.

Antibiotic for asthma

An antibiotic made by French drug-maker Sanofi-Aventis may reduce some symptoms when asthma worsens, but it does not improve breathing capacity, according to a study.The study published in this week’s New England Journal of Medicine found that 278 adults who took the antibiotic telithromycin for 10 days after their attacks showed a drop in asthma symptoms. But using another gauge of success ? how much air patients could exhale ? the antibiotic showed no benefit. “None of the pulmonary-function tests showed a significant treatment effect by the sixth week of the study,” the researchers concluded.Those who took the drug were also more likely to experience nausea.

Clinical sites target for porn

Curators of online dermatological sites have expressed concern that their archive of clinical images are being misused by porn seekers. The idea that images are being used pruriently first occurred when the skin specialists at American Academy of Dermatology noticed a jump in queries for images of genital areas.