Just a little update

Well, it's been a long time since I wrote on my blog....

So, I went back to France during this summer break. It had been 3 years since I had seen my family so I was glad to see everyone again. I also got to swim in the sea almost every day!! :-)

Now, I'm back at UCLA. I think it's gonna be a pretty hard quarter, but I am kinda really excited about it. Basically, I am taking two neuroanatomy class (my favorite subject) and one neurophysiology class. On top of that, I am taking MCAT classes (three hours three times a week--> 9 hours of extra class a week).

So, I might not have as much time to write on my blog as during the previous quarter, but I'll still try to write a post from time to time. :-)

Good luck everyone!

Navajo woman

Today, I went to borders and I was looking at books in the metaphysical section. At some point, a woman who was standing next to me asked me if I could recommend any interesting books that she read. Before I had the time to reply, she told me which books she liked and who recommend. The conversation became interesting and lasted over an hour.

Among other things, she told me a little about her life. She told me that she was a ????, but that the government called them Navajo native Americans. In her family, both her grandpa, and her uncle were healers. She told me how they should cut plants, (but I didn't understand which kind of plant she was talking about), which roots to leave so that a new plant may grow, and how they should always give a prayer to the plant before cutting it. She also told me about some of the ceremonies that they have when a girl becomes a woman, when a woman becomes pregnant, and when someone dies.

I asked her why was she looking for books when she had such a rich background in the "unexplainable" realm. She said that she wants to know more, and understand more; that she is looking for (explanations?) that her people do not have.

She also told me how the government forced the children to go to boarding schools (and missionaries?) in order to get educated (when she was a young girl). There if the children were found to be talking in their own language, they would force the children to eat (donuts?) filled with soap, beaten with electric cords, and sometimes forced to stay up all night to scrub the floors.

She spoke many times in her native language. It was the first time I heard it. For some reason I felt really happy about it. (I realize how stupid it is, but somehow I was expecting something close to spanish, but it was very different!!)

At some point she took my right hand between her two hands, then released it. (I was surprised.) She said one or two more sentences (that I don't remember and left as if in a hurry.

This is how my one hour conversation with this Navajo woman ended. I wish I had at least asked for her name.

More Survey answers

Neuroscience Survey

I am still receiving more and more answers to my survey. Again, I would like to thank everyone for taking the time to answer my survey!

From the survey it seems that a number of people have questions about things that are already understood by science. This shows me that there is a need to spread more information about the field of neuroscience! While I cannot answer every question here, right now, I am planing on answering them in the close future.

As I've said in a previous post, I also receive many questions about brain diseases such as Alzheimer's. Unfortunately, science has not figured out all the mechanisms by which Alzheimer's develops. During my last year at UCLA, I will do my best to try and summarize the most recent findings regarding some of these neurological diseases.

If you've just stumbled upon my blog, would like to take a really short survey where you can tell me what you would most like to know about neuroscience? Neuroscience Survey

Memory

I would like to thank everyone who has taken my survey so far. It gives a really good idea of what seem to matter most for people.

A lot of questions I've received deal about neurological diseases as people age, such as Alzheimer's disease, or following an accident. I've had some overview of the etiology of these diseases, but nothing specific enough for me to feel that I can really give a full answer. I will make sure to focus on that next year.

A number of questions dealt with memory. The question was, "How is it possible that a person can remember memories from a long time ago, but not things that happened on the same day?" "How is memory stored? Is it a chemical or an electrical process?"

This is something I have studied, and so I would like to attempt an answer.

1. There are different kinds of memories that use different brain pathways. In other words, there are different "streets," and "mechanisms," that process different memories, in radically different ways. That is why a person may loose one kind of memory, but not the other.

2. First there is what is called the "Short Term Memory" (STM) sometimes also referred to as the "working memory." It is the part of the brain that filters incoming information. On average, the working memory can only hold up to 7 "information units" for a very short period of time. it is, for example, what enables us to differentiate words from sounds. (The brain remembers the order of sounds, and thus understands that it is a word.)

This is an "electrical memory." It works for only as long as a neuron is firing. As soon as the neuron stops firing (as soon as the electrical impulse is lost), the memory is completely lost.

This part of the memory is very well understood by science.

3. The "middle term memory" (This is NOT an actual term, just my own) is composed, more or less, of the hipocampus and the medial temporal lobes. It is a transition storage place between the short term memory, and the long term memory. It is thought to contain up to a week worth of information. If this area is damaged, people loose their ability to remember anything new.... Memory is never stored and is lost as soon as the previous neurons stop firing. (This applies mostly to autobiographical, and factual data, but mostly autobiographical memory. In other words, the person cannot remember anything that happened to them).

4. The "Long Term Memory" (LTM). This is where the brain stores lifetime memories. It is actually the part of memory that is the least understood. But people who have damage to their "middle term memory", do not loose their lifelong memories. They can still remember their childhoods without any problem. And they can probably have memories of their life up to 7 days prior to the accident.

5. I would also like to mention a totally different kind of "memory," and that is skill learning. It is how the body remembers how to do things. A person can completely loose their ability to form new memories, but still learn how to do something new.

For example: Let's say a person never rode on a bicycle in their life, and then lost their "middle term memory." Subsequently, after a few days of trying/learning how to ride a bicycle, they are actually able to ride very well. But nevertheless, if asked if they ever rode a bicycle, they would not remember ever having rode a bicycle, and tell you that they can't until you challenge them to actually try. Then they might say something like, "Oh, i never knew I could do that!"

The brain was able to remember how to ride a bicycle, but not the autobiographical memory, of actually riding one!

I hope I was able to answer some of your questions :-)

Thank you for taking the survey :-)

Survey Answers

I would like to answer some of the questions that were posted on the survey.

So far, I've had 6 people look at the survey, answer the 1st question, ... and give up.

Only one person answered all 4 questions, so I'm going to try and answer one of those questions here.

The questions was, "How can neuroscience solve war and violence?"

The topic of violence is for sure an interesting, and complex one. Preventing or reducing violence is something that many people and organizations have attempted to do. While there are a number a psychological studies that have been done on violence, I would like to attempt an answer at the first part of the question, "How can neuroscience solve war?"

When I first read this question, my first reaction was, "this is not a neuroscience question, it's a political one."

Through evolution, humans have acquired very destructive characteristics. One of my psychology professor told us that humans are the most violent species on the planet. We kill for a lot of many different reasons, not just for food. But if you look at most societies today, people don't go about killing someone everyday. More importantly, most people will never kill anyone throughout their whole life. In other words, while we might be genetically inclined toward great violence and destruction, the constructs of society - our education -, is very successful at preventing the expression of such behaviors.

Now, when it comes to war, the problem is not really a genetic/biological problem. It is more of a cultural/environmental problem. Humans are really good at inhibiting a wide range of behaviors if those behaviors are socially unacceptable. These are learned inhibitions. By learned I mean that the inhibitions are learned from our environment. Babies do not hesitate to hit anything or anyone. But as someone grows older, not only at home, but everywhere, they learn that it is "bad" to hit others. In the same way, they learn that it is "really bad" to kill. Hence, most people go through life without ever killing anyone.

But most cultures do not condemn war. Almost every country on the planet has an army. Almost every country on the planet has "war heroes." Many boy stories are about brave and great warriors. Wars are culturally appraised in most countries.

The ironic thing is some parents might be anti-war and teach their children that wars are bad. And then one day, the boy might ask,"who is Napoleon?" And the parents would answer, "Oh, he was a great war hero!!" Instead of,"He was a horrible man who committed many atrocities."

Can you think of any other war general, commander, president who is considered a war "hero?" (I think you can find many).

So, my final words on the topic, for now, are: from a neuroscience perspective, killings, just like wars, are genetically "engrained" behaviors that can be totally inhibited in most people under the right educational and cultural backgrounds, through learning.

As a parallel to some punishments for murder: if you threaten any soldier about to go to war that if they go they are gonna get punished by death, as well as all there family members,... I doubt many would go.

Neuroscience Survey

Neuroscience Survey

Next quarter I will be a 4th year neuroscience major at UCLA.

Thinking I will soon be finished with my bachelor degree is at the same time exciting and a little scary.

During my time here at UCLA, I have really enjoyed my neuroscience and biological psychology classes. While the study hours are long, the material covered is really interesting.

Thinking about my place as a "Neuroscientist," I would like to know how I can help people with the knowledge that I've gained. I have only one year left here at UCLA, and I would really like to use that time to focus more on what I can give back to people after I graduate, more than one what I can gain for my personal satisfaction (which I have done for the past three years).

Neuroscience Survey

I would like to know what questions you would like answered. If you could ask a neuroscientist any question, what would it be?

I would really appreciate it if you could take this survey: Neuroscience Survey

Thank you !!! :-)

The Little Dream

I would like to write about this great little book, The Little Dream that my friend Jeryl Tan Yu authored, and her sister Richelle Jerika Yu illustrated.

The Little Dream, relates the story of a little girl who struggles to find what she is good at. One day, listening to her heart, she discovers her dream and goes on to achieve it.

Very gently written, and warmly illustrated, this great inspirational children's book will open the heart of every kid and adult who reads it.

It is, for sure, an inspiration to me.

Now, this book is more than an inspirational story. It is also a vehicle of hope for cancer patients, as the money raised from this book will go to a non-profit organization for cancer support groups.

This book is like a little sunshine that will bring hopes and smiles to every child and adult who reads it, and to cancer patients in the Philippines. It goes on sale July 15th, 2010.

Shock, and Life Crisis

I just turned 27 a few days ago, and it broke me down. I am still a student, have no work, no money, no successes. I was ashamed of myself beyond measures I could have imagined. From black hopelessness, some of it turned into anger. I decided that by the time I was 30 I would be financially independent, and living my life with purpose.


A few days later, I needed a break from studying for finals, and went to Borders. There I stumbled upon a book by Jack Canfield, "The Success Principles."


Since I have nothing to loose, and I really want to turn my life over, I decided to apply some of his principles to my life.
Yesterday, I started with the "Total Truth Letter" exercise and had some success with it. It seems that it released a lot of energy since I later was able to finish a number of tasks without even being tired (Usually I give up in the middle of one of those "chores").


Today, I felt down and blue again, and I realized that there was still some anger and resentment, particularly towards myself. I really hate myself for all the undecidedness and fear that prevent me from moving and being able to make choices. While I don't think I have completely come to term with this issue, I decided to commit myself (100%, no exception) to remembering all of my past successes followed by "The Forgiveness Affirmation", everyday, for a period of 13 weeks.


Even if I do not know what I want, even if I do not know how to achieve anything, to the least, these affirmation should help break my self defeating habits, and empower me with more confidence!


I want to change, and I will make myself change!

"Life Energy"

I was reading some articles on the net about new technologies used for cell imaging, and techniques used to measure a cells vibrational frequencies (Read these two really interesting articles from MIT if you are interested in the subject: (3D cell imaging, vibrating cells).

Anyway, I stumbled upon a more theoretical question in physics, "Are we seeing energy changing into matter on Earth?"

Basically the answer is yes. Take a coin, flip it, measure its weight. The flipping coin has more weight than the resting coin. No matter has been "added", it is just heavier because of the higher energy.

I was about to look at other articles when I made the connection with something I was told some years ago.

Apparently (but I do not know if the experiment has been replicated) a physician measured the weight of patients before and right after they died. The results indicated that on average a human loses 21 grams the second it dies.

I was wondering if this loss of weight could be due to a loss of energy??? Nothing else changes at the instant of death, so could the change in mass be simply due to less energy? Could this be called "life" energy? (the energy that differentiates a living tissue from a dead one?)

Health Benefits of Bananas

Yesterday my mom sent me an article in French about the health benefits of bananas. I didn't know bananas could be that healthy!

(picture)

Here are some health benefits of bananas:

1. For Students

First and foremost, what interests me as a student relates to having good grades. A study was done in England on 200 students who had to eat bananas for breakfast, lunch, and as a snack. Apparently, the grade average improved, and the research argues that the potassium contained in the bananas could be the explanation. Potassium improves concentration and alertness. (I tried to find the study, but wasn't able too...)

2. Bowel Movement

This part actually surprised me a lot. I grew up being taught that bananas can really make you constipated. So when I read about the students who had to eat at least 3 bananas a day, I was really worried about their bowel movements.

Well, it seems that contrary to what I had been taught, bananas actually promote smooth bowel movements!

After further research on the internet I found that bananas are very often used as a mild laxative.

(An Indian suspect in India was enven forced to eat 50 bananas as a laxative. See this article from BBC).

3. General Health

Potassium in bananas also help with muscle growth and lowers blood pressure, vitamin B6 regulates blood glucose levels, and iron contributes to a good anemic number.

4. Mental Health

Bananas have been shown to reduce depression symptoms as well as seasonal disorders.

With so many health and mental benefits, I think that eating bananas is sure way to stay healthy could be the highlight of the day for anyone on a diet :-)

PS: Never put the bananas in the refrigerator!

What Should I Do with my Life

I was reading a book I found at the UCLA bookstore: What Should I Do with My Life, by Po Bronson.

I would like to quote a passage that I liked in answer to the question, "What is the good life?"

"To so many of the students coming through here, the good life is a house with a detached garage big enough for a Land Rover that can cary their three kids to the mall."

"Not to Aristotle. The good life wasn't something you owned, it was the skills you mastered. The good life wasn't to own a big home, but to aspire to being a master builder. Not to have three kids and a fluffy dog, but to aspire to be a great parent."

For some reason, I feel that living in such a way brings integrity back to work, and back to life.

Get Back in Shape

I am enjoying Kendo practice, but I think I would enjoy it much more if I could get back in shape first. Right now I have difficulty completing the arm up exercises. And then I am muscle sore for the next 3 days. I was thinking that it would be nice to finish the warm ups, and still have some energy left :-)

So, my goal for a while is to train until I am able to finish the warm ups.

Drawing

This post is a flash back of when I was younger. If I remember well, it was a time before I had the responsibility to choose what I wanted to do with my life, and when I still had the time to indulge in doing what makes me happy.

When I was young I used to draw and make model kits. These were two of my favorite things to do. I would spend hours on a drawing/painting, or on a model kit. And then I would give them to my family or to friends. Sometimes friends asked me to make a drawing for them too. They always seemed really happy when I gave them a drawing I made.

Since I decided to go into the medical field, it seems that every moment of my waking hours was supposed to be spent on learning about the meaning of life or gaining knowledge into the workings of a part of the human body.

Somehow, "I" decided that spending time drawing or making model kits (or the money to buy models) was an insignificant way to spend time. That it was just a frivolous thing to do, when that time could be used to do "Really" important stuff.

For the past few days I've been really tired with studying. Studying at UCLA takes so much energy and time, and the pressure to keep my GPA competitive is not helping...

Anyway, it's the middle of the quarter, so it's "normal" to feel tired :-)

Circadian Rhythms: Sleep at Night

So, You took the plane, you arrived at destination, but your body is not quite adjusted to the local time yet. The first 2 days after arrival you felt pretty good about yourself, because even though you didn't sleep the whole night, you still felt like you were ok. But now it's the 3rd or 4th day,..... and you're really tired, feeling kinda blue, and you just can't seem to sleep enough!

What can you do to fall asleep and wake up at the appropriate time???

Let's go back to your biological clock. Like I said in a previous post, your biological clock regulates your metabolism (when to sleep, when to wake up, when to eat, when to realease testosterone, cortisol, melatonin.....) and it has a feedback mechanism from the environment. Which means that if the sunrise and sunset rhythms change, step-by-step your body is going to adjust. In the same manner, if your eating pattern changes, step-by-step your body is going to adjust its internal clock.

The following is a number of tricks you can do to help your body adjust more quickly:

1. In the morning, around 7 or 8 am, get out of bed, open the curtains and sit in the sun (or in a bright place with natural sunlight) for about 30 min. This should start your biological clock, stop the release of melatonin (the sleep hormone) and push your body to get ready for the day.

2. Make sure your body warms up during this time. (That's why sitting in the sun is a good idea). Usually, the body warms up at the end of the night. A rapid increase in body temperature (of about 1 degree celcius, or 1.8 fahrenheight), through biofeedback, will "tell" your brain that its time to wake up.

3. After the 30 min, eat what you usually have for breakfast. (For those who don't usually eat breakfast, still force yourself to eat something).

Try to eat what you usually have as, through habit, it has become cues for your body about breakfast and what time of the day it is supposed to be. ("new" foods do not carry the same meaning. They could be a snack, lunch, dinner, ... your body does not know).

4. Follow the local time for the rest of the day.

5. At night, eat your last meal at least 2 hours before sleeping. Digestion results in an increase in body temperature which can hinder the release of melatonin--the sleep hormone.

6. 1 hour before sleep time, take a warm shower or bath. There are two reasons for this. The first one is that a warm bath will relax your mind, and release some tension in your body. The second one is that after you leave the bathroom, your body will experience a sudden decrease in temperature. This will signal the brain to start releasing melatonin.

7. 10 min before sleep time, lightly stretch your fingers and toes for 5 min. Lightly stretching them results in more blood being sent to the extremities, where the blood will cool down more quickly, and lower your body temperature even more. As you might have guessed by now, being able to lower your body temperature by about 1 degree celcius (1.8 fahrenheight) is key here.

8. This is also a good time to take a sublingual form of melatonin supplement if you need it. The sublingual form works much faster and much better than any other form as the particles disolve under the tongue and get taken up by the blood stream right away.

9. Sleep :-)

Repeat these steps everyday, and it should speed up your adaptation time. Or general sleep if you have a trouble falling asleep in genereal.

Here are some of the sublingual Melatonin products I recommend. (Please consult with a physician if necessary).

Circadian Rhythms: How to overcome Jet Lag

Besides from a medical or psychological interest in circadian rhythms, another good application of the knowledge goes to overcoming jet lag.

(The plane picture comes from here.)

Let's say you travel to a place which has a time lag of an hour or more with where you live. You will probably experience jet lag. A set of syndromes from an inability to fall asleep or wake up when it's appropriate to fatigue, a blue mood, and a slight loss of memory.

To readjust your body clock to the new time, it takes on average one day per hour of time lag. So, if there is only one hour or two of time lag, it is probably not such a big deal. Your body will adjust itself in a day or two.

If, however, the time lag is of 5 hours, 10 hours or more, a full week or more without adequate sleep can take a toll on your body, and not be such a pleasant experience. (Specially if your vacation only lasts a week, and you have to go back after 7 days.... another week to get readjusted --> that gives at least 2 weeks without adequate sleep!)

What can you do to speed up the process??

There are two mechanisms that control your circadian rhythm: sunlight and food.

Here, I am only give you a step-by-step procedure. (If you are interested in how sunlight and food act together in controlling the body's biological clock, read the next article I am going to post.)

1. Some people recommend "getting used" to the new time before you take the plane. This is probably a bad idea! You are just going to make your body more tired and mess up you sleep pattern earlier than it should be. No, before your trip make sure you sleep well and are well relaxed and full of energy. You want to be able to be as healthy as possible on arrival.

2. This might be the hardest part, specially if you are on a 12 hour flight or more, but it is the most important! I'm serious. Do Not Eat Anything in the Plane!! The hunger and fast will kinda "reset your biological clock to 0." Afterwards, your "eating" clock will adjust to the time of the first meal you take.

3. If you can sleep in the plane, great! If you can't, just close your eyes and try to "keep in the dark." We also want the "sunlight clock" to be reset to 0.

4. Drink more water than usual in the plane. There is inherent stress with traveling, and the AC environment is pretty dry. So just drink plenty of water to keep yourself hydrated, and help your body get read of the stress' toxicity.

5. When you arrive at destination, follow the local rhythm right away. Do not sleep if it is day time, and only eat your first meal at the right time. (but don't eat breakfast if it's the afternoon, or vice versa. Eat a "real," full, local time, meal.)

6. If you really can't stay awake, take a 15~20 min nap... as many as you need, but make sure to stay awake at least one hour and a half between each nap.

This is for the "travel time" part of adjusting to jet lag. If you are still having some problems falling asleep at night, there are some other tricks you can do. Please come back to this blog and read the following posts.

Circadian Rhythms

In humans, circadian rhythms are set to about 24.5 hours. The circadian rhythm is the internal clock that regulates the body's metabolism. If some people are left in a completely dark basement for a week, they will wake up each morning about half an hour later. (For some people this is what happens during the week end).

How does the circadian rhythm work?

In a very simplified schema, this is what happens:

The biological clock is reset every morning at dawn by having sunlight excite a system of cells responsive to light: the photosensitive ganglion cells. These cells are different from the rodes or cones used in vision, as with them you wouldn't be able to see anything. (image)

Once the photosensitive ganglion cells are activated they send electrical impulses via the use of melanopsin, to a part of the brain, the suprachiasmatic nucleus (in the hyppothalamus), who's role is to regulate hormone secretions in the body.

Now, at a genetic level, in the morning a set of genes are expressed, forming diamers (two molecules working together) in the cytoplasm. At night, those same diamers go back in the nucleus and turn off the transcription process. (For a more scientific article on a sleep disorder related to gene transcription look here).

I believe that more research on circadian rhtythms in humans might lead to a big improvements of health (by restoring healthy metabolism) and mood disorders.

There is another very interesting blog on the subject: look here.

UCLA Circadian Rhythm Research

Today I listened to a presentation given by Professor Colwell of UCLA about his research on circadian rhythms.

Circadian rhythms are really interesting as they affect every cell of the body. They affect your metabolism, general health, mood.....

What I found particularly interesting was the fact that disruption of circadian rhythms, in mice for example, can induce type II diabetes, mood disorders, cardiovascular diseases, memory loss (on humans, the subjects can learn, but not remember afterwards), and cancers (predominantly breast cancer).

When looking at mood disorders or neurological disorders, one of the first symptom that bothers patients is the inability to sleep regularly. In the case of Parkinson's disease for example, sleep disorders occur up to 15 years before other symptoms. One of Dr. Coldwell theories relates to whether treating circadian rhythms could offset the appearance of other symptoms of Parkinson's.

As a side note, other labs are conducting research on how night shifts affect nurses, and the prevalence of cancers.

Dr. Coldwell is a faculty at the UCLA school of medicine in the department of psychiatry.

he is currently conducting research on circadian rhythms.

Hobbies and Past Time

This is an exert from the book "A Meaningful Life" by Nikkyo Niwano.

For someone who cannot find fulfillment in his/her job, if the hobby is not well chosen his/her life might be insipid.

He (she) must choose his hobby or leisure past time carefully with the following criteria in mind. First, it must be something worthy of his total devotion, something to give meaning to his life. Second, it must be something with appeal to last a lifetime. Third, it must be something that, while elevating his own personality, makes a contribution, even a small one, to the world at large.

If you are like me, you will probably find these statement very eloquent, but not really answering your questions. I think anyone would like to find meaning and fulfillment in what he/she does.

But it seems that to me and the people around me it its the first part, that "meaningful" something, that is hard to find; be it as work or past time.

While I don't know if it is "meaningful" , or "makes a contribution to the world" to me Kendo seems to be an answer that matches most points. It is meaningful in the sense that it provides for physical exercise that I don't get anywhere else. It offers a "mental education/strengthening" in that particular way Japanese martial arts do. Also, providing I have a Kendo club close to where I live, I can pursue Kendo for as long as my body lets me. Finally, if I do get better at at Kendo, I suppose I could make my "small contribution" by helping new people at Kendo. (Image taken from this website.)

Lotto

What would you do if your dream depended on winning the lotto? Would you keep on playing against all odds?

If I was asked this question, I would probably reason that playing the lotto is the most unreasonable idea, and probably the best way to waste your life waiting for something that may never come (and possibly loosing a lot of money in the meantime).

However, this is what I am doing. Really, the only way for me to get into Med school is if I get the Green Card (diversity visa). The only way for me to get the Green Card is through the annual (once a year) "lottery" administered by the US government. That is, out of 13.6 million qualified entries 50 000 will be randomly picked and receive a green card (see results for 2010 applicants.)

The reason why I need this Green Card is because only 50 medical school in the US would even consider the application of an International student. Furthermore, for visa purposes, I need to show that I have enough money to pay for all expenses prior to receiving my visa, and without any loans... I just don't have that money....

So, what do I do? If I don't "win" this year (the results will be out in July), I will have to either leave the country (if I "win" I will receive the visa one year later) or be employed (and work visas are really hard to get...)

1. Do I keep on expending time and energy on the MCAT and med schools, hoping that somehow I will win the Lotto? (And if I don't leave the country with nothing much to show.)
2. Or do I put med school in the background, and focus on a different career path (research?) keeping an open mind in case I do get the Green Card.

Option #2 seems the most reasonable, but I just don't know what else to do... The reason I went back to school after my architectural license was to become a doctor. I want to be there, directly helping someone.

Kaplan Free Medical School Insider Event

I received an e-mail from about a Kaplan Free Medical School Insider Event live event online on how to get into med school. Apparently it is a one time only thing on Tuesday, May 11th at 7:30 pm Eastern time. (That makes 4:30 pm on the west coast :-)

According to the website, the live event will cover the following topics:

Medical school admissions officers, alumni, and students will discuss:

• The most important medical school admissions factors
• Strategies for creating a successful medical school application
• Which medical schools you should apply to
• Evaluating career options while you're in medical school

While the purpose of this event is to get prospective MCAT applicants to enroll in the Kaplan prep courses, I believe it is a good opportunity to get some information.

I also think it is a really good opportunity for international students living outside of the US right but planing to attend a US medical school to get some insight on the whole process.

So if you are interested, join for free: Kaplan Free Medical School Insider Event

For More information, also visit this forum from studentdoctor.net

From the Creator of Wikipremed Himself

It can be a difficult choice to choose between MCAT prep-courses. That is specially true when you decide to study on your own.

Now, in a previous post, I talked about Wikipremed. Some people might wonder if a free website is all that reliable when it comes to a big money market such as the MCAT. Being a student myself, I am not the best person to answer that question, so I decided to copy some words from the creator of Wikipremed himself. (The original post can be found here.)

Before I do that, I would like to comment that since 2009 when the original post was written, the videos have been added, and they a great way to catch up on the basic concepts. In them he also goes over some problems and solves then step-by-step.

So here it is:

/-------------

Hi Everyone,

This is John Wetzel. I'm the creator of WikiPremed. I noticed some visitors inbound from this post, so I thought I'd drop in and give my point of view on the progress of the site.

How you prepare for the MCAT is a big choice. Whether Kaplan, Princeton Review, a website like mine, the creators of your method for MCAT are like guides you hire on a long journey. A family heading out on the Oregon trail in the 19th century had a big choice in choosing their guide to get them across the continent. Would the guide be able to get them across the Plains? Across the Sierras? Do they really know the way? There is a lot of fear in the decision.

A big problem in MCAT review is that, for the most part, everything is private and proprietary. There is no peer review. A big reason why I decided to spend over a decade on this project is that the general lack of accountability in the field has led to poor quality in my opinion. I don't feel that current offerings come close to helping students realize their true potential. My feeling is that preparing for the MCAT gives a student the opportunity in comprehensive review to get further in understanding, to go deeper, not just to recapitulate the 101 curriculum, but to unify your scientific understanding within a structured knowledge base, where your chemistry comes out of your physics, and your biological sciences stand solidly on your physical sciences, so I have my opinion of the quality of the standard fare, the courses, the books, and all that, and for the most part (with a few exceptions), I feel like it's not all that ambitious or effective.

What are my credentials? I made a 38 on the MCAT in 1994. I am a Stanford graduate. As an MCAT instructor, I taught small groups of students about a course I created in a small company in Atlanta called MCAT Academy from 1994 to 1998, about fifty teaching cycles. Since 1998, I have gotten up in the wee hours every morning and worked to build WikiPremed. For phases of the project, I have said, this will take me two years, that will take me three years. I am a real live crank in the basement.

Is Wikipremed reliable? No! It's not finished. It's not all there yet. Next year . . .

This is not to say you could not structure your program based on the site. Plan a study cycle through the topics in their order on the site, the 'All Sciences' order, and read the coaching discussions that go along with that (about 900 discussions), and you will understand your physical and biological sciences more deeply.

At least make it through the Physics Learning System (500 concept and question flash cards). These took me 3 years to create. I am certain that this work represents the best preparation for the physics on the exam.

The organic mechanisms and explanations are also very good, and also the crossword puzzles, the physical science problem sets, and the question server (for building conceptual vocabulary). But things are a bit undercooked. With the organic mechanisms, for example, I need to add a function to highlight the 25 mechanisms that you NEED TO KNOW backwards and forwards (free radical halogenation, electrophilic addition of X2 to alkenes, SN2 substitution, aldol condensation, etc), so that you can relax a bit about the other 50, which you need to be familiar with. Right now there isn't any guidance to save a student from the feeling that they need to memorize Hoffman rearrangement. So there's a great deal of work to do.

Also, an entire free video course is coming soon. Hopefully within the the next couple of weeks these will start rolling out. For the viewer of the video course, it will be as if you are participating in a small group course. About half of the raw recordings are done. Now I need to do editing and rendering. Hopefully the whole course will be online by mid summer.

Next year, I hope to be able to say, yes, you can completely rely on WikiPremed as the best preparation for the MCAT. At WikiPremed, nothing is for sale at the site now, but to be straightforward, the business model will depend on students purchasing a couple of printed items while participating in the course, but almost everything for sale will be in a free form on the site in digital form, so we'll see how that goes! For the Physics System, for example, having the actual cards seems to allow for a different kind of attention than the online view, so I'm hopeful at least of the site becoming a decent business. Purchases will not serve as barriers though. It is a central mission of mine that anyone anywhere in the world will be able to go to WikiPremed and receive a solid education in the concepts of undergraduate physical and biological sciences without paying any money. I'm going to try to keep advertising very minimal.

In summary, while WikiPremed is not complete, for now, I think you can help yourself by using the site as a supplementary study vehicle and as a guide for your overall strategy. If you take the time with the syllabus (which isn't finished) and study the topics in the main cycle sequence of WikiPremed, you will find yourself making the connections in your scientific knowledge base corresponding to the superior understanding that goes with a great MCAT score.

Good luck everybody! Write to me some time.

John Wetzel

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(Again, the original post can be found here.)

Personally, I think it really is a great website, and you can complement your self-study with the Examkrackers Mcat Complete Study Package

so I think it's really comprehensive.

MCAT self-study

In a previous post I wrote that one of my goals for this year was to study for the MCAT. For monetary reasons, I plan to self-study for the MCAT.

The following is the main tool I plan to use for this purpose:

I found a really useful website for people like me who want to study on their own for a minimum price: Wikipremed.

Wikipremed is completely free and open to all. It contains video tutorials, a step-by-step "module" approach, and practice problems meant to guide you through every step of your review.

Studying for the MCAT alone can seem like a daunting task. "Where do I start?" "What books should I use?" "What is the best timetable to review everything?".

Using a system like wikipremed can help you save time (from making the schedule yourself) and energy (you don't have to worry about whether or not you are on the right track, ...)

The video tutorials are meant to not only offer a basic review of the important concepts for the MCAT, but they also try to connect the different concepts (physics, chemistry, ...) together.

The "homework" consists of word puzzles, practice problems, and practice problem from the Examkrackers series.

My Three Goals

I've decided to focus my life around 3 things:

1. Keep my grades high and improve my GPA - Having good grades reflects who I am, boosts my self-confidence and keeps many doors open for the future.
2. Study for the MCAT - Good MCAT scores open the door to med school.
3. Practice Kendo - I really enjoy it, it keeps my stamina up, relieves stress, and builds my character.

I would like to do this by spending as much free time as I have on one of these three topics.

What is meaningful?

While talking with a friend, I realized that the word "meaningful," when referring to life, could mean very different things to different people.

Here are a number of possible "meaningful lives":

• To acquire a skill that has the capacity of influencing a large number of people.
• Saving/helping many people.
• Doing something so incredible that your name is remembered by history.
• To be able to sustain one's family.
• ...

When I wrote down the title of this blog, my idea of a meaningful life was somewhat different. In order to explain this feeling, I need to regress a little into the chain of events leading to the creation of this blog.

I am a "successful" student. I study well and get good grades. I do what I am supposed to do (as a student) when the time is right. I can set goals, make plans, and follow them. But somehow it does not make me happy. It is true that achieving a goal, or finishing a project makes me feel good about myself (for sure much better than if I had failed). But it does not make me happy.

During the whole process I know how to "make myself" interested and find reasons why what I am doing is so cool. The problem is, ... I feel empty inside.

For sure this is not the feeling one would expect from a fulfilled, meaningful life.

I realized that, from a very subjective point of view, it is not what I do that makes me feel fulfilled, but how I feel while doing something.

Helping a handicapped person open a door, is more fulfilling to me than sitting down the whole day in front of a computer in a stable, well paid job (I am an architect too).

So I ask myself this question, " In life, what do I have but my feelings? What do I carry around with me, what follows me everywhere, around every corner, every moment? It's the way I feel. Day or night, awake or asleep, feelings are living at the same speed as I am. For as far as I am concerned, I cannot distinguish my conscious experience of life from the way I feel. My feelings are who I am. They are the ink telling the story.

Those feelings are influenced by my actions, by what I do and how I choose to live my life.

So to me a meaningful life is not an evaluation of what I've done, but how fulfilled I've felt.

The Beginning

Living is magical... but it doesn't always feel this way.

I decided to go back to college because I wanted to learn a skill, or something that would answer my need to live a fulfilling life.

However, after the first year of great interest in my classes, fatigue kicked in and the interest got lost under the weight and pressure of studying for a grade (an A, and nothing else).

Boredom filled the space outside of study hours and I erred completely oblivious to that filling of awe and fulfillment that I was aiming for.

Almost two years later, it feels like I am on the verge of waking up from this wandering.

Somehow, recently, I remembered that there was a time when "being the best", "making the most money as I can in life" were not my main preoccupations. I remembered that there was a time when I did what I wanted because it felt that that was ME. This feeling of authenticity with myself was so strong that I thought nothing would prevent me from being happy.

Shortly after this episode, I stumbled upon a book, "The Meaningful Life" by Nikkyo Niwano.

This is The Beginning of this blog. While I am still a student, and while I am still aiming for As, I want to spend some time, regularly, to focus on the things that somehow "resonate" in me and drive my passion for Life.

If you are reading this post, I'd be happy to read about your thoughts. Just drop a comment :-)