A call to arms.

Sometimes you find inspiration in the most unlikely of places, but when Stephen Colbert referred to Canada as “Europe with normal toilets,” I almost spat out my drink I laughed so hard. And then I thought, “Hey, he’s right.”

As someone who (like most afflicted with Crohn’s and colitis) can map my runs through San Francisco based on the availability and location of the cleanest and safest public restrooms, I found this piece by Scott Merrill incredibly insightful and 100% accurate: A call to arms: Reboot the public bathroom

If the title and the picture don’t get you intrigued, maybe this quote will: “It is my hope — indeed, my vision — that future generations will cringe in disgust when they hear about the public toilets of the twenty first century.”

Love it. Thank you Scott.

Crohnology.MD

I’ve been a champion of this project since its inception — not to mention it’s run by a friend of mine and my doctor. Big congrats to the Crohnology.MD team who will be working with a Project HealthDesign grant to use ODLs (observations of daily life) to give patients and their physicians a better snapshot of their overall health. Very exciting.

Post-comp depression.

Yes, I too am suffering from post-Olympic withdrawal. No more spandex-clad Apolo Ohno, awe-inspiring McTwists from our beloved Shaun White, or gossip-mag worthy cat-fights from the Alpine ski queens. What is one to do?

Well, if you want to be a champion for genetic research (you know you do) — you can contact everyone you know who has Wegener’s disease (or is the parent or full sibling of someone with WG) and get them to participate in this study: bit.ly/Wegeners_study

Contact Keisha Carrington to find out more = clinicalgenet.research@gmail.com / +1-416-946-4501; ext 3297

The study needs at least 250 more WG patients to donate DNA samples to have sufficient data to develop results. Help make 2010 the year they can complete the study!

Watch the U.S. health care summit live...

...and make up your own mind = nyti.ms/health_care_summit

The medicine I need...

...to live a normal life—a life where I (as a rule) have never smoked, do no kind of illicit drugs, never eat fast food, do not drink soda, exercise daily and eat more vegetables & fruits in a day than the average American does in a week—requires a $150 co-pay every month in the United States (with very good medical insurance). Can that be right?

I didn’t think so either.

Let’s change this, starting tomorrow: the health care summit

Signaling protein identified.

A protein that may help identify proper causes and treatments for intestinal inflammations—like Crohn’s disease—has been found by researchers at UCSD.

More here: BusinessWeek.com
And here: privatemdlabs.com/news