BMC Anesthesiology heads back to Brussels for ISICEM 2014

Tom Rowles on March 10, 2014 at 11:05 am - 0 Comments

BMC Anesthesio logy is once again Brussels bound this year for the 34th International Symposiu m on Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine, which is taking place from 18th-21st March. In between sampling the local chocolate, waffles, mussels and beer, we will also be indulging in the very best that critical care research has to offer, and finding out what’s happening at the leading edge of the field

If you will also be attending and would be interested in speaking to us about your work, or simply discussing what’s going on in the field, then please do let our Executive Editor Tom Rowles know,and we would be happy to organise a meeting.

We look forward to seeing …

Highlights of the BMC-series: February 2014

Simon Harold on March 4, 2014 at 10:00 am - 0 Comments

Suffering Syrian refugees • You are what your gran ate • BMI affects brain volume • A missing piece in skull shape • Cannibal ladybirds • Delayed sleep and depression • What’s in a name? • Subsidised nutrition works

Women’s health: Suffering Syrian refugees

A needs assessment of more than 400 women displaced into neighbouring countries during the current conflict in Syria reports that refugees suffer from poor reproductive health, associated with exposure to conflict-related violence and abuse. Almost 40% of women interviewed experienced complications during pregnancy, whilst almost two-thirds did not seek medical help for conflict-related violence. This report, also covered by the Guardian newspaper, highlights the need for better targeting of reproductive health services in times …

Hiding the truth – how one bird fools another

Christopher Foote on March 3, 2014 at 2:52 pm - 0 Comments

There are many things we might think of when admiring the song birds we see in our gardens and woodlands; their bright plumage, the beautiful singing, the chicks waiting back in the nest. Cunning and duplicitous mind games between birds engaged in a battle of wits? Not so much. Yet research coming out of Finland suggests that common garden birds are capable of just such complex, almost Machiavellian, behaviour.

The rivals

Great tits (Parus major) are a common garden bird found throughout Europe (and a relative of chickadees in America). During the breeding season, the number of eggs laid by females varies considerably, from as few as 5 up to as many as 18. Evolutionary theory tells us females should always …

BMC Medical Imaging at the European Congress of Radiology 2014

fernandomarques on February 27, 2014 at 2:47 pm - 0 Comments

Since 1967, The European Congress of Radiology (ECR) has continued to evolve and grow in stature. Now considered one of the largest radiological meetings in Europe, the ECR attracts more than 20,000 participants from over 100 countries.

Boasting an impressive scientific and educational programme that includes over 300 sessions, 1,500 oral scientific presentations and around 3,000 electronic poster presentations in EPOS™, it is no wonder that BMC Medical Imaging is very excited to be heading to Vienna to attend this year’s ECR 2014 between March 6th and 10th.

If you are attending the conference and would like to discuss the journal or your research, please contact executive editor Fernando Marques.

We look forward to meeting you in Vienna!

The hidden health consequences of civil war for Syria’s women

Kam Marwaha on February 20, 2014 at 9:47 am - 1 Comment

This is a guest blog by Amelia Reese Masterson, currently a Research Fellow at the Center for Research on Population & Health at the American University of Beirut, and co-author on an article published today in BMC Women’s Health.

As a researcher interviewing displaced Syrian women in Lebanon during the summer of 2012, I heard many stories of war, escape, and above all the shock of life as a refugee. “In Syria it is a fast death; here it is a slow death,” one Syrian woman lamented, comparing the two extremes of hardship she and her family had endured.

The conflict in Syria responsible for this refugee crisis began in March 2011 amidst a harsh government crackdown on protestors and …

BMC Obesity launches today

Genevieve Horne on February 19, 2014 at 5:00 pm - 0 Comments

We are delighted to announce that the newest addition to the BMC series – BMC Obesity, launches today.

Tackling obesity is no small task and preventative treatment and managing the condition costs billions of pounds a year. Obesity is one of the major risk factors for many serious conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, various musculoskeletal disorders, and cancers, not to mention other associated debilitating respiratory conditions and psychological issues. To recognise the significance of this growing issue, the BMC series have today launched BMC Obesity, with the aim of further disseminating the work being done in this very important area.

BMC Obesity is broad scope and multidisciplinary and considers articles on all aspects of human obesity across the lifecourse. …

BMC Sports Science, Medicine, and Rehabilitation at the Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine Conference 2014

fernandomarques on February 13, 2014 at 4:46 pm - 0 Comments

BMC Sports Science, Medicine, and Rehabilitation will be attending the 9th national Conference o n Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine that will be held at the Hallam Conference Centre in London on February 18th and 19th. The conference will bring together experts in injury prevention, management, and rehabilitation, as well as diagnosis and assessment in sports medicine. In addition to attending the scientific sessions, Editor Fernando Marques is interested in meeting researchers to the discuss their work and insights in the field.

If you are attending the conference and would like to meet, please contact Executive Editor Fernando Marques (Fernando.Marques@biomedcentral.com).

We look forward to meeting you in London!

Bionanomaterials special series: call for papers

Simon Harold on February 12, 2014 at 10:16 am - 0 Comments

Far from being the stuff of “gray-goo” doomsday nightmares, bionanotechnology is finding reliable and safe solutions to big problems at the small scale, in a diversity of disciplines across medicine, immunology, microbiology, and more. To reflect this, the BMC-series is showcasing the latest advances in this emerging field in a new article collection, to be published later in the year.

BMC Biochemistry and BMC Biophysics invites you to submit to the new thematic series, ‘Biochemistry and Biophysics of Bionanomaterials’

The series will cover topics related to virus-like nanoparticles, DNA origami nanostructures and membrane-based nanopores. We are also particularly keen to consider research on interfaced biosystems, where nanotubes and solid-state materials such as graphene are linked to biomolecules to create new biosensor …

Thank you from the BMC-series

Tom Rowles on February 10, 2014 at 1:56 pm - 0 Comments

The BMC-series acknowledges the valuable work undertaken by referees in the peer review process.

You may have noticed that journals in the BMC-series have recently each started to publish a Reviewer Acknowledgement article thanking all of the reviewers that have given their time to assist the journal during 2013. This is the second year that we have decided to publish these articles, as a way of drawing attention to the crucial role provided by peer reviews in scientific publication.

Many of you reading this may well have acted as reviewers yourselves, or been on the receiving end of their comments. But how often do we (and we include the BMC-series in this) actually stop and think about the purpose of …

Invasion of the cannibal ladybirds!!!

Christopher Foote on February 5, 2014 at 3:29 pm - 0 Comments

Given the severe ecological and economic damage caused by invasive species, identifying what makes some species such effective invaders is of paramount importance. Research published in BMC Evolutionary Biology suggests a new factor in the make-up of a successful invasive species: cannibalism.

The invaders

Invasive species are one of the biggest problems facing the world’s ecosystems. A few accidently introduced individuals can quickly expand into a large population, decimating native species and substantially altering the local ecosystem. In the annals of such invaders, few have been worse offenders than the harlequin ladybird. So called because of the dazzling array of colours the adults display (see pictures above), the harlequin ladybird (Harmonia axyridis) is a native of East Asia and Japan. …