Female Soldiers & PTSD

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and the Female Soldier 02/20/09. As of September 30, 2008 over 200,000 women were serving on active duty in the U.S. military. While women are technically barred from serving in combat they are serving in support positions in combat areas in greater numbers. This new role for women in the military brings with it new physical and mental health concerns, namely post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for those exposed to combat-related trauma. Society for Women's Health Research (SWHR) via Newswise

Prosthetic-arm Engineering

Open Arms 02/20/09. Jonathan Kuniholm, a U.S. Marine engineer officer, was on a patrol in Iraq when an improvised explosive device severed his right arm below the elbow. For the past three years, he has been involved in getting better prosthetic arms into the world. He has worked with the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Agency in its endeavor to make the next generation of robotic arms, but he sees a roadblock ahead for all future arm development. Kuniholm has devoted his life to ensuring that prosthetic-arm development becomes as open source as Firefox and Linux, by harnessing the enormous creative power of the world's gaming community and hobby roboticists. Kuniholm outlines the problem in the March issue of IEEE Spectrum and lays out his ideas for a solution. IEEE Spectrum Magazine via Newswise

Dermatological Diseases Amongst Combat Veterans

Study evaluates types of skin diseases among military personnel who were evacuated from combat zones 02/16/09. Dermatitis, benign moles, hives and cancerous skin lesions are among the most common diagnoses among military personnel who were evacuated from combat zones for ill-defined dermatologic diseases, according to a report in the February issue of Archives of Dermatology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. JAMA and Archives Journals via Eurekalert!