Dr. Pascale Lane, 50, is an associate dean and professor of pediatric nephrology at the Oklahoma University Health Science Center. She blogs about science, urine and other topics at WhizBang ( http:// scientopia.org/blogs/whiz bang ). Follow her on Twitter as @phlane ( http://twitter .com/phlane ). Questions and answers have been edited.
Q: Urine is a central topic on your blog. Why?
Urine does not seem important until you cannot make it. Normal kidneys can take all the fluid out of the blood approximately 60 times each day, retain the good stuff, and put the bad stuff out in a small volume of fluid directly related to how much we take in. Kidneys do not put out those wastes and extra materials on a fixed schedule; they can assess what needs to be done and just do it.
Q: You're a huge proponent of the use of social media in science. Why?
The Internet is our collective brain and the first place most people turn for information.
We doctors, scientists and other experts have a responsibility to put good information out there for people to find when they need it. Anyone can post anything online; if our patients keep finding bad information, we need to help repair that problem.
Second, the next generation looks to the online world first. If we established "experts" do not reach out to them the way they want, they will not change their ways. They'll just ignore us.
Q: How can patients take best advantage of the growth of blogging by doctors and researchers?
The growth of doctor blogs allows patients to see some of the thought processes of physicians, especially when new trials or therapies become available. We used to have our journal club discussions in conference rooms away from the public; now (the public) can see us questioning methods, patient mixes, conclusions and other details.
Patients will also notice the sheer volume of information and opinion available. Patients have one case of one disorder to worry about; their doctors cannot be quite that focused.
Patients should read about their health issues and discuss what they find with their doctors. They might find information their doctor missed, or they might be reading about something potentially harmful or unrelated. Either way, it gives both patient and doctor a better understanding of each other.
