What are SNPs? (Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms)

3 billion base pairs in your DNA. So hard to make perfect copies. A single base pair error results in a SNP (Single Nucleotide Polymorphism). There are about 10 million SNPs in the human genome. These SNPs account for differences in appearance, how we develop diseases and how we respond to drugs. This fun cartoon video from 23andMe.com provides a great tutorial and a chance to learn more. Click on the Genetics 101 tab, if you don't go straight to the videos.

Interest Groups - RAGBRAI 2008 (Bike Ride Across Iowa)

Creating interest groups, where like minded staff can identify each other and motivate each other to participate in healthy activities was an idea that generated a lot of interest at our health committee meetings. Examples, were some of the usual suspects like running partners, gym partners, etc. Plus some novel ones, like boxing, golf, ballroom dancing, etc. Anyway, lots of interest, but we need someone to LEAD the activity and get people organized to at least get things started.

So I'll go first. I'm interested in trying to complete RAGBRAI 2008, 20-26 July 2008. Essentially it is a week-long bike ride across Iowa... but fun! Anyone interested in joining me? Publicly committing to participate in a physically challenging event with a fixed deadline, motivates me to exercise. Some basics are below: Link to more info: http://www.ragbrai.org/ragbrai-basics.html

What is RAGBRAI?
RAGBRAI®, The Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, is an annual seven-day bicycle ride across the state. Heading into its 36th year, RAGBRAI is the longest, largest and oldest touring bicycle ride in the world. RAGBRAI is sponsored by The Des Moines Register.

When is RAGBRAI?
July 20-26, 2008. (It is always the last full week of July)

What does it cost?
A week-long rider fee is $125; a week-long non-rider fee is $35. A vehicle permit is $35. Instead of entering for the week, participants may enter for daily wristbands for $25 per day. There is a limit of three days per person for the daily wristbands.

Useful Tools

Here are some tools many find useful. Epocrates for summary information on prescription medicines (Epocrates search box located at top of blog). For drug interactions many patients find Drugstore.com easy-to-use. Some providers prefer more detailed interaction information from Drugs.com. The Medical Letter is a helpful reference, but access to most articles requires a paid subscription. For general health questions, Mayo Clinic Symptom Checker and Mayo Clinic Health Tools, may be helpful. Links to selected tools are in the sidebar.