Your WEM Fortnightly Round-Up

Live from WEM26

Know a little one with a big question about space?

On Monday 16th November, from 2:15 to 2:45 pm (GMT), we’re joining Picture News live from WEM26 in Edinburgh. Primary-aged children will get the chance to ask astronaut Mike Barratt and WEM founder Mark Hannaford their questions about life in space.

Got little ones at home or know a primary teacher? Send this their way so their school can join in. Register with Picture News for the live Q&A or to receive the recording details afterwards.

Register with Picture News

Conference Guide

Heading to Edinburgh? Keep your WEM26 guide handy.

Find out which sessions need booking, how to get to Dynamic Earth and where to find the conference app. The guide also has the details for Friday’s Arthur’s Seat community walk and Sunday’s ceilidh.

Save it before you travel and check the latest information on venue access and roadworks.

Read your guide to WEM26

Expedition Research

What would you study on a 650 km desert expedition?

This February, WEM founder Mark Hannaford will lead the Nabataean Traverse on foot and by camel from Dana in Jordan to AlUla in Saudi Arabia. The team is inviting researchers and clinicians to bring questions they can investigate in the field, from how heat and fatigue affect performance to what wearable sensors can tell us when medical resources are limited.

You can join for as little as 10 days. Places are subsidised, with a contribution of US$120 per day towards expedition costs.

Know a colleague you can picture joining the team? Forward this to them.

Register your interest in the Nabataean Traverse

Expedition Medicine

Whose needs does your expedition medical kit cover?

A new letter in Wilderness & Environmental Medicine asks whether the traditional expedition medical kit is fit for women. If you’re putting together a kit for your next expedition, it’s a good prompt to look at what’s on your packing list and what your team might need once you’re in the field.

Read the letter (restricted access).

Space Medicine

Why do blood clots form during spaceflight?

NASA has flagged venous thrombosis as a priority for astronaut health. The Translational Research Institute for Space Health is funding two projects to investigate the risk, as researchers work to understand why clots form during spaceflight and what crews can do to reduce the risk.

Read the announcement

Search and Rescue

How do rescue crews measure core temperature in the field?

A new article in Wilderness & Environmental Medicine asks whether UK search and rescue helicopter crews could use oesophageal temperature probes to better assess patients with accidental hypothermia. The authors look at the limits of peripheral thermometers, what it would take to introduce the probes and where more research is needed.

Read the abstract on PubMed