Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings April 2014, Volume 27, Number 2 | Page 104

OPPORTUNITY ON MARS
On January 24, 2004, the rover Opportunity landed on the
Martian surface, and 10 years later it is still going strong (19).
Opportunity has finally spotted a place where the conditions
were once hospitable to living organisms. The first such site,
a complex of lake beds and streams, was revealed by NASA’s
Curiosity rover that landed on Mars in mid 2012. It is just
unbelievable to me that this rover is still roving 10 years after
it started on Mars. These kinds of accomplishments humble
medicine.

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William Clifford Roberts, MD
10 February 2014
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Becker GS, Elias JJ. Cash for kidneys. Wall Street Journal, January 18–19,
2014.
Vance A. It’s faster to grow a kidney up here than down there. Bloomberg,
December 2–8, 2013.
Associated Press. Nine receive transplanted wombs. Dallas Morning News,
January 14, 2014.

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Associated Press. Woman, 58, to give birth to grandchild. Dallas Morning
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Alsever J. Trouble falling asleep? Ways to wind down faster. Wall Street
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Hellmich N. Obesity rate in USA levels off. USA Today, October 18,
2013.
Jalonick MC. Favorite foods are getting less fattening. Dallas Morning
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Guthrie A. Latin America’s public enemy #1: junk food. Wall Street Journal,
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50 years later, war against smoking aims at teens. USA Today, January 9,
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Chretien K. Lessons from 23andMe home tests: self-testing is the future.
USA Today, January 9, 2014.
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Brombert V. Musings on Mortality: From Tolstoy to Primo Levi. Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 2013 (188 pp.).
Greenberg J. A Feathered River Across the Sky: The Passenger Pigeon’s Flight
to Extinction. New York: Bloomsbury, 2014 (304 pp.).
Donlan TG. Poverty and measurement. Barron’s, January 13, 2014.
Noonan P. Our selfish ‘public servants.’ Wall Street Journal, January 18–19,
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Reader comments
Dear Dr. Roberts,
Just a quick note to say I always enjoy the Proceedings, but
especially so for the January 2014 issue. I liked the inclusion of
the tribute to Marvin and Bob Mennel’s words, and also your
good interview with Sabrina Dean Phillips—her remarks about
Baylor dovetailed nicely with the tribute. I’m going to send on
your interview and the White Coat Lecture to my grandson,
who’s considering medicine as a career, and I thought your
“Facts and Ideas from Anywhere” column especially relevant,
having just returned from 2 weeks in Antarctica!

Dear Dr. Roberts,
Thank you for publishing Dr. Donald Knowlan’s White
Coat Lecture at Georgetown University Medical School in the
Proceedings. It really is an inspiring piece, and we never would
have seen it had you not published it. I am making sure that
many of the Georgetown people I know have the chance to
read it.
—Jim Ronan, MD
Washington, DC

—Joe VanderVeer, MD
Devon, PA

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Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings

Volume 27, Number 2