Tweeted and Treated

Tweets, retweets, likes, and mentions – in a world connected by social media it’s much easier to raise awareness of important health issues. The latest news on disease prevention can be passed to millions of people in seconds, and stories of medical breakthroughs give hope, and bring researchers closer to patients. This picture may look like a brain, or a developing embryo, but in fact it’s pure information – a map of Twitter tweets and retweets containing the hashtag #breastcancer. Over an eight week period, 92915 tweets were analysed using data-mining to identify the authors (the dots here), as well as links to other Twitter users mentioned in the messages (lines). This and other examples of health informatics may help universities, research councils and charities to increase the reach of important messages, ensuring news goes “viral” much faster than diseases may progress.

Written by John Ankers

John Ankers

Writer

A former researcher in systems biology, John is now an online biology tutor and professional coach supporting the wellbeing of scientists and NHS professionals. He's writing, too, of course.

Website

• Image by Eric Clarke, Richard Arnett and Jane Burns, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
• Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland
• Image copyright held by the photographers
• Finalist from this year's Wellcome Image Awards