Jennifer Self is doubly happy with the spa-like atmosphere of UMMC Grenada's Imaging Center.

She's happy that when she gets her annual mammogram, she dons a white belted robe instead of a waist-length hospital gown that opens to the front. Self loves the low lighting of the cozy, well-appointed waiting room that's only for those getting that life-saving screening test, where she can sit on a comfy sofa or chair and relax.

But mostly, Self is happy that her patients will enjoy that same experience. She's a mammography technologist in the Imaging Center, which also offers full radiological services from CT scans to X-rays.

“There's no comparison when you walk into this waiting room. It's really calming,” Self said. “Patients are much more comfortable here than going to a hospital for a mammogram.”

Said Teresa McCammon, the lead mammography technologist: “It's less medical and more personal. We want to create an atmosphere where people don't dread having a mammogram.”

It's the leading cause of preventable mental retardation, as easy to stop as saying no to a cocktail, beer or glass of wine.

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, said Dr. Omar Abdul-Rahman, professor of pediatrics at UMMC, are often undiagnosed or misdiagnosed.

Abdul-Rahman was part of the working group that developed new National Institutes of Health guidelines for diagnosing Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, or FASD. The research includes a new definition of prenatal alcohol exposure and guides to evaluating deformities and impairments.

“These new guidelines will be a valuable resource for clinicians to accurately diagnose infants and children who were affected by alcohol exposure before birth,” said National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Director George F. Koob in an NIH news release. “They represent the most data-driven diagnostic criteria for fetal alcohol syndrome and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder produced to date.”

Dr. H. Eugene Hoyme, the main author of the research, published in the journal Pediatrics, was Abdul-Rahman's mentor, and he was mentored by Dr. Ken Jones, considered to be the father of FASD research. So when Abdul-Rahman was offered the chance to join the research, he jumped at the opportunity.

“When the mentor of your mentor is the person who discovered FASD, you want to be a part of the research,” he said.

What the team found was “fascinating,” said Abdul-Rahman. “Evidence of FASD has been seen across the world.”

An astronaut awakes from hypersleep - disoriented and in the dark - to find that her spaceship has been damaged by a meteor shower. She and the crew have only 60 minutes to power up the escape pod, or they will be pulled into the event horizon of a nearby black hole.

This isn't a movie, but it's not exactly real either.  

It's a live-action game called an escape room. The experience is now available to Jacksonians, thanks to third-year student of the University of Mississippi School of Dentistry Clint Sistrunk and his wife, Paulina.

A team of participants enter a theme-based room and are locked in. In order to escape, players must work together to find clues and solve puzzles. Each mini-game encountered leads closer to the key that opens the door. The goal is to open the door and “escape” before the timer runs out.

A number of interesting events is scheduled for the upcoming week at the Medical Center.