Tag: Anticipatory socialization
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The cosmonaut’s body: Medical politics and Soviet space medicine
Martine MussiesUtrecht, The Netherlands When Yuri Gagarin orbited Earth on April 12, 1961, his body represented more than human achievement—it embodied a radical reimagining of medicine’s role in space travel.10 The Soviet space program transformed cosmonauts into living laboratories where medical science, political ideology, and… Read more
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From genocide to dream: The journey of a Rohingya refugee student
Mohammed SirajKutupalong Refugee Camp-7, Bangladesh I was born in a small village called Nanther Daung, near the Myanmar-Bangladesh border. My family and the entire Rohingya community have faced discrimination, persecution, political exclusion, and genocide in Myanmar for more than seventy-five years. Following the 1962 military… Read more
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Premature burial in literature
Nothing is more terrifying than the thought of being buried alive, of being wrapped in a shroud, bound hand and feet, with no way to escape. This thought has long haunted human imagination. It was a real possibility before and during the 17th to 19th… Read more
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Of bears, danger, and medical wonders
Bears are formidable animals, unbeatable in strength and resilience, some weighing over a thousand pounds. Some grizzly and polar bears reach massive sizes and with their muscular build, sharp claws, and powerful jaws can kill their prey swiftly and efficiently. Although bears are powerful and… Read more
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Book review: The Science Lover’s Guide to London
Arpan K. BanerjeeSolihull, England London, one of the great capital cities of the world, has over the centuries provided writers with inspirational material for both fiction and non-fiction. Famous writers in the first group range from Geoffrey Chaucer, William Shakespeare, Samuel Johnson, and Charles Dickens… Read more
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Antonio Vivaldi, the “Red Priest” composer
By the middle of the 17th century, Venice no longer reigned as the naval superpower of the Mediterranean. But with a population of about 150,000, it was still the most elegant and refined city in Europe. Born there in 1676 was one of the greatest… Read more
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Helen of Troy: A literary and historical consideration of her role as an ancient Egyptian healer
Araam AbboudDayton, Ohio, United States Helen of Troy is typically remembered as the woman whose face launched a thousand ships, a passive figure at the center of a patriarchal epic. But to consider Helen solely as the object of desire and the catalyst of war… Read more
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Bells, whistles and rattles: Something to get your teeth into
Christopher DuffinLondon, United Kingdom In the past, teething was seen as a dangerous period in the life of a young child. Nicholas Culpeper (1616–1654), an English herbalist and apothecary, believed that this time of childhood development was a “necessary evil” and that children were in… Read more
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Johannes Brahms: His life and health
The musical world remembers Johannes Brahms as one of the leading composers of the Romantic era. His musical output included four symphonies, concertos, a Requiem, folk songs, Lieder, chamber music, and choral works. Born in 1833 in Hamburg, he lived with his family under poor… Read more
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Criminal physicians
Avi OhryTel Aviv, Israel Several doctors in history achieved notoriety for committing murders or for participating in reigns of terror. They range from the British murderer Hawley Harvey Crippen (1910)1 to Joel Le Secournec,2 convicted in France for crimes against hundreds of victims. The surgeon… Read more
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Edvard Grieg (1843–1907)
In the spring of 1860, a seventeen-year-old student Norwegian student at the prestigious Leipzig Conservatory developed a severe case of pleurisy. He ultimately survived a disease which killed most patients in the pre-antibiotic era, but its consequences were permanent and devastating. A destroyed left lung… Read more