Tag: Isaac Newton
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William Withering’s botanical microscope
JMS PearceEast Yorks, Hull, England William Withering (1741-1799) (Fig 1) made several important contributions to medicine and science other than his well-known discovery of the medicinal value of the foxglove (Digitalis purpurea). Digitalis1 and diuretics were the lynchpins of treatment for edema and congestive heart failure until the 1990s. Withering found that if he used…
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Book review: The Origins of Modern Science
Arpan K. BanerjeeSolihull, United Kingdom Science and medicine have long been intertwined: many advances in the field of medicine would not have been possible without prior knowledge of fundamental science. It is not surprising, therefore, that a medical historian would also find the history of science fascinating. In this book, Ofer Gal has described the…
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Richard Mead
Arpan K BanerjeeSolihull, UK Richard Mead was born on 11 August 1673, the eleventh child of Matthew Mead, a preacher and somewhat controversial character of his time.1 Matthew Mead was a scholar and Fellow of King’s College Cambridge, although he resigned from the latter post before being expelled by the authorities for the ill will…
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The beauty of nature and the nature of beauty
Michael BaumLondon, England Do not all charms fly / At the mere touch of cold philosophy? / There was an awful rainbow once in heaven: / We know her woof, her texture; she is given / In the dull catalogue of common things. / Philosophy will clip an Angel’s wings / Conquer all mysteries by rule…