Tag: Science
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Using bacteria in cancer therapy
Andy TayLos Angeles, California, United States Cancer is a complex disease whose various causes include bacterial infections such as Helicobacter pylori leading to gastric cancer.1 Bacteria, however, can also be used to treat cancer, a treatment so effective against high grade non-invasive bladder cancer that since 1990, it has remained the preferred therapy.2 The history…
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Redefining the war on cancer
Justin SheaOntario, Canada Ever since Richard Nixon declared war on cancer in 1971, the public has been convinced that the only way to deal with the disease is through combat1. But after forty years with destructive remedies such as chemo and immunological therapy failing to guarantee permanent remission, could it be possible that the medical…
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Hume and autism-causing vaccines
Trevor KleeCambridge, Massachusetts, United States In 1998 the British medical researcher Andrew Wakefield announced a startling discovery in one of the world’s most prestigious medical journals, The Lancet. He had found that the Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR) vaccine seemed to have caused both bowel disease and autism in children.1 This was startling because the MMR vaccine…
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Etienne-Jules Marey (1830–1904). The study of movement in the functions of life: eclecticism and inventiveness
Philippe CampilloLille, France “[…] I think, together with Claude Bernard, that movement is the most important act, in that all the functions come into play in order to achieve it.”1 Marey had a long and distinguished scientific career covering more than 50 years, focusing principally on the study of movement. In all its forms, he…
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Lord Howard Florey and the use of visual art in medicine
Vincent CracoliciChicago, Illinois, United States Art and medicine: Skills for creative problem solving Despite similar training, all physicians are not equally skilled in recognizing and solving clinical problems. Those who have been remarkably innovative in their specialty often share similar characteristics with one another. Though gifted in the technical aspects of their fields, many of…
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Lights and shadows and vitamin D
Adriano AngelucciL’Aquila, Italy In his paintings, Edward Hopper shows us a reality that is the result of a rational contrast between lights and shadows. The summer sun illuminates the natural landscapes but cannot penetrate through the large windows of the buildings, which inside look like dark boxes. The characters are often light seekers, but they…
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Histone acetylation a half century later: the modest birth of epigenetics
Beatriz GT Pogo In 1964 I joined the laboratory of Cell Biology of Vincent G. Allfrey and Alfred E. Mirsky at the Rockefeller University as a post-doctoral fellow supported by a Damon Runyon International Fellowship. Early that year Rosemary Faulkner had finished her Ph.D. thesis under Dr. Vincent Allfrey on histone acetylation in isolated thymus…
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Darwin’s ideas: Supported by science
Daniel NebertCincinnati, Ohio, United States This year we celebrate the 156th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s book, On the origin of species by means of natural selection, one of the greatest landmark scientific advances of all time. As the ship’s only “naturalist biologist”, Darwin sailed around the world from England (1831–1836) on the HMS Beagle. His…
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The discovery of oxygen
David PooleMichael WhiteKansas, United StatesBrian WhippPowys, Wales We live submerged in a sea of life-preserving oxygen. As I sit at my desk, my diaphragm contracts rhythmically, powering a breath every four seconds or so. Each breath is barely perceptible – but for the dust particles – tiny whirling dervishes emblazoned by the low winter’s sun.…
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Dream interpretation and insomnia across cultures and history
Elizabeth ScottEdinburgh, Scotland Since time immemorial people have had difficulties in going to sleep. Their treatment, separated by distance and time, by differing climates and life styles, has differed widely in theory but has had an amazingly similar delivery across cultures and history. Ancient Egypt Priests were the medical specialists and those seeking help went…