Tag: Spring 2023
-
John E. Fryer, M.D.: A majority of one
Howard FischerUppsala, Sweden “Any man more right than his neighbors constitutes a majority of one.”– Henry David Thoreau Homosexuality was defined as a psychiatric disorder in 1952, in the first edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) of the American Psychiatric Association (APA).1 Because homosexuals could be diagnosed as “mentally ill,” they could be…
-
I’m not a good man or a bad man, I just follow orders
Luisa Alanís SáenzMexico City, Mexico “Shoot, they told me. I obeyed.I’ve always been obedient. By obedienceI conquered my high rank…I’m not a good man or a bad manI just follow orders”1– José Emilio Pacheco (my translation) In 1942, a man designed efficient plans to transport hundreds of thousands of people. Never meeting them, Adolf Eichmann…
-
Lassa: The small town with the mark of death
Patrick AshinzeIrrua, Edo State, Nigeria Little has been written about Lassa, a small town plagued by terrorism in northeastern Nigeria. No one has published even a cursory description of its topography or demography, its markets, schools, infrastructure, or the people who come from it. It is now known only as the site of origin of…
-
Reclamation
Natalie PerlovPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, United States Like many people, my first experience with death was losing a grandparent. I remember my parents organizing my late grandfather’s affairs, noting our religious practice of having as few people as possible touch the body before the burial. Our culture emphasizes community and togetherness in life, yet my grandfather died…
-
Galactagogues in postpartum rituals
Puja PersaudTrue Blue, Grenada, West Indies Having a baby demands drastic changes in lifestyle, eating habits, and sleeping patterns. Many cultures across the world practice postpartum rituals that “allow the mother to be ‘mothered’,” and help to “facilitate the transition into motherhood.”1 For generations, the Indian descendants residing in Guyana of South America have helped…
-
Discovering genius: The neurobiological substrate of intelligence
Helena LjuljZagreb, Croatia “It is by the shape and size of the forehead that we are to judge of the extent of a man’s understanding… When the frontal vein appears distinctly in the midst of a forehead, open, uniform, and regularly arched, it announces extraordinary talent.”1 According to the eighteenth century physiognomist Johann Caspar Lavater,…
-
Ancient remedies for modern times
Vicky LiDallas, Texas, United States “To a synthetic chemist, the complex molecules of nature are as beautiful as any of her other creations.”– Elias James Corey (Nobel Lecture, 1990)1 As the Vietnam War raged through the 1960s, the Northern Vietnamese army faced its greatest foe to date: drug-resistant malaria. Malaria typically causes cyclical waves of…
-
Book review: Pathogenesis: How Germs Made History
Arpan K. BanerjeeSolihull, UK I do not use superlatives lightly, but this is an extraordinary book. It is ambitious in scope and seeks to describe the progress of humanity from earliest times with an emphasis on the role of infectious diseases in our cultural, economic, political, and scientific development. Drawing from disciplines as diverse as…
-
The Foundling Hospital and Dr. Richard Mead
JMS PearceHull, England [Mead] physician who lived more in the broad sunshine of life than almost any man– Dr. Samuel Johnson (Boswell’s Johnson IV. 222) The Foundling Hospital in Lamb’s Conduit Field in Bloomsbury (Fig 1) was established in 1739 to provide a safe home for children orphaned or abandoned, usually because of parental poverty.1 The…
-
The Mind of Covid-19
Terrance JonesChicago, Illinois, United States The Mind of Covid-19 reflects and recalls the one year and two months stuck in my home during the pandemic. Lots of reflection, creation, curiosity, worry, stress, fear, loss, and inspiration. An explosion of color depicts the ugliness of the fight transforming into the beauty of victory. Working in the…