Tag: Vignette
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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 to Virginia Woolf and George Orwell in the twentieth century.…
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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 composers of all time, Antonio Vivaldi. Ordained as a Catholic…
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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 circumstances, began music lessons as a child, and played the…
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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 combined with a visible thoracic spine deformity and permanent respiratory…
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Tchaikovsky: His medical life and his death
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893) composed wonderful symphonies, operas, and ballets, but suffered greatly during his life from an array of medical and psychological issues. His letters and diaries reveal a lifelong struggle with emotional problems that modern medicine would likely classify as depressive or bipolar disorder. He went through frequent periods of melancholy, social withdrawal,…
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The liver in culture and literature
The liver is the largest internal organ in the body. Dark and heavy with blood, it was often viewed as the seat of the soul, the source of passion, a tool to predict the future, or a symbol of suffering and resilience. In Greek mythology, Prometheus is bound to a rock for stealing fire from…
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Pigeons and doves
The deeper you get into pigeons, the more complicated they get. Are pigeons the same as doves? What are squab and what are quail? Which may you eat, which may you feed, and which may you shoot? It seems to depend on where you live. If pigeons spread disease, why are so many allowed in…
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The cow in culture and history
Cows are domesticated bovine animals that have been used in human agriculture for thousands of years. As ruminants they have a four-chambered stomach system that allows them to digest grass and other plant materials that humans cannot process. There are hundreds of cattle breeds worldwide, ranging from dairy breeds like Holstein and Jersey to beef…
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The anti-vaccination movement
The anti-vaccination movement, a diverse coalition that opposes the use of vaccines, represents a serious public health challenge. Amplified by the internet and social media, it threatens society’s wellbeing by contributing to the resurgence of infectious diseases and undermining trust in established science. Its arguments, often rooted in misinformation, personal anecdotes, and distrust of authority,…