The use of antibiotics exerts a Darwinian selection pressure for acquisition of resistance by the target bacteria, and resistance arising anywhere in the microbial world can ultimately be transferred to disease-causing bacteria. In addition, the antibiotic discovery process is now in terminal decline. The golden age of antibiotics took place in the 1930s to 1970s, […]
we are sentient beings capable of choice, and that this is highly valued, but choices are made in context. If the context is a community with no fruit and vegetable shops, but a string of fast-food outlets along the high street, then people choose between one form of unhealthy food and another. If junk food […]
Some good news: Stillbirths have dropped by almost 8% in England since the smoking ban was introduced, research has shown.The number of babies dying shortly after birth has also dropped by almost 8%, according to the study. A team led by Edinburgh University looked at information on more than 10 million births in England between […]
I saw a (private) facebook thread recently were someone had posted a photo of them dropping their child to creche by bike, and saying how much they enjoyed it. There were a lot of likes and a couple of comments in the same vein, but there were also a high proportion of comments pointing out […]
We’ve created an immobile society, avoiding outdoors play, driving everywhere, and sitting constantly. Inserting an hour of ‘exercise’ or moving time is inadequate. Doctors and other clinicians are worried about the problems which may be stored up for the future. Big children, they say, tend to become big adults. Diabetes and cardiovascular disease often follow. […]
Five great tips to help introverts survive in an open plan office: http://www.quietrev.com/5-ways-to-love-your-office/ Well worth trying a few, open plan offices are basically hellish for introverts. All that activity and half heard conversations are basically draining your ‘social’ reserves. Oh, for an office!
Purvi Patel gets 20 years for neglect and feticide. “The first woman to be sentenced for killing a foetus has been handed a 20-year prison term for feticide and neglect of a dependent, despite claiming she gave birth to a stillborn baby. Purvi Patel was bleeding heavily when she entered a hospital emergency room in […]
No need for pills, no mad sessions at the gym, no personal trainers required, no fad diets, just go and do some regular exercise says the Guardian. The report, entitled “The miracle cure and the role of the doctor in promoting it”, points to evidence that exercise prevents a whole range of diseases. “Regular exercise […]
‘Wise mad man gives you the best life advice you will ever get’. […] perhaps he’s full of truth because he is not really crazy (or maybe it’s because he’s the right kind of crazy.) His name is Matthew Silver, a clown and street performer who thinks that playing the role of a raving lunatic […]
Stay young, keep cycling: A study of fit amateur cyclists aged 55 to 79 found that many were physically and biologically much younger than most people of the same age. The 81 male and 41 female participants underwent extensive tests of their heart, lung, neuromuscular, metabolic, and hormonal functions. Their reflexes, muscle and bone strength, […]
