Cats have been pets or living around humans for around 10,000 to 12,000 years ago. This first began in the fertile crescent, a moon-shaped grouping of countries that include the Levant, Mesopotamia, and Ancient Egypt. In modern geography, this includes countries like Lebanon, Turkey, Israel and Iraq. As nomadic humans left Africa, their turning to […]
Photo by Sam Kimber on Unsplash No city is perhaps prouder of its taxis than London—alright, New York’s yellow cabs may disagree—with its black automobiles for hire. Still officially called The Hackney Carriage, these were horse-drawn since the 17th century and became petrol-powered in 1903. Never mind that in the spirit of globalisation, it is […]
Five centuries before Christ, Greece was in its elements. Athens, emboldened after defeating the Persians, was particularly prosperous. With economic comfort, art and literature flourished. But so did philosophy. It was the era of Greek thinkers whose ideas shaped Western civilizations. Patients who have been to my consulting room often comment on my degree certificates—apart […]
Do anti-depressants contribute to superinfections? If one was to consider the marketing billboard of medications, the impact on medical history can be felt in different ways. Some pills literally become pop stars of pills, with global name recognition and hordes of groupies. Towering and life-saving older legends like penicillin originated from a humble mould that […]
From chimps to champs, the savage power of synchronicity Science often beats to the tune of evolutionary history. Humans share a common ancestor with apes such as chimpanzees and bonobos. Evolutionary biology always finds a way to finagle itself into modern biological processes, including thinking. This isn’t fantasy but fidelity—cellular experiences that becomes more than […]
The answer may give you goosebumps. Brian May (Queen), Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin), Joe Elloitt (Def Leppard) are rockstars famous for their long locks. Contemporary country musicians like Keith Urban sport extended manes, and departed legends of music, Michael Jackson and Kurt Cobain, also had hair down to their shoulders. How many bald men that […]
Understanding drug responses is key for both doctors and patients I have often been quoted as saying, “One cannot have bad skin and good health.” Skin merely reflects what lies beneath. I was born in England, and my parents went to India to work in medical mission hospitals, and I studied medicine (and later surgery) […]
Looking back in time brings back mixed feelings: Should we have bought that house? Sold the piano nobody played? What about the lives of our great-great grandparents devoid of modern luxuries? We can treasure moments in time, balance the baggage of our past against our dreams for the future, but we cannot escape time itself. […]