We may not know what the first spoken word was, but we can be pretty sure that the first uttered sound (Greek φώνημα) was a phoneme, a unit of sound […]
Columnists
David Kerr: Doctor Google versus the NHS
Apparently one in 20 searches on Google are for health related topics. At the moment typing in a medical condition (such as diabetes) on Google produces links to reputable sites and […]
Jeffrey Aronson: When I use a word . . . First things first
Which words came first? And whence comes “first?” In his Historiai, Book II, Herodotus tells how an Egyptian king, Psamtik (he calls him Psammetichus), undertook an experiment. He entrusted two […]
Julian Sheather: Will the confluence of big data and the genomics revolution lead to a transformation in personalized healthcare?
Will the confluence of big data and the genomics revolution lead to a transformation in personalized healthcare, or are the emperors’ clothes looking a little threadbare? This was the theme […]
The BMJ Today: Start your week by fine tuning your clinical research skills
Most doctors are dedicated clinicians who have worked extremely hard to earn the privilege of practising the art of medicine and caring for their fellow human beings. But there are, […]
Pritpal S Tamber: Interview with Jonathan Stead on transforming disadvantaged communities
It’s pretty well understood that people from disadvantaged communities have more important things to worry about than their health. However, one general practitioner (primary care physician) in the southwest of […]
Neville Goodman: Stemming the rising tide of epidemic proportions
Metaphor is useful. When Malcolm Gladwell wrote about an epidemic of Hush Puppies, no one thought that Hush Puppies were transmissible in anything more than the metaphorical sense. But as […]
Richard Smith: Is the NHS being the top issue in the election a sign of a degenerate society?
Some polls suggest that the NHS is the number one issue for voters in Britain’s coming general election. That’s one reason that the Labour Party has put it at the […]
Jeffrey Aronson: When I use a word . . . Blogging on
What links blogs to logs (wooden ones)? The Sailor’s Word Book: An Alphabetical Digest of Nautical Terms (1867), compiled by Admiral W[illiam] H[enry] Smyth and revised for publication by Vice […]
The BMJ Today: How much do you know about mind altering drugs?
Martin Mckee, a prominent public health academic and a prolific writer for The BMJ, is featured this week in the always entertaining BMJ Confidential. As professor of European public health at […]