The European Research Council (ERC) unanimously elected Prof. Helga Nowotny, an eminent social scientist, as the new ERC President on February 19th, 2010. Helga Nowotny is currently the ERC’s vice-President. […]
Editors at large
Birte Twisselmann: Learning to tweet
I have never thought of social networking tools as something that might be terribly relevant for me. I cancelled my Facebook account because the number of ensuing emails annoyed me. […]
Peter Lapsley: Whither the general physician?
From this patient’s perspective, the ‘Easily missed’ and ‘Diagnosis’ series begun in the BMJ last year are particularly welcome. Many physicians are described informally as ‘diagnosticians’ but, as a layman, […]
Georg Röggla: Peter Sawicki’s dismissal
Nutrition in Critical Care Medicine was the main topic in the lectures at the ‘Wiener Intensivmedizinische Tage’ in Vienna (February 10th to 13th, 2010), one of the biggest ICU meetings […]
Helen Jaques: Halfpipes and helmets – how Olympic athletes could reduce head injuries in skiers and snowboarders
The Winter Olympics this year in Vancouver have been particularly gripping, and not just for the close finishes on lots of the events. Thanks to the poor conditions, even the […]
Domhnall MacAuley: Bishops, doctors and, God
Remember being called to the headmaster’s office? Of course not. All you doctors were goody-goodies, never misbehaved. But, when I see the 24 Irish Bishops summoned to Rome after publication […]
Helen Jaques asks what makes a good doctor?
Back in 2006 the British Medical Association asked almost 1,000 doctors what core professional values were most important for the practice of medicine, and the respondents came up with all […]
Domhnall MacAuley: Of melancholy, despair and, Dr Gachet
Dr Gachet has the world weary look of a country GP. His portrait, which hangs in the Musée d’Orsay, always spoke to me louder than Van Gogh’s sunflowers or other […]
David Payne on Sarah Silverman and other TEDettes
US comedian Sarah Silverman courts controversy. She’s outspoken and provocative. After performing at the technology, entertainment, and design (TED) conference I attended in California last week, she deservedly received rapturous […]
David Payne: What the world needs now
The woman who warned me I wouldn’t sleep was right. Even after just one day of talks about technology, entertainment and design (TED) at the Caflifornian conference of that name […]