So: what is one to make of Conchita Wurst? I’ve not heard the song that won Eurovision this year, but I’m willing to bet that the world would be a better place if every entrant had been thrown into the Køge Bay before a single note was struck. But that might just be me. Writing in the Telegraph, Brendan […]
Category: Curios
Resurrectionism at Easter
There’s a provocative piece in a recent New Scientist about what happens to unclaimed bodies after death – about, specifically, the practice of coopting them for research purposes. Gareth Jones, who wrote it, points out that the practice has been going on for centuries – but that a consequence of the way it’s done is that it tends […]
Who’s the SilLIer?
It’s funny how things come together sometimes. A few months ago, I mentioned a slightly strange JAMA paper that suggested that non-compliance with treatment regimes should be treated as a treatable condition in its own right. The subtext there was fairly clear: that there’s potential scope for what we might term “psychiatric mission-creep”, whereby behaviour gets […]
So THAT’s where I’ve been going wrong…
Blogging here has been a little sparse for the last few months; I’d like to be able to blame it all on the pressures of work, but this post suggests that it might be otherwise: some combination of not getting up at the crack of dawn, and not smoking, seems to be a factor: Apparently, […]
Under-Treatment, Treated.
Right: file this paper from the JAMA under “Properly Odd”. It’s a proposal that nonadherence to a treatment regime be classed as a treatable medical condition in its own right. No, really. Look at the title: “Medication Nonadherence: A Diagnosable and Treatable Medical Condition”. Starting from the fairly straightforward premise that non-adherence to treatment regimes is “a […]
How Magic can help Teach Students about Medical Ethics
Guest post by Daniel Sokol, KCL For some time, I have been interested in the relationship between magic and medical ethics. Five years ago, I gave a talk in Prague on how to use magic in medical ethics education. More recently, I held a workshop on Magic for Anaesthetists, which touched on ethical issues in […]
Not in any Way Topical.
I know, I know. I keep banging on about the irrelevance of genetics when it comes to families – about why parenthood isn’t a genetic thing. But, actually, now I think about it – Duchess of Cambridge blah blah baby blah… I wonder what, if any, constitutional implications there’d be if the heir to the […]
Winston Churchill and the Spirochaetes
Did you hear the programme about syphilis on Radio 3 on Sunday? If not, you can catch up on it here – and I’d thoroughly recommend doing so: it was superb. One bit in particular caught my attention; it had to do with the use of penicillin to treat the illness during World War II. […]
A bit more on Circumcision
Maybe he should have been invited to contribute to the special edition: Somegreybloke seems to have the debate wrapped up perfectly… […]
Italian Pop Music’s Role in Bioethical Debate
Sadly, the list entitled “Great Moments in Italian Pop” is short; but the entry that must surely be at the top is probably very near the top of the list entitled “Great Moments in All Pop”. It’s a 1972 song by Adriano Celentano. Prisencolinensinainciusol. It’s pure gibberish – a parody of what anglophone pop sounds […]