The study of centenarians is one of the fastest evolving fields of gerontology. In a seemingly paradoxical counterpoint to their almost inevitable tally of frailties, this group is simultaneously endowed with a remarkable psychological and physical toughness: the meek and the weak have died at earlier ages, rather like the first waves of Mosquitos succumbing […]
Category: Guest writers
Emma Rourke reviews Horizon: Eat, Fast, and Live Longer
There’s a new intervention being trialled. It will help you lose weight, it will delay the potential onset of dementia, and best of all it will enable you to live in the fullest of health for longer. Perhaps the main virtues of this intervention centre on its sheer simplicity: it doesn’t involve putting any chemicals […]
John Davies: “Sexist and ridiculous” synchronised swimming
At the Aquatics, the synchronized swimming events have started. I will get myself into trouble with what I say about these, but to me they are sexist, ridiculous and lacking in any of the artistic merit they strive for. But they are extraordinary displays of athleticism! […]
K M Venkat Narayan: Ten barriers to trans-disciplinary science
On August 2 I attended a stimulating and idealistic meeting on Trans-disciplinary Science for Non-communicable Diseases (NCD) and Global Health that was jointly organized by the Young Professionals Chronic Disease Network (YP-CDN). and the US Institute of Medicine (IOM). A large part of the motivation behind the meeting was a paper published in Global Heart in […]
Richard Smith: An open blog to Prime Minister David Cameron
Dear prime minister, I heard you give an inspiring speech earlier this week about how Britain was “open for business,” particularly in the life sciences. But when I arrived home I found a desperate email from an Indian friend, a professor of cardiology, describing a most awful plight that the British visa system has inflicted […]
Olympic volunteer John Davies: Working with athletes
Working so closely to the athletes, you learn and see things that never appear on the TV screen. Tension must be a problem – these people have worked as long and harder than any doctor did for a professional examination, and we know how tense that can make you on the day. Moreover, that tension is […]
Penny Campling: Thoughts on a healthcare culture—part 2
I recently attended a symposium at the Tavistock Clinic entitled Cultures of Care: Cruelty and Kindness. As the Tavistock is a psychoanalytic institution, there was a lot of focus on understanding the problem and the discussion was complex and challenging with the shameful examples of Mid-Staffordshire, Winterbourne View and the Care Quality Commission’s report on […]
Desmond O’Neill: Bicycle helmets and the medical humanities
Emerson may have been right when he wrote that a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of a small mind, but it always sets my teeth on edge when I see a family out on a cycle excursion with the children dutifully wearing bicycle helmets and the parents gaily unencumbered. Doing as I say but not […]
John Davies: Treating casualties at the London 2012 aquatic centre
John Davies is a consultant anaesthetist in Lancaster, who takes part in motorsport as a competitor and as a rally doctor. He is volunteering as part of the Olympic games medical team in the aquatic centre. Over the next couple of weeks he will be blogging from the Olympic Park about his experience during the […]
Pritpal S Tamber: To inform, we need to enable
Last week I witnessed how information can scare the living daylights out of doctors and managers, and made me wonder whether England’s policymakers have any clue about the real world of its National Health Service (NHS). It started at a fascinating meeting at which a tech entrepreneur was demonstrating a tool that enables localities to better understand […]