We live in a time of paradox. In the western world (indeed in almost all countries) life expectancy is increasing. Historically people had to worry about not having enough to eat and having shelter. In western countries, for the vast majority of people these are not...
This year we have lost much musical talent. The passing of Prince is another loss that is being mourned. The sudden nature of his passing has of course led to much speculation. Some has centered on the presence of painkillers in his house or possession. In due course...
In most western countries inflation is under reasonable control. Prices are rising for most consumer goods by 2% or less. In addition to this as technology advances the cost tends to go down. Consider the costs of a mobile phone or computer or car today compared to 20...
A quote from Hippocrates about the role of medicine came to me when considering the case of Oshin and treatment for his cancer – “Cure sometimes, treat often and comfort always”. In 400BC Hippocrates was not able to cure much. Today we can cure some conditions...
There is an old adage which says never let the facts get in the way of a good story. You might think that a scientific pursuit such as medicine would be immune to this type of approach. A large number of medical studies never have their results verified by a...
Last month I wrote about the heat wave in Perth where we had a few days of temperatures over 40oC (104F). It reminded me of the heat waves we used to get when I was a child. Yet one thing had changed. It was no longer a heat wave but a “deadly” heat wave. The doom and...
