A modern-day Stone Age subculture is developing in the United States, where wannabe cavemen mimic their distant ancestors. They eat lots of meat, bathe in icy water and run around barefoot. Some researchers say people led healthier lives in pre-historic times. By Philip Bethge John Durant greets the hunter-gatherers of New York once a month […]
Tag Archives | medicine
Chaos in the Doctor’s Office: Panic in Germany as Swine Flu Spreads
Fear of swine flu is running rampant in Germany as the number of reported cases — and deaths — continues to grow. Doctors’ offices are inundated by people wanting to get the vaccine, which is in short supply. But health professionals are divided over how dangerous the virus really is. Death from swine flu comes […]
Who Needs Berlitz? British Savant Learns German in a Week
Is it possible to learn German in just days? Linguistic savant Daniel Tammet managed to do so in the course of a week. Using his own special technique, the 30-year-old, who has a mild form of autism, has learned to speak more than 10 languages. Daniel Tammet likes the German language. It’s “like a clean […]
The Healing Power of Death
Were Europeans once cannibals? Research shows that up until the end of the 18th century, medicine routinely included stomach-churning ingredients like human flesh and blood. By Philip Bethge According to the recipe, the meat was to be cut into small pieces or slices, sprinkled with “myrrh and at least a little bit of aloe” and […]
‘Little Princess’ and the Bird Flu Mysteries: Tracking the Spread of Avian Influenza
When bird flu reached Turkey, experts thought it was carried from Russia by migrating geese or ducks. So when wild birds migrate to Germany this spring, will they bring the disease with them? Not necessarily, say scientists. Michael Kaatz, who works for a stork reserve in the eastern German city of Loburg, can see the headlines now: “Little Princess Brings Bird […]