X-ray, how it changed our view of the world

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X-ray, how it changed our view of the world

"Sunday, November 8 marks the 120th anniversary of one of the greatest moments in the history of science: an obscure German physics professor’s discovery of the X-ray. His name was Wilhelm Roentgen, and in the six weeks that followed, he devoted nearly every waking hour to exploring the properties of the new rays before announcing his discovery to the world. Within just months, scientists worldwide were experimenting with the newly discovered rays. Roentgen’s discovery and its subsequent revolutionary impact represent one of science’s greatest stories."

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Oliver Sacks & The Brain

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Oliver Sacks & The Brain

"Sacks could write sensitively about religion, including a recent article on the role of the Sabbath in his own life, but in writing about mystical experiences, he typically repaired to his professional lexicon, referring to them as hallucinations – seemingly authentic visual and auditory experiences traceable not to any external reality, but only to the brain itself. Sacks had witnessed in many of his patients the depths of human longing, including a deep hunger for God, but to him they revealed truths only about our own psyches."

 

Photo Credit -© Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons

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Reconsidering Body Worlds?

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Reconsidering Body Worlds?

"When Dr. Gunther von Hagens started using “plastination“ in the 1970s to preserve human bodies, he likely did not anticipate the wild success of the Body Worlds exhibitions that stem from his creation. Body Worlds has since hosted millions of visitors to its exhibits, including six spin-offs. The offshoots include a version on vital organs and another featuring plastinated animal remains. The process replaces natural bodily fluids with polymers that harden to create odorless and dry "specimens.”"

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The science of anatomy is undergoing a revival

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The science of anatomy is undergoing a revival

"Researchers have also solved the mystery of how monitor lizards got venom glands. They have discovered that lunge-feeding whales have a special sense organ in their chin that helps them engulf vast amounts of food. And like the whales, it seems crocodiles have sense organs in their jaws, which can detect vibrations in the water."

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What is the funny bone?

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What is the funny bone?

Put a finger on the point of your elbow.

Feel inwards from there about half and inch or slightly more until you find another bony outcrop.

Got it? Good.

Tap with your finger in the valley between those landmarks as hard as you like.

If you enjoyed that sensation you’re very much in the minority! You just found your funny bone.

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