A painful debate: shrinking the carbon footprint of anaesthetics
If there is any profession which seems remote from the Sturm und Drang of climate change, it must be anaesthetists. After all their job is...
Bioethics writer warns of ‘public health imperialism’
After three innocent children were gunned down in three months in the American state of New Mexico, the Governor, Michelle Lujan Grisham, announced a 30-day...
How scientists mould public opinion on controversial bioethical issues
One of the puzzling features of bioethics debates is how quickly the public changes its mind about controversial issues. This is particularly evident in discussions...
The number of elderly is rising, but not the number of geriatric specialists
In 1950, 8% of the American population was 65 years old and over. In 2023, that figure is about 17%. By 2050, it is estimated...
AI is an existential threat – just not the way you think
The rise of ChatGPT and similar artificial intelligence systems has been accompanied by a sharp increase in anxiety about AI. For the past few months,...
Death knock in Ecuador
Mourners in a funeral home in Ecuador got the shock of their lives when knocking came from within the coffin. They opened it up and...
The Economist: ‘Global fertility has collapsed’
The Economist, an oracle for politicians, journalists, and economists the world over, has turned bearish on the future of humanity. The leader accompanying its latest...
WHO declares end to monkeypox public health emergency
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared an end to the global public health emergency for monkeypox. WHO declared monkeypox a public health emergency of...
US Surgeon-General says that America has a loneliness epidemic
In addition to smoking, type 2 diabetes, obesity, opioids, and alcoholism, the US Surgeon-General, Dr Vivek Murthy, has identified another epidemic of lifestyle disease which...
Pronatalism continues to intrigue the media
The notion of pronatalism – encouraging, not discouraging, population growth– hasn’t had a good press in recent decades, especially with fears of over-population and global...
Elon Musk: the world will end with ‘a whimper in adult diapers”
Tucker Carlson, the most popular host on US cable TV, has been sacked by Fox News. In one of his final interviews he spoke with...
Mortality rates for American kids are rising for the first time in 50 years
US President Joe Biden is so concerned about the future of American children that he inserted a mandate for affordable child care into a major...