Beyond pharmacy blog
All posts from: December 2013
New hope for autism
The incidence of autism in the US has increased by 78 per cent in the past decade, affecting one in 88 children nationwide. Traditional research has studied autism as a genetic disorder affecting the brain, but recent studies have demonstrated links between various physiological markers and the condition.
Seeds that clean water
The moringa tree, Moringa oleifera, is a drought-resistant native of the Himalayas, although it is grown in many other tropical and subtropical areas. Most parts of the plant are eaten, and they are an excellent source of many vitamins, minerals and amino acids. The fresh leaves contain almost 10 per cent protein and are also a valuable source of vitamins A, B and C, as well as iron, copper and manganese. The pods and seeds contain high levels of the mono-unsaturate oleic acid.
A prescription for Christmas pudding
Christmas pudding, or plum pudding, has been an essential part of Christmas for over 200 years. In medieval times raisins were known as plums, and the origin of plum pudding is likely to be frumenty, or plum porridge, a mixture of boiled cracked wheat and raisins, often served with meat as part of the main course.
A dribble with a history
If you follow the River Thames upstream for half a mile from the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s Lambeth headquarters and look back over the parapet of Vauxhall Bridge, you may notice a hole in the river wall from which, when it is not obscured by a high tide, a trickle of water emerges. Above the outlet is a sign identifying this as the River Effra.
Isabella's underwear
Early ornithologists had a habit of using obscure adjectives when naming new-found species. In particular, they got carried away when naming birds that exhibited a predominant colour. As a result, there are species whose names include words such as berylline (light blue), cerulean (sky blue), cinereous (ashy), citrine (light olive), ferruginous (reddish brown), flammulated (reddish), fulvous (dull yellow), glaucous (pale greyish), hoary (greyish), ochraceous (orange-yellow), olivaceous ...
Do you need a lapactic or an exipotic?
Recently, having been scheduled for a “virtual colonoscopy”, I had to clear my bowels completely by assaulting them with sodium picosulfate and magnesium citrate. It was a deeply unpleasant ordeal, but luckily the scan showed that I had no serious intestinal problem.
