Universal Medicine

During 2014, the entire world feared for their, and their families', lives as the potency of the Ebola outbreak reached its zenith. Many people died and many more suffered, and to those who worked tirelessly to find a cure, to help the infected and their families, we owe them our eternal gratitude. However there are a group of people who have not been given the respect they deserve for the work that they did during this terrifying time. Today I'm going to tell you about the Red Cross 'safe and dignified burial programme' and how they, through volunteers' selfless contributions, became our guardian angels. One of the main of the main aims of the safe and dignified burial programme was to prevent the Ebola virus from spreading through communities via toxic corpses; many communities in West Africa adhere to certain religious practices where people in the community wash the corpse as a way of cleansing the spirit before its passing into the afterlife. As well meaning ...

  It is always astonishing to hear about the latest medical advancements that take place, meaning that the quality of care being delivered can be improved, and the lives of many people with a range of illnesses can be drastically enhanced. However, in some cases, the advancement is hindered by the large price tag that comes with it, meaning it is simply not accessible to those who need it most. However, there have been major developments that have now seen an innovative cancer drug, Kadcyla, being made available on the NHS, whilst previously the cancer drug fund was employed to cover the cost. With Scotland being a devolved body, it had its own vote on the issue, deciding to pay for the drug in April.   Kadcyla was developed for women   experiencing   HER2-positive tumours , which are a form of breast cancer. HER2 refers to human epidermal growth factor receptor 2, which is a protein responsible for impacting the growth of certain cancer cells. HER2 is actua...

“Float Like a butterfly sting like a bee”...the longest fight of the Muhammad Ali - Parkinson's disease, about to get KO'd by Genetic Engineering?   During a 1991 US television interview with Bryant Gumbel, Muhammad Ali, legendary boxer, and crowned sportsmen of the century in 1999, described his condition as a “trial”. When he lifted the Olympic flame during the 1996 summer Olympic games opening ceremony in Atlanta his arms and upper body shook wildly. Janet Evans (the American swimmer who handed him the torch) said “It was all about courage … it was written around his body that he was not going to let it do him in”.  In this week’s post, we explore the causes and treatment of Parkinson’s disease, and more importantly the possible future cures. Cause:  Parkinson’s is caused by the progressive loss of nerve cells in the part of the brain called the Substantia Nigra. These nerve cells are involved in the production of Dopamine: a neurotransmitter...

It’s that time of year everyone despises, exam season. In which many adolescents are stressing about the copious amounts of revision they have to do for their exams, whether this is GCSE’s, A-levels or general end of term tests. Anything that can remotely help you gain them aspirational grades is seemingly worth a shot right? Many studies have been conducted on foods that can help increase brainpower, but do they actually work. Certain foods supposedly have compounds that can help increase memory and improve your concentration, these include: v   Rosemary- it is associated with improving your memory. Copious amounts of research has been carried out on the matter. Results showed that smelling rosemary can increase memory. A compound called 1,8-cineole is supposedly the reason for memory performance. In which it causes an increase in a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine and assists in preventing the breakdown of the neurotransmitter by an enzyme. v   Oily fish and f...