“Better keep yourself clear and bright; you are the window through which you must see the world.“ George Bernard Shaw
Author Archives: Alun Rees
This is how SARS-CoV-2 infects cells
From Nature’s daily email update, Nature Briefing. It is never less than an interesting read and reminds me why I took sciences at school in the first place. How the coronavirus infects cells — and why Delta is so dangerous. Scientists are unpicking the life cycle of SARS-CoV-2, the tricks it uses to evade detectionContinue reading “This is how SARS-CoV-2 infects cells”
Like boasting about farting in a lift…
From the always interesting and readable Tim Harford’s column, “The Undercover Economist”, in the FT on Saturday, “Five pandemic truths that defy institution”. #3. Masks matter, but not for the reason you think. ….only our innate tribalism can turn mask-wearing from a simple, promising precaution into the dividing line between saintly and the damned. CabinetContinue reading “Like boasting about farting in a lift…”
The Monday Morning Quote #668
“It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energyContinue reading “The Monday Morning Quote #668”
“Three Seconds”
I was inspired when I read Silent Spring by Rachel Carson in the mid-70s and have had involvement with groups including Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and some at a more local level. I have tolerated comments like “Saving the whale Al?”, “Isn’t it time you gave up that hippy stuff?” and “How can youContinue reading ““Three Seconds””
The Monday Morning Quote #667
I was moved by an article in the FT Weekend Magazine about the terror attack in Utoya, Norway 10 years ago. In it some survivors who had been wounded reflect on what they have learned. “Do not lose faith in yourself. You are good enough. Skilled enough. Strong enough. Dare to be vulnerable and sadContinue reading “The Monday Morning Quote #667”
The Monday Morning Quote #666
“Courage is not having the strength to go on; it is going on when you don’t have the strength.“ Theodore Roosevelt
The People’s Covid Inquiry – opening quote
Michael Mansfield QC doesn’t pull his punches…. The government ignored the pandemic to begin with, ignored the recommendations from Exercise Cygnus, repeatedly ignored the science, had decimated public services, then ignored the cries of those working in the NHS, in social care, and in other crucial services, and as we have heard, ignored the offersContinue reading “The People’s Covid Inquiry – opening quote”
The Monday Morning Quote #665
“In the middle of the journey of our life, I found myself in a dark wood with no clear way out.” Dante Alighieri The opening of Dante’s Inferno.
Low Morale in the Dental Profession – Nothing new there.
I came across the book “Medicine and Society” recently. Its author, Henry Miller, was Dean of Medicine and later Vice-Chancellor of the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and this book was published in 1973, the year I started as an Undergraduate. Writing in the preface Miller concisely states that “This book is concerned with the impact ofContinue reading “Low Morale in the Dental Profession – Nothing new there.”
