Showing results by publisher "iMinds" in Health & Wellness

Bubonic plague is widely regarded as being responsible for two of the most infamous plagues in recorded history - the Black Death in the mid-14th century and the great plague of London in 1665. The causative organism of modern-day plague was discovered independently in 1894 by two bacteriologists: the Swiss born Dr. Alexandre Yersin and Dr. Shibasaburo Kitasato from Japan.

Learn about REM sleep with iMinds insightful audio knowledge series. REM is an important component of sleep. But sleep itself is a difficult phenomenon to study, because it is such an insular process. Dreams in particular are highly elusive for the researcher of sleep. As dreaming is a "state of mind", theories concerning it are frustratingly convoluted and highly theory-based, with any advancement unlikely to be supported by hard evidence.

Learn about the Stockholm Syndrome with iMinds insightful audio knowledge series. At first glance, two of the most notorious bank robberies of the 1970s would seem to have nothing in common. They occurred eight months apart, for different motives, on opposite sides of the globe. But these two incidents would prove seminal to the development and understanding of a curious and once controversial psychological condition: the Stockholm Syndrome.

Learn about the condition of hemophilia with iMinds insightful audio knowledge series. The term "hemophilia" describes hemorrhagic, or bleeding, disorders. The most common of these disorders is caused by a deficiency of protein in the blood, known as the "blood-clotting factor". There needs to be at least 30% of the clotting factor for the blood to clot normally.

Learn about Murphy's Law with iMinds insightful audio knowledge series. Murphy's Law is a tongue-in-cheek and rather pessimistic adage of eight simple words: Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. The translation of these words into "Murphy's Law" was in honour of US aerospace engineer Edward Aloysius Murphy Junior.

Epidemics are important to us as humans because they affect our very survival. Knowing what they are and how to control them have been of interest to us for centuries. A simple explanation of the difference between an epidemic and a pandemic would be to say that an epidemic is the large-scale transmission of an illness, whereas a pandemic is an epidemic that spreads across several countries.

When Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928, it was a lucky accident. He didn't realize at the time that penicillin would dramatically change the face of medicine and the pharmaceutical industry. Fleming was a researcher studying the natural antibacterial substances produced by the body. He had been working with the bacteria that caused boils. To study the bacteria he grew colonies of it on plates.

There's nothing like a good comeback. It's witty, snappy and completely devastating to your verbal sparring partner. But how many times have you gone completely blank when arguing with someone, only to think of the perfect comeback an hour later? More than anything, you wish you could wind back time and deliver your riposte at the perfect moment. That's l'esprit de l'escalier.

Learn about the development of In Vitro Fertization with iMinds insightful audio knowledge series. "In Vitro Fertilisation", also known as IVF, is concerned with enabling infertile couples to have children. As a result of IVF, thousands of couples and individuals have been able to fulfil their dream of procreating. To fully appreciate the complexities of IVF it is important to know the history of experiments in reproduction.

Learn about the feeling of déjà vu with iMinds insightful audio knowledge series. When Charles Dickens wrote in his 1850 novel David Copperfield about "a feeling, that comes over us occasionally, of what we are saying and doing having been said and done before", he may well have been referring to the experience of déjà vu.

Hone your knowledge with iMinds Specialist Series. Have a particular interest? Recognize gaps in your knowledge? iMinds Specialist works across each of our 12 categories bringing you targeted information to broaden your mind. Medicine & Invention, Volume 1 looks at the invention of penicillin, the history of the bubonic plague, the modeling of epidemics, the nature of REM sleep, the development of the Internet, and the disease hemophilia.

Learn about the process of immunisation with iMinds insightful audio-knowledge series. For many people, immunisation is their only hope at survival. It is responsible for saving millions of lives every year, eradicating some of the most horrific viruses, and increasing global health awareness. Without immunisation, historical plagues such as the "Black Death", "smallpox", and "Spanish influenza" would still be around. If we didn't have immunisation, many of us wouldn't be here.

Hone your knowledge with iMinds Specialist Series. Have a particular interest? Recognize gaps in your knowledge? iMinds Specialist works across each of our 12 categories bringing you targeted information to broaden your mind. Ideas & Concepts, Volume 1 looks at the psychology behind the Stockholm Syndrome, the theory of the Tragedy of the Commons, the philosophy of the Eternal Truths, understandings of déjà vu, the story behind Murphy's Law, and that frustrating feeling of l'Esprit de l'Escalier.