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Why does a barber鈥檚 pole have a red stripe?

20 Mar 2017

It represents the colour of blood. During the Middle Ages monks were required to shave the crown of their head, a function commonly performed by itinerant barbers. Also, under ecclesiastic law,...

Is niacin a possible successful treatment for schizophrenia?

20 Mar 2017

Schizophrenia is a devastating disease. Characterized by hallucinations, delusions and disorganized thought, it destroys lives. While the condition can be controlled with appropriate medication, a...

Advice About Food Is Sometimes Half-Baked

20 Mar 2017

Back in the early 70s, just as I was developing an interest in the chemistry of food, I came across a witty quote by Mark Twain. 鈥淧art of the secret of success in life is to eat what you like and...

Composers鈥 deaths left many questions unanswered

20 Mar 2017

Both Beethoven and Mozart were spectacular talents whose music will live forever. That鈥檚 a fact. But when it comes to the composers鈥 deaths, facts give way to theories, some reasonable, some...

Does Hydroquinone Have a Dark Side?

20 Mar 2017

They were once mistakenly thought to be caused by a disease of the liver, so they are called 鈥渓iver spots.鈥 Actually these skin blemishes are caused by a buildup of the skin pigment melanin and are...

Of Mummies, Pigments and Pretzels

20 Mar 2017

Records indicate that the earliest ancient Egyptians buried their dead in the desert where the heat and dryness of the sand dehydrated the bodies creating natural 'mummies'. Later, in order to...

Castor bean oil plays growing role in chocolate manufacture

20 Mar 2017

I think the first medicine I ever heard of was 鈥淩icinus,鈥 a liquidy concoction with which my mother plied me when she suspected I was constipated. I can鈥檛 imagine why as a child I would have had...

Valerian for Insomnia?

20 Mar 2017

O sleep! O gentle sleep!

Snake Bitten

20 Mar 2017

Not many people have heard of boomslang. That鈥檚 not surprising because these聽venomous tree snakes are a super shy and non-aggressive species native to Sub-Saharan Africa. These snakes exhibit...

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