Clappers, colonies and poisoned wells: a surprising history of leprosy
'What strange ideas people have about leprosy, doctor,' a character wonders in Graham Greene's 1960 novel A Burnt-Out Case, set in a Congolese leper colony. 'They learn about it from the Bible, like sex,' the doctor replies wearily. There's a great deal of historical truth in this wry exchange, the journalist Oliver Basciano tells us in this wide-ranging, globetrotting survey of the disease.
Leprosy makes its literary premiere in Leviticus. In the Old Testament, those stricken with tzaraath are unclean and unworthy, deserving of ostracism as well as charity. The coinage lepra — scaly, in the manner of a snake — we owe to the Alexandrian Jewish scribes who translated the Hebrew Bible into Greek. But in the New Testament and later in the Middle Ages leprosy was regarded as a divine blessing. Basciano's chapter on medieval leprosy is the most arresting of this book. Living with leprosy was deemed akin to suffering in purgatory. At death, then, the leper could expect an easy passage to Heaven.
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BBC News
9 hours ago
- BBC News
Di best brain food for studying and revision
To revise for exams dey hard, but e get some kain foods wey fit help boost your brain for di moments wey you need am most. General Practitioner and Radio 1 expert Dr Radha give top tips on di best things to eat to get through those long hours of learning. She give advice on di best foods to chop wen you dey study and revise for exam, also wen and how to eat to boost your energy and exam performance. For dis tori, you go see some easy recipe suggestions wey you fit prepare during breaks from your studying. Di brain na ogbonge part of di body – e dey deal wit information, e dey help pesin focus and concentrate, e dey work things out and form memories so you fit recall information. E only weigh 2% of your body weight and e dey consume 20% of all di energy your body need. Dat energy dey come from di food we eat. Here na Dr Radha top tips: Wetin be di best foods for energy and concentration? Include different foods for your meals and snacks wey contain: Fibre – Vegetables and dark leafy greens, e dey help slow down digestion so dat your food go dey digest small-small. E go keep you fuller for longer. Protein – Fish wey dey high in oils, get good amount of omega-3 fats wey dey great for brain. Fish like fresh tuna, sardines, tinned mackerel. Chicken, eggs, beans, nuts and lentils contain good levels of protein. Whole grains – E dey slowly release carbohydrates, like wholegrain bread, wholemeal pasta, brown rice, and porridge. E dey keep your blood sugar levels stable. Vitamin C – Fruits like oranges, blueberries and blackberries dey great for your immune system and as to chop as snack. Wetin make I chop for breakfast? One low sugar muesli breakfast cereal, whole grain bread, or porridge oats na slow-release carbohydrates and dey slow-release energy. Food wey be protein dey okay too as e go help you feel full for longer. You fit consider food like eggs, yoghurt or milk. Wetin to carry go school for lunch? If you dey pack lunch for school, think about protein foods like chicken, fish or an egg sandwich. Make sure you get some fruit/veg like carrot batons, or pear, carry water join, and nuts for snack. Which snacks dey good for you? Snacks dey give energy boost. Choose di right kinds of snacks wen you dey revise your book to improve your concentration and feel alert for longer. Take fruit wit some protein or a wholegrain carbohydrate – for example, apple with nut butter, banana on toast. Pumpkin seeds dey high in zinc for memory and thinking skills, walnuts get essential fatty acids and e fit help healthy brain function. Wen to eat? You fit wan skip meals if you too busy dey study for exams. However, e dey important to chop regularly, get proper mealtimes and no be just snacks to keep your blood sugar balanced and allow di brain to get di energy e need to work well. Breakfast dey really important wen you dey revise or sit for exams. Research don show say students wey eat breakfast dey perform better for exams, so no skip am! Wen make I eat dinner and di best time to go to bed bifor exam? No chop too late di night bifor an exam as e fit disturb your sleep. Chop your dinner at least 3 hours bifor bed, a good night sleep na one of di best things for our brains and our ability to focus. Sleep go allow di cells for our bodies to repair, our memories go dey laid down and to form, and e go help us concentrate and focus di next day. Research don show say students wey sleep for 7 hours a night on average dey do 10% better pass those wey sleep less. Avoid caffeine and choose warm glass of milk at bedtime instead. How to eat? E dey important to eat well wen you dey study, put away your books and revision, phone or laptop. Eating wit friends or family dey great for our emotional wellbeing. Use mealtimes to chat about your day - social contact dey very important during revision times. Most often we enjoy our food if we chop am slowly and really taste am. So, give mealtimes di time off dem deserve and wen you get back to your work, you go dey more efficient afta you don get a break. Drink smart too As food dey important, keeping hydrated dey important too. Our brains consist of an estimated 80% water. Dis water dey give your brain di ability to work properly. If we become dehydrated our memory and ability to focus and bring our attention to something dey become harder and difficult. Try to drink regularly through di day, avoid drinks wey get plenty sugar or get caffeine in dem. Di NHS advise to drink 6-8 glasses or cups of fluid a day.
The Independent
2 days ago
- The Independent
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The Independent
3 days ago
- The Independent
Cold sore virus takes over human DNA within just one hour, study finds
The cold sore-causing Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV-1) hijacks human cells and reconfigures its DNA within just an hour after infection, according to a new study that may help tackle the pathogen. Viruses are dependant on their hosts for replication, and upon infecting cells they tend to take over its cellular machinery to make new copies of themselves. Scientists have now found that the herpes virus not only hijacks its host's genome, but tends to reorganise the entire internal structure of the cells it infects within an hour after infection. Two out of every three people under the age of 50 live with HSV-1, and once infected, they have the virus for life. Although most cases are asymptomatic or manifest as mostly benign but recurrent cold sores, in rare cases the virus can cause blindness or life-threatening disease in newborns or those with compromised immunity. herpes infection and dementia in older adults. The new study, published in the journal Nature Communications, found that HSV-1 reshapes the human genome's structure, making it compact and dense so that the virus can access host genes most useful for it to reproduce. This finding could lead to new treatments to control the virus, which infects nearly four billion people worldwide, researchers say. "HSV-1 is an opportunistic interior designer, reshaping the human genome with great precision and choosing which bits it comes into contact with. It's a novel mechanism of manipulation we didn't know the virus had to exploit host resources," said Esther González Almela, first author of the study. While previous studies have suggested that HSV infection leads to compacting and reshaping host chromosomes, it remained unclear whether it was a side effect of the cold sore virus infection or caused directly by the pathogen itself. The latest study is the first to prove that HSV-1 reshapes the human genome deliberately and within hours of infection. Researchers also found that blocking a single host cell enzyme – topoisomerase I – completely blocked the cold sore virus' crucial ability to rearrange the human genome. "In cell culture, inhibiting this enzyme stopped the infection before the virus could make a single new particle," said Pia Cosma, another author of the study. "That gives us a potential new therapeutic target to stop infection,' Dr Cosma said. In the study, scientists used super-resolution microscopy to peer into ultra small cell structures just 20 nanometres wide, which is around 3,500 times thinner than a strand of hair. They combined this with another technique that reveals which bits of DNA are touching inside the nucleus. These techniques showed that the herpes virus' hostile takeover begins within the first hour, with the virus hijacking a key human enzyme – RNA-polymerase II – to synthesise its own proteins. Just three hours after infection, the virus causes a sizeable fraction of molecules involved in human DNA replication to abandon the cell nucleus and enter viral replication compartments. The wholesale theft causes a collapse of any activity across the host genome, which then gets crushed into a dense shell just 30 per cent of its original volume. Scientists hope the latest findings can help address the global health challenge posed by HSV-1 due to its prevalence and ability to cause recurrent outbreaks.
