Hidden history

The Hidden History of Tuberculin

Robert Koch was an eminence on Tuberculosis and a german hero worldwide since he discovered and described the ethiologic cause of the white plague. Soon afterwards, he devoted his work to study the effect of inoculating M.tuberculosis bacilli (Mtb) to guinea pigs, either healthy or already infected. From his experiments, as reported by himself, he learnt the infection was able to develop protec...

History of physics: Outing the hidden curriculum?

We describe a history of physics course, cotaught by a physicist and a historian of physics, on the quantum and relativity revolutions in the early part of the 20th century. The course has been taught both in Europe as part of a study abroad program and as a regular on-campus course, which could serve as a model for implementation elsewhere. We present some evidence that this course format can ...

Hidden Signals—The History and Methods of Heart Rate Variability

The understanding of heart rate variability (HRV) has increased parallel with the development of modern physiology. Discovered probably first in 1847 by Ludwig, clinical applications evolved in the second part of the twentieth century. Today HRV is mostly used in cardiology and research settings. In general, HRV can be measured over shorter (e.g., 5-10 min) or longer (12 or 24 h) periods. Since...

Shisha guidance for GPs: eliciting the hidden history.

Waterpipe tobacco smoking (or 'shisha') is a 600-year old practice, commonly known as hookah, nargile, and hubble-bubble. It is a growing health concern of global significance, and published literature already points to an association with lung cancer, chronic lung disease, reduced birth weight, and oral disease. 1 Although traditionally perceived as being prevalent only in the Middle East and ...

Ending Hidden Hunger: The History of Micronutrient Deficiency Control