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Knocked Out, Put Under, Anesthetized and Sedated: Different Types of Anesthesia

27 Apr 2020

If you’ve read the article I wrote about why patients are allowed to drink clear fluids but not eat before surgery you’ll know that I recently had surgery to repair the ACL and meniscus in my left...

Why Am I Allowed to Drink Clear Fluids Before Surgery, but Not Eat?

22 Apr 2020

While preparing for my recent knee surgery I was given a lot of instructions. Where to park, how to dress, when to arrive, what to bring and even what (not) to eat and drink. Like many surgical...

Can You Picture This? Some People Can’t

17 Apr 2020

A daydream solved an important problem in the 19th century. Chemists were trying to elucidate the molecular structure of benzene, a petrochemical that is now used in the production of styrene and...

How Long Can a Virus “Live” Outside the Body?

8 Apr 2020

One of the frequently asked questions about the SARS-CoV-2 virus is how long the virus can live outside the body. “Live” is not exactly the appropriate term, as viruses are not really "alive"...

Conclusions Change as Evidence Accumulates

1 Apr 2020

I remember once giving a talk on vitamins and having someone come up to me after with a comment along the lines of “I was in your class years ago and you were talking about the benefits of vitamin...

There is a connection between TNT, the male musk deer, and your perfume

26 Feb 2020

Arab perfumers in the sixth century were the first to discover that diluting the obnoxious smelling dried contents of the little pod found near the anus of the male Asian musk deer not only...

How can I stop getting static shocks?

20 Feb 2020

If you live in Canada, you know what a nightmare winter can be for your hair. No, not because of hat hair, (or at least not entirely because of hat hair), but because of static electricity! All...

Why is the Sky Blue? Or Better Yet, Why is the Ocean Blue?

31 Jan 2020

The sky is blue due to a phenomenon called Raleigh scattering. This scattering refers to the scattering of electromagnetic radiation (of which light is a form) by particles of a much smaller...

What is "Hormesis"?

24 Jan 2020

Just about every textbook of toxicology pays homage to Paracelsus, the sixteenth century alchemist. Why? Because he introduced the idea that “only the dose makes the poison.” It makes no sense to...

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