Science and serendipity
Recently, I received the sad news of the death of a dear friend and colleague who through his example, leadership and support had helped...
A lesson from Siberia
In 1993, two friends and colleagues of mine alighted from an internal flight in the heart of Siberia. The light was failing and the...
A spark of genius from the minds of many
Some years ago, after a very congenial dinner, a colleague of mine berated scientists for the many authors’ names which appear on their...
One swallow does not make a summer
At the start of the winter, it might seem strange to write about swallows and summers, especially when we have just had the news that...
The 40 year wait
In 1973, after rigorously testing 6,000 fungal broths, Dr Akira Endo and his team in Tokyo finally discovered a miraculous molecule which...
The end of nature versus nurture
Since John Locke wrote of ‘tabla rasa’ in his essay of 1690 and more recently Francis Galton of ‘Hereditary Genius’ in 1869, scientists,...
The fountain of youth
In the mythical land of Bimini, the indigenous populations of the Caribbean sought the fountain of youth, an idea which has intrigued and...
The tip of the iceberg
In 1841, Registrar General William Farr, a distinguished mathematician and physician who famously said to Florence Nightingale,...