Why Men Think About The Roman Empire…

There’s a viral meme infecting the internet at the moment which claims that men think about the Roman Empire disproportionately more than you’d expect an average human to…

I don’t know whether this has any basis in science or psychology but anthropologically it is pretty hard to escape aspects of Roman life in our everyday modern society.

The Roman empire was a laboratory of works of art and engineering that in many ways laid the foundations of the civilisation we find ourselves in now; from architecture, roads, sanitation, root words in the medical language and even politics.

No matter the time you give to the Roman empire… I read a book several years ago which continues to be one of my favourites

“The Fate Of Rome” – Kyle Harper

It’s the compelling story of how devastating viruses, pandemics, and other natural catastrophes swept through the far-flung Roman Empire and helped to bring down one of the mightiest civilizations of the ancient world

It’s the first book to examine the catastrophic role that climate change and infectious diseases played in the collapse of Rome’s power.

It isn’t just a fantastical piece of function but is infused with cutting-edge climate science and genetic discoveries and traces how the fate of Rome was in part by volcanic eruptions, solar cycles, climate instability, and devastating viruses and bacteria.

It’s a poignant reflection on humanity’s intimate relationship with the environment and how any grand civilisation… even the ones we exist in today…. can succumb to the cumulative burden of nature’s violence and natural pandemics.

What You Should Watch

I have been waiting for something to binge on… and I found it.

“Mr Mercedes”

I’m a true crime aficionado but also a lover of crime drama in general – so if this sounds like you… you will enjoy it

(plus it has a pretty stellar cast including Brendan Gleeson aka Mad Eye Moody from Harry Potter!)

Without giving too much away, the story revolves around a psychopathic killer who uses a Mercedes to run dozens of people over and it’s up to a recently retired detective to bring him down.

Life Updates

And just like that my 2 weeks of annual leave have dissipated.

The longer I spend away from the work, the less I miss it. Yes I enjoy operating and the thrill of emergency on-calls but frankly, I enjoyed the vast swathes of boredom and idyllic nothingness I surrounded myself with these last 2 weeks.

The first week was spent doing podcasting and audiobook readings but the second week was pure emptiness.

My days revolved around watching TV, walking my dog, napping and going to the gym... oh and an appearance on live TV!

Clearly, this isn’t a sustainable lifestyle on it’s own but it did give me a sneak peek into what life “could” look like should I ever decided to do away with surgery and focus on making videos and educating online full time.

It’s been a while since I’ve been able to focus on just my own needs without the incessant burden of work emails, admin and stresses of a toxic NHS culture.

I have 2 more days of annual leave and I’m starting at a new hospital on Wednesday so the merry-go-round of learning how to use a dozen new IT applications and programmes, mandatory e-learning, banal induction lectures begins again. Joy.

Back to my live TV appearance; I was asked to be the show doctor on the Friday supplement of ITV’s “This Morning” show where I debunked some health myths relating to CBD, probiotics, diet coke and the colour of your urine.

The feedback I got both on set and online was pleasing so I think this is something I’d definitely consider doing on a regular basis… assuming they want me back and I get the opportunity!

Only Do ONE Thing To Succeed…

I’ve had some success and many more failures in my life. Often the path to both are overlapping… But I’ve found where they differ is due to one thing…

Wherever you are in life and whatever you wish to achieve; whether its losing 10kg in weight, gaining muscle, getting a promotion or any other tangible goal - no matter where you are all you have to think about is just doing one in a row of the thing.

It’s easy to create an insurmountable peak of a problem to climb

but if you reframe your objective as aiming to just do one in a row…

e.g I just need to go for a walk today and then I need to go for another walk again tomorrow…

and then again and again,

it makes it much easier if you deconstruct the big scary intimidating task into one small action that you need to take.

Sounds simple but it’s a powerful metaphor for approaching many things in life.

A Breakthrough Treatment For Rabies?!

Rabies, a deadly viral disease, has long been a threat to human lives, especially in regions like Africa and Asia, where it claims nearly 60,000 lives annually.

At the moment we have no reliable treatment for symptomatic rabies once the virus invades the central nervous system (CNS).

However, recent research has uncovered a potential game-changer in the fight against this relentless killer:

the monoclonal antibody F11.

The recent research findings are nothing short of remarkable and have shown in mouse models that a single dose of F11 limited the amount of virus reaching the brain (viral load) and even reverse disease symptoms.

As it stands we have no “cure” for rabies that is guaranteed. While it’s extremely rare, there have been a few cases of humans surviving rabies. However, this typically occurs when treatment is administered before symptoms begin.

The research has limitations – it’s in a mouse model and there is no linear relationship between what happens in mouse physiology compared to humans…but watch this space!

Radioactive Boars..

Nestled in the heart of the Bavarian forests in Southern Germany roam countless wild boars…. they’re also radioactive.

Their meat, not safe for human consumption, as they are several hundred times more radioactive than what is considered safe for humans.

Why?

This radioactive phenomenon is attributed to a combination of radioactive fallout from nuclear bomb testing between the 1940s-1960s as well as the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.

Although the radioactivity levels in other wildlife seem to have attenuated over time, the boars remained highly radioactive…

It turns out these gluttonous wild pigs eat Elaphomyces, a type of underground fungi, which is especially good at absorbing heavy metals from the ground (lead, cadmium, mercury etc). In particular to heavy metal isotopes Cesium 135 and Cesium 137.

Now these wild boars don’t pose a radioactive threat just by their presence alone…

but because they are no longer killed for their meat by hunters… their population has exploded resulting in more wild boar attacks by stray boars venturing into cities!

The radioactive wild pig problem, may pose a problem in countries like Belarus, however, where people are still likely consuming cesium infused meat!

A cautionary tale for you wild game fans…