Anna: First, I have a question from myself – when we (“Semper Anticus”) reached out to you with an offer to participate in this “AMA”, you said that you “would be happy to get involved in this venture”. This raises the question – are you a venturer and do you often participate in things for
“You may say – I am a dreamer, but I am not the only one”
Author: Renāte R. Apse We all have found ourselves mesmerized over what dreaming is and whether dreams have meanings. What exactly is the purpose of dreaming? Why is our biological system programmed to dream?
Can’t lose weight?
Author: Judīte Lukša Human weight is influenced by many different factors such as diet, exercise, genetics, environment, hormones. But did you know that your weight is also affected by the microorganisms in your body? There is a saying that you’re never dining alone. And it’s true, because every time you eat anything, you’re feeding a
Christmas Gifts: A Medical Analysis
Author: Kamiar K. Rueckert and Lydia Boyette As a child, I had a marvelous time during Christmas. I ate cookies, marzipan and lebkuchen until I decided to play outside in the snow. My Christmastime schedule consisted of snowball fights and sledding which was in stark contrast to the math or German classes of a typical
A tale about a bacterium which learned to live together with other bacteria
Author: Kristīne Maķe Nowadays, most people know what bacterial infections are and how to treat them “correctly”. Anyone working in the medical field is aware of the mechanisms bacteria can use to become our body’s worst enemy. Even for people outside of the medical world, the word “infection” is not alien. Thanks to the technological
Breaking barriers: The stigma of HIV
Author: Rajlakshmi Sohini Mukhopadhyay H.I.V. The three letters that seem to spell out a death sentence to everyone who hears them. But is HIV really the deadly disease that it was even a decade ago? Or has its management evolved over time?
What are the effects of uncontrolled use of antibiotics in humans?
Author: Dr Ilze Prikule The topic of increasing antibiotic resistance is becoming more and more discussed, and various myths are being spread with it. An example is that using antibiotics supposedly helps you recover faster from an illness, or that a small amount of antibiotics used prophylactically cannot cause any harm, etc. Patients, unfortunately, do not
Neuroendocrine tumors- zebras of the cancer world
Author: Artūrs Truškovs What animal comes to mind when You hear hoofbeats? Probably a horse, right? Of course, it is so simple! Well, not exactly. In the medical world it’s not so black and white. Not all diagnoses are horses, or the most likely possibility. Sometimes when You hear hoofbeats, it’s a zebra- the less
Is Snus a Panacea for Cigarette Addiction or a New Dangerous Carcinogen?
Author: Vladislavs N. Makovskis Snus – a tobacco product that has recently become popular among students and sportsmen. Almost all of us have a friend who often puts a “miraculous baggy” under their lip. You don’t have a friend like that? The aim of this article is to tell about the history of snus, its
Breaking the stigma behind mental illness
Author: Rajlakshmi Sohini Mukhopadhyay It’s raining cats and dogs outside, but we don’t care. My friend and I are all cosied up, drinking cups of tea and having a good old heart-to-heart about times gone by. “You know, I just didn’t know where to go. I knew what I was feeling wasn’t right but I