The accumulation of knowledge may be viewed as a fundamental stepping stone on the road to wisdom. The professional literature is a source of factual information that over time furnishes essential building blocks in the accumulation of knowledge. Some examples are:
James Watson and Francis Crick in an article published in Nature on April 25, 1953 in the brief space of 842 words set in motion a vast panoply of studies that influence achievements to the present day involving the human genome. Their contribution led to sharing a Nobel Prize in 1962. A significant flaw was failing to acknowledge how their understanding of the helical structure of DNA was greatly aided by imagery developed earlier through crystallography by chemist Rosalind Franklin.
Luis Alvarez, a 1968 Nobel Laureate in physics at the University of California, Berkeley, was able to expand his curiosity to the fields of geology and paleontology. His efforts led to an article in the June 6, 1980 issue of Science in which he hypothesized how most life on earth was extinguished when a giant asteroid crashed into the planet at a high speed 65 million years ago (since updated to 66 million).
When John Wakefield indicated in a paper that appeared in the Lancet on February 28, 1998 that MMR vaccine can lead to the onset of autism and other conditions, he inspired a refusal among some parents that exists to the present day to have their children immunized. His assertions were proven false and the manuscript later was retracted in February 2004 by the publisher, but its effects still manage to influence opposition to interventions designed to prevent the occurrence of several infectious diseases.
When viewers stare at the sky, the experience may conjure up thoughts about the possible existence of life on other planets. Sam Levin and co-authors speculated in the February 2019 issue of the International Journal of Astrobiology how evolutionary theory can be used to make predictions about aliens. They even contemplated the possibility someday of discovering a bizarre looking alien called an “Octomite”
More Articles from TRENDS April 2019
VARIETIES OF PLAGUES BOTH OLD AND NEW
Examples are provided of infectious diseases as well as another kind of plague resulting from doubts and uncertainties about purported advantages of contemporary life. Read More
PRESIDENT’S CORNER—ASAHP MEMBER FOCUS
Yasmen Simonian, Dean and Brady Distinguished Professor at Weber State University, is featured in this issue of TRENDS. Read More
100TH DAY OF THE 116TH CONGRESS
A summary of important accomplishments during the first 100 days of the 116th Congress is described. Read More
HEALTH REFORM DEVELOPMENTS
Discusses: the Medicare For All Act Of 2019, provision of non-medical services for social needs that affect health, and reaction in the House of Representatives to a lawsuit to invalidate the Affordable Care Act. Read More
DEVELOPMENTS IN HIGHER EDUCATION
Describes: an upcoming ASAHP Summit on Interprofessional Education; Congressional testimony by U.S. Department of Education Secretary Betsy Devos on education policies and priorities; and released draft consensus language from negotiated rulemaking sessions on accreditation and other topics. Read More
QUICK STAT (SHORT, TIMELY, AND TOPICAL)
Disparities In Prevalence Of Major Cancer Risk Factors And Screening Test Use In The U.S.
Foreign-Body Ingestions Of Young Children Treated In U.S. Emergency Departments: 1995-2015
Morning Exercise Is Better Than Evening Exercise Except When It Is Not
Using Voice Analysis To Evaluate And Predict Human Behaviors And Identify Health Risks Read More
AVAILABLE RESOURCES ACCESSIBLE ELECTRONICALLY
Hospitals’ Use Of Electronic Health Records Data, 2015-2017
Care Coordination
Strengthening The Connection Between Health Professions Education And Practice Read More
PLACING A MAN ON THE MOON AND SOME RELATED MUSINGS
Refers to health hazards associated with lengthy periods of time in outer space and implications for improving health status on earth’s inhabitants. Read More