TOP 100 SCIENCE SITES
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| Lemons and limeys Certainly, the diet offered by Captain James Cook (Report, 30 November) was sensible with regard to the prevention of scurvy. However, James Lind, the naval surgeon, had published his detailed Treatise of Scurvy 23 years before, in 1753. Among other recommendations, derived from the first-ever clinical trials (conducted at sea) he principally advocated the use of fresh lemons or lemon juice. Lack of interest by the Admiralty led to his recommendations being ignored for over 40 years. Only then, after the forceful promotion of Lind's thesis by the naval surgeons Thomas Trotter and Gilbert Blane, were the fleets appropriately supplied, and scurvy was eradicated almost overnight. Soon, however, for perverse commercial reasons, the Admiralty espoused the use of limes (not recommended by Lind) and scurvy returned to plague sailors and others until the discovery and understanding of vitamins after the first world war.David HarvieAuthor of Limeys: The Conquest of ScurvyNutritionNutritionMedical researchHeritageguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Water boost to aid parrot survival The Hogwash Bend environmental site near Waikerie will get seven megalitres of water today, to help the survival of the endangered regent parrot. abc.net.au |
Astronauts blast off for Christmas space mission BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan (AP) -- A Russian rocket blasted off from a cosmodrome in Kazakhstan lighting up the frigid Central Asian steppe Monday, shuttling an American, a Russian and a Japanese to the International Space Station.... hosted.ap.org |
Shot koala lives through the night A baby koala which was shot with an air rifle north of Brisbane has lived through the night but vets say it still has only a 50-50 chance of recovering from its injuries. abc.net.au |
Australians at risk from computer zombies Australia is one of the top 10 targets for cyber crime, according to McAfee, one of the largest manufacturers of antivirus software. abc.net.au |