This comic strip by Garry Trudeau was published in 2006, so you may already know it. Here, a doctor offers two antibiotic choices to a patient suffering from tuberculosis (TB). The choice appears to depend on the patient's religious beliefs. I hope the patient chose wisely -- for his own benefit and for that of all the people that could be otherwise infected by his spreading of TB microbes.
Interestingly, cartoonist Garry Trudeau is the great-grandson of Dr. Edward Trudeau, who founded the Adirondack Cottage Sanitarium for the treatment of pulmonary TB, at Saranac Lake, New York State, in 1884. It was found at the time that tuberculous patients greatly benefited from a "rest cure" that included lots of mountain fresh air, and good nutrition. The sanatorium was later renamed and reorganized as a biomedical research center. Known today as the Trudeau Institute, it is devoted to researching our immune system to find better ways of preventing and treating human diseases, including TB, influenza, tropical diseases and cancer.
Credits for images:
- Cartoon:
Author: Garry Trudeau (Doonesbury.com). Source: GoComics.
- Stamp:
United States Postal Service. Stamp designed by Howard E. Paine and created by Mark Summers, based on a photograph of Dr. Trudeau provided by the American Lung Association. Source: The Stamp Collecting Round-up. See also a press release at EurekAlert.
Hat tip:
Comunicar ciencia con humor [in Spanish] by José Pardina, Asociación Española de Comunicación Científica (AECC) [Spanish Association for Science Communication].
This cartoon represents one of the myths that those believe in evolution hold to. That creationist do not believe in micro evolution. Creationists believe that bacteria evolve into different bacteria as well as higher species evolve into new forms of the same species.
ReplyDeleteI think you would be hard pressed to provide an example of newly evolved species in the lab that benefited medicine.
I pondered typing a long informative post about how and why your comment is flawed; however, I decide not to waste my time. You have decided to hold onto your beliefs despite the other overwhelming amount of scientific evidence that is already available at your fingertips. I think I'll just leave you to your own ignorance. Enjoy your bible, it is definitely the one and only book of truth, right?
ReplyDeleteI am a Christian, but I understand that the first half of Genesis is full of parables, based off Babylonian parables and written during exile when young Jews were being taught Babylonian theology.
ReplyDeleteBoth Genesis creation accounts and Noahs Ark were done in this way. The point of the two creation accounts is that unlike Babylonian gods, the Jewish god deliberately created the world and created people to be friends with, and thought he did a good job. The point of Noahs Ark is that even the holiest person is still a sinner and no matter how well you listen and follow god, you will still sin and need forgiveness.
By thinking that these are actual occurrences, people generally miss all the many things you can learn, especially when you directly compare them with the Babylonian versions.