Given the sensitive nature of this article, the writer has assumed a pen name. It’s difficult being an immigrant in Trump’s America. But even more difficult is getting divorced as a foreign national in a country where the stakes in paranoia run high. Which is just what happened to this writer in the summer of […]
Anyone who has tried to jam their whole being into a thoughtfully crafted profile with six photos that show a well-rounded human being knows how it feels to put faith in the internet to make our search for a date faster, better, easier. What starts as a game-like app can turn us into brainlessly swiping automatons. We […]
Hacking the DNA of babies? Only in the world of science fiction or on the big screen have we seen such horrifying scenarios. But what about a future world of designer babies created from hacked or gene-edited embryos? Might they someday become the norm? Recent news of the world’s first designer babies was met with […]
Dear C and Dr. B; My 12-year-old son is in 8th grade. Yesterday he received a online photo of a naked girl from one of his classmates. We were alerted to it because of his sheepish ad embarrassed behavior. He did show us when asked what was up. The question is, what should I do? […]
For fad diets, gluten-free means cutting out bread, pasta and beer; it’s a preference, not a necessity. Celiac disease, on the other hand, is an autoimmune disorder. When someone with celiac disease ingests gluten, the body’s immune reaction is to inflame the lining of the small intestine, damaging it and preventing the absorption of nutrients, […]
I was browsing Facebook when an ad caught my eye: “Crohn’s Study – Diagnosed Volunteers Needed.” Crohn’s Disease is incurable, and it can make a patient’s life a living hell. I have it. I was intrigued, so I clicked on the link. The link took me to the trialsworld.com site, which is a patchwork quilt […]
In light of the recent spate of suicides by successful white men, we step beyond the shock to investigate what it means to be white and how our invented construct of race has left society proscribing unnatural expectations that can prove fatal. Forgive me Society, for I have sinned. Born of Caucasian stock, I have […]
Food and water borne illnesses have been killing humans since the beginning of humanity. Sometimes it feels as if humans are under assault by their food supply. Most microbes do us no harm, and are often critical to our survival. Some strains, however, are dangerous for humans and other forms of life, and others only become dangerous […]
The majority of indigenous cultures across the Americas have long been highly skilled arable farmers, and it was among these societies that vegetal breeding and domestication was first discovered, as well as the cultivation of plants for an array of medical purposes still in use today. In RI, 14,000 years of knowledge is still in […]
Having a body is hard work; you have to feed it, keep it hydrated, and make sure it gets rest. But it’s not all drudgery. Our well-being also includes doing things that bring us joy and pleasure, and for many, sex and sexuality can play an important role in physical and mental health. Sexual health […]