Mother and child

In the 50s, two new drugs appeared that helped to cope with common problems during pregnancy: thalidomide and diethylstilbestrol (DES). They were considered safe for pregnant women and had real (or apparent) positive effects. The history of both drugs should warn many about the danger of treating healthy pregnant women with potent drugs. The first…

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Modern farmer and antibiotic

Imagine cows peacefully grazing on the lawn, chewing gum, moving from place to place to pinch the green grass. This is the stage of our agricultural past, worthy of the brush of Norman Rockwell: well maintained barns, beautiful hedges, contented cows, and occasionally disturbing silence, the buzzing flies, punctuated by a slap of the tail.…

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Overuse of antibiotics

How to describe the euphoria of those old days? It was 1945. The second world war is over. We have defeated the forces of evil; a more just society has won. Americans were overwhelmed with optimism. Then many children were born – including me. Within 5 years after the war, the Americans bought 20 million…

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