In this study, nine organic sediment samples from a medieval archaeological site at Pineuilh, France, were examined for Giardia intestinalis using two commercially available immunological kits [enzyme-linked immuno sorbent and immunofluorescence (IFA) assays]. Both techniques detected G. intestinalis in one sample, dated to 1,000 Anno Domini. This is the first time IFA was successfully used to ...

The natural electrical phenomena fascinated humans since antiquity. The electrical discharges produced by the torpedo fish were highly appreciated among ancient physicians as Hippocrates, Scribonius Largus and Galen and were prescribed for headache, gout and prolapsed anus. In the medieval period, torpedo's electrical properties were attributed to occult powers, while Renaissance physicians' an...

after the boom of pharmacological research during the 1950s, mainly as a result of the screening technique, the identification of active molecules, their reshaping by means of pharmaco-chemical drug design, and the creation of extremely efficacious and successful medicines, the pharmaceutical world sought a new source of inspiration. such biota as the tropical forest, a quantity of plants credi...

This essay examines the similarities and differences between legal andother precepts outlining corporal punishment in ancient and medieval Indianand early medieval European laws. Responding to Susan Reynolds’s call for suchcomparisons, it begins by outlining the challenges in doing so. Primarily, the frag­mented political landscape of both regions, where multiple rulers and sphe...

The problem of human improvability is as interesting for discussion as it is difficult of solution. It is essentially a problem of relatively recent origin. For the notion of progress was only generally entertained when that of evolution came to be accepted. In ancient times mankind was conceived as tossed hither and thither in the grip of fate or fortune ; while in medieval times mankind was r...

The sophisticated colors of medieval glasses arise from their transition metal (TM) impurities and capture information about ancient glassmaking techniques. Beyond the glass chemical composition, the TM redox is also a key factor in the glass color, but its quantification without any sampling is a challenge. We report a combination of nondestructive and noninvasive quantitative analyses of the ...

The rise of European science during the Renaissance is greatly indebted to the flourishing of the sciences during the Islamic Golden Age. However, some believe that medieval Islamic physicians and in particular surgeons had been merely a medium for Greco-Roman ideas. Contrarily, in some medieval Islamic medical books, such as Al-Tasrif of Al-Zahrawi (936-1013), the surgical instructions represe...

To the ancient Greeks, glaukos occasionally described diseased eyes, but more typically described healthy irides, which were glaucous (light blue, gray, or green). During the Hippocratic period, a pathologic glaukos pupil indicated a media opacity that was not dark. Although not emphasized by present-day ophthalmologists, the pupil in acute angle closure may appear somewhat green, as the mid-di...

What are generally referred to as the Fibonacci numbers and the method for their formation were given by Virahanka (between A.D. 600 and X00). Gopala (prior to A.D. 1135) and Hemacandra (c. A.D. 1150). all prior to L. Fibonacci (c. A.D. 1202). Narayana Pandita (A.D. 13Sh) established a relation between his srftcisi~ci-pcrirLfi. which contains Fibonacci numbers as a particular case. and “the mul...