/oss/taxonomy/term/2867/all en /oss/article/health-and-nutrition/h3n2-influenza-why-it-called-h3n2 <p>It may seem as if flu viruses get chosen based on a sluggish and never-ending game of bingo.</p> <p>H1N1? … Does anyone have H1N1?</p> <p>The next number is… H7N9. Please check your cards, the number is H7N9….</p> <p>H5N1… do we have a bingo? Please bring your card in to be validated. The prizes tonight include congestion, fever, and sore throat.</p> <p>The majority of flu cases this season are said to be “A(H3N2)”. Who comes up with these designations and what do they mean? As is often (but not always) the case in science, there is a method to this apparent madness.</p> Tue, 09 Jan 2018 23:49:20 +0000 Jonathan Jarry, MSc 6876 at /oss /oss/article/quackery/cure-all-cancers-maybe-not <p>The freedom of speech.  One of our most sacred rights.  Men and women are willing to die for it.  Unfortunately, they also die because of it.  Let me elaborate.</p> <p>Our word cancer derives from the Latin word for crab.  This is understandable, as many tumors bear an actual physical resemblance to the creature.  In medieval Europe this similarity was used in the most unusual fashion for the treatment of the dreaded disease.  A live crab would be placed on the body at a site close to the tumor, left there for a while, and then the animal would be removed and killed. </p> Thu, 30 Nov 2017 15:57:13 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 6839 at /oss