UNDER THE MICROSCOPE It has been three years since the Covid-19 pandemic started. Early on, there was a lot of fear, anxiety, and phobias about the disease because it was an unknown entity. Most persons who contracted it at the start succumbed to it or had a critical, lengthy stay in intensive care...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Pardon me if I’m politically incorrect when discussing obesity, but there are no ifs and buts about being overweight. No matter how you say it — fat, overweight, plump, ample, chubby, tubby, big, or plus-size — being over your ideal weight for height has health...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE “Junk Food” refers to food high in calories but low in nutritional value. The Departments of Finance (DOF) and Health (DOH) are pushing to tax junk foods with a bill in Congress, ostensibly to address health issues and to generate revenues for a cash-strapped government....
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Ageism is defined as stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination against people on the basis of their age (WHO 2017). It is a fairly recent concept, coined in 1969 by Robert Neil Butler to describe discrimination against seniors, patterned after the concept of sexism and...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE It’s summertime and the fruit picking are easy... (apologies to George Gershwin). But truly, we in the Philippines are blessed with a wide variety of fruits to enjoy in the summer. Mangoes are just exploding literally on our rooftops, as they are so abundant, and we can’t...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Nitrous oxide is known as the laughing gas for its effect when inhaled in certain quantities. So I had to laugh when I read a front-page story last week that the PNP is considering to include it in its list of dangerous substances. Nitrous oxide is a gas that is used as an...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE On May 5, 2023, the WHO declared an end to the Covid-19 health emergency. While this is reason to celebrate, having endured three years of various restrictions, we have to pause and consider the repercussions on the testing labs. To combat the pandemic, over 300 Covid-19...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Travelling to other countries is always a good way to broaden your perspective and see the contrasts between your home country and that of others. I was in Krakow, Poland, last week for a three-day pathology conference and again saw how much farther the Philippines is...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Earth Hour has come and gone. But what about the other 8,759 hours of the year? We seem to be fixated on the ceremonial observances of environment-saving practices rather than being genuinely concerned about saving Mother Earth. There are many aspects to environment protection:...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Dr. Raymund W. Lo Lasers have been very much in the limelight since it was alleged that a Chinese Coast Guard ship trained a laser beam on a Philippine Coast Guard ship that was on a re-supply mission to the BRP Sierra Madre in the West Philippine Sea. This incident temporarily...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Dr. Raymund W. Lo In the aftermath of the blowup about the improper autopsies done on the anti-illegal drugs campaign victim Kian delos Santos, it was front-page news that the Department of Justice (DOJ) has reached an agreement with United Nations special rapporteur Morris...
UNDER THE MICRSCOPE Dr. Raymund W. Lo Once again, the Philippines is in the spotlight for the wrong reasons. The International Criminal Court (ICC) is proceeding with the investigation on the extrajudicial killings in the country. Soon after that announcement, another related development arose...
