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Author: r.kyser

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This week is Open Access week! Open access is an international movement that looks to remove barriers to scientific research and data. The goal is that everyone can access academic scholarship equally without running into legal, financial or technical barriers (1).

This year's theme for Open Access Week is “Community Over Commercialization.” The goal is to look at ways we can share scholarship in ways that benefit everyone. 

If you want to get involved and learn more, check out these on-campus events run by the George Washington Open Source Project:

Oct 22nd, 7pm-9:30pm Movie Night with Q&A for Open Access Week

University Student Center Amphitheater

Join the GW OSPO for a showing of "The Internet's Own Boy: The Aaron Swartz Story", an award-winning movie about a computer programmer, writer, political organizer, and internet activist and his battle with the U.S. government and the publishing industry as he risks everything in the pursuit of sharing knowledge. The screening will be followed by a Q&A panel to talk about research, publishing, access to information, and other important topics raised throughout this film.

Popcorn will be provided. The first 25 attendees will get a homemade chocolate chip peanut butter cookie!

Oct 24, 11:30am-12:30pm GW Coders' Lunch and Learn: Care Work and Accessibility in p5.js and Open Source Software*

Join us in SEH, B2600 or online in Zoom: https://go.gwu.edu/gwcoderszoom

We are very excited to host the lead maintainer of the open source project p5.js.  p5.js is a friendly tool for learning to code and make art. It is a free and open-source JavaScript library built by an inclusive, nurturing community. p5.js welcomes artists, designers, beginners, educators, and anyone else! Qianqian Ye, the lead maintainer will discuss care work, accessibility, demonstrate the tool, and answer questions.

Oct 25, 12pm-1pm GW OSPO Webinar Panel Discussion: Can Diamond Open Access disrupt the broken paywall publishing model and save science with the help of open source software?

Join us online: GW OSPO Zoom Webinar

Our distinguished panel of Diamond Open Access experts from across the globe will explore possible paths forward for open access publishing.  Please come and bring your hard questions for this group to try to answer.

If you want to explore and learn about Open Access on your own time, here are some materials and resources to explore Open Access:

Paywall Documentary: Not familiar with the world of Scholarly Publishing, or the Open Access movement? Take some time to watch the documentary “Paywall.” Paywall is an excellent introduction to the world of Open Access for complete beginners and it’s a great watch. 

PHD Comics: Don’t have the time for a full documentary? Try this video comic from PHD comics about Open Access that provides a dynamic illustrated introduction to the topic. 

Open Access and Your Research: Curious what Open Access means for you and your own work? Check out this instructional video from the Scholarly Communications Committee about what to expect. 

OA LibGuide: Need to find open access material to learn about medicine? Try our Open Access LibGuide which contains links to textbooks, journals, and other resources people can use. 

  1. What is open access? International Open Access Week. Accessed October 17, 2024. https://www.openaccess.nl/en/what-is-open-access
  2. Paywall: The Business of Scholarship. The Movie.; 2018. Accessed October 18, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAzTR8eq20k
  3. Open Access Explained!; 2012. Accessed October 18, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5rVH1KGBCY
  4. Open Access and Your Research.; 2022. Accessed October 18, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SpLN7BbzGg

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Two jack of lantern pumpkins shine in darkness

With October upon us, comes celebration of spooky season. The classic signs of Halloween approaching are here: theaters show scary movie marathons for those who want thrills and frights, skeleton and ghost decor begins to grace front yards and debate over what to wear for the event itself reaches a fever pitch. But witches, ghosts, and ghouls weren’t always reserved for just Halloween. In fact, some legends were born out of explanations for very real phenomena that used to strike terror across villages.  

One particular example comes to mind. The year is 1788. Your friend has fallen ill recently. She’s lost a lot of weight, she has a fever, and her skin is growing paler by the day. She has even started coughing up blood. Even worse, these symptoms mimic that of her late brother, who died a few months previously.  Thankfully, a neighbor has identified the culprit and knows the solution: dig up her brother’s corpse, cut out his heart, and burn it. 

Wait, what? As strange as it sounds, this was a real series of events that happened in New England. Before the Germ Theory of disease, people needed explanations for the spread of disease. While bad air (Miasma Theory) or the four humors were potential explanations, when it came to the disease known as tuberculosis, vampires were offered as a potential explanation (1). 

The original legend was brought over by immigrants from European countries (2). While the exact way vampires worked depended on the region, the general idea was that those who died came back to drain life from the living, often their family members. Given how tuberculosis spreads, family members did become ill, especially given members of one family might share the same bed. Digging up the corpse of the deceased family member was seen as a way to stop the illness and put it to bed at last. Given the cold winters in the region, sometimes bodies would be well preserved when they were dug up, further playing into the idea that the dead were feasting on the living. While the burning of organs didn’t actually do anything, in the face of an invisible illness, it provided those afraid with a feeling of some agency. 

The vampire legend doesn’t arise solely from tuberculosis, but some hallmarks of the blood suckers can be traced to the pathogen: the pallor vampires are known for, along with sleeping in coffins. Other aspects of the mythical monster are hypothesized to come from other illnesses. Vampire’s aversion to light (photophobia), running water and biting others may all originate from rabies cases. Those afflicted with rabies can showcase these symptoms, and those who wrote early vampire stories may have drawn inspiration from the deadly disease (3). Symptoms of the genetic disease porphyria have also been attributed to perhaps inspiring the myth as it also causes issues with being in the sun (4).

Thankfully, we eventually figured out the real culprit behind tuberculosis wasn’t the walking dead, but a bacterium, and that we could defeat it with antibiotics, not wooden stakes. But it’s important not to judge those who believed in the vampire theory too harshly. They had figured out the contagious part of the disease. They only misattributed the vector. 

So this October, remember where part of the fear of vampirism comes from. It’s not fangs, or gothic mansions, or poor book adaptations. Instead, think of those who latched onto the legend as an explanation, who knew something deadly was spreading, but didn’t know where to look or where it would strike next. 

1. Blanding M. Vampire panic gripped New England in the 1800s. the real evil was in the air. Boston Globe (Online). Oct 27 2023. Available from: https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/vampire-panic-gripped-new-england-1800s-real-evil/docview/2882529806/se-2. 

2. Groom N. UNEARTHING THE DEAD: Medicine and Detection, Body and Mind. In: The Vampire. A New History. Yale University Press; 2018:23-40. doi:10.2307/j.ctv6gqxp2.9

3. Gómez-Alonso J. Rabies: a possible explanation for the vampire legend. Neurology. 1998;51(3):856-859. doi:10.1212/wnl.51.3.856

4. McGrath J. Are vampires real? scientists have linked diseases and decomposition to all the historical tropes of nosferatu. Business Insider. Oct 21, 2023. Available from: https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/are-vampires-real-scientists-have-linked-diseases/docview/2879550637/se-2. 

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Graphic of books with the text Himmelfarb 2024 booksale

Are your bookshelves looking a little empty? Do you have an interest in having a physical copy of some textbooks or study guides? Want a piece of medical history to call your own? The Himmelfarb Annual Book Sale has all of this and more.

From October 8th to October 11th, Himmelfarb will sell books in the first-floor alcove. The cost of hardback books is $4 and the cost of paperbacks is $2. All payments must be made by card. The sale is open from 8:00am to 8:00pm Tuesday to Thursday, and from 8:00am to Noon on Friday.

We hope to see you there!

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What do librarians do anyway? If you want to find out, check out the comic below!

Panel 1: Narration: When people think of librarians, they often picture the following: an older woman with glasses and a cardigan. Image: A librarian, who looks as the narration described, shushes the audience. Panel 2: Narration: Who mainly spends her time shushing people, reading and sitting at a desk. Image:The same librarian from the first panel sits at a desk with a sign that says “silence is mandatory”
Panel 3: Narration: Like all stereotypes, some folks do fit the mold demographically, the realities of the job are much different than what folks expect. Image: Rebecca, a librarian with brown curly hair and glasses, shrugs and says “honestly, I can’t remember the last time I shushed anyone.”
Panel 4: The tools librarians use might look different in the digital age, but the basic goal of ensuring information is accessible and discoverable remains the same. Image: A stack of books is placed next to a laptop.
Panel 5: To achieve this goal, along with other library functions, there’s actually a wide variety of types of librarians. Image: A librarian building is held up by the silhouettes of five people of various body types and skin colors.
Panel 6: Let’s take a closer look at some of the variety out there… Image: There are eight boxes, each featuring a different person. The box labeled Circulation contains a heavy set pale blonde man with glasses. The Acquisition box contains a lean person of older age with gray hair, brown skin and wrinkles. The box labeled Serials contains a man with dark skin and dreads, wearing a red suit. The box labeled Scholarly Communication, has a medium sized woman with tan skin and black hair. The box labeled childrens has a heavy set black woman with her hair in two buns, smiling. The box labeled Specialists, features a lean tan man with a goatee and wrinkles with graying hair. The box labeled archivists features a pal skinned red headed woman with glasses. The last box contains Rebecca, and is labeled reference.
The circulation librarian sits at a desk, facing the audience. He says “Circulation doesn’t just check out books, but things like chargers, electronics or even dry erase markers.”
Panel 8: Like circulation acquisitions can also be a team effort. Acquisitions involves ordering and acquiring new material for the library. Image: The acquisitions librarian sits behind a stack of books, saying “an acquisitions librarian works with vendors and publishers to acquire material”
Image: A laptop is open on a desk and on the screen is the serials librarian. He says “these days many serial publications can be found digitally.”
Panel 10: In academic libraries, scholarly communication librarians help students and faculty alike publish their work. This can be by helping journals to publish in or managing an institutional repository. Image: The scholarly communications librarian is in a sailor’s outfit on a tiny boat, where a shark swims. She says “when it comes to avoiding predatory publishers, we can help.”
Panel 11: Children’s librarians work with children and young adults. They help select material for different age groups and organize events and outreach for patrons. Storytime for young kids is a good example of an event they run. Image: The children’s librarian sits in front of a group of children with a picture book she is reading out loud. Behind her is a teddy bear and books.
Panel 12: Specialists librarians work in special libraries where the often specialize in a topic or field. Law librarians and medical librarians fall into this category. Image: The specialist librarian stands in front of a cabinet with a scale on it. He says “around one-third of law librarians have a law degree”
Panel 13: Archivists aren’t the same as librarians but they often have the same masters degree. They are specialists in preserving material and helping people access it. Image: The archivist reads a book in front of a desk and several file cabinets
Panel 14: Reference librarians, like myself, help people do research and find materials. They may also specialize in a topic or subject area. Image: Rebecca stands in a hedge maze, with a torch. She says “There’s so much material to look through it can feel like a maze. Our job in reference is to help people navigate that maze.”
Panel 15: There are other types of librarians not mentioned here, such as library directors, as well as library jobs that are done by staff. Both librarians and library staff are essential to keeping the library running. Image: a puzzle in the shape of a library is shown Panel 16: TThe things that tie libraries together are our commitment to some shared ideals.The American Library association has a whole list of professional standards and guidelines on its website. Image: The ALA logo is shown
Panel 17: There are initiatives to recruit librarians from underrepresented groups and organizations dedicated to supporting these groups. Image: Rebecca is shown, saying “there are efforts to also recruit librarians from underrepresented groups.”
Panel 17: Libraries seek to protect intellectual freedom and preserve privacy. The American library association opposed the Patriot Act and in 2006. Four connecticut librarians went to court regarding gag orders. Image: Uncle Sam stands in front of an American flag, saying “I wasn’t trying to spy on patron records…I just wanted…uh. Book recommendations.”
Panel 18: Libraries also promise literacy and not just for books. Image: Different types of images are shown next to types of literacy: a computer with computer literacy, a stethoscope next to health literacy, a dollar next to financial literacy, a ballot box next to civic literacy and a phone next to media literacy.
Panel 19: Teaching, instruction, budget management, programming, research: all of these skills are needed to keep libraries going. Image: two shelves are shown with different kind of hats on them. The hats are labeled with different kinds of library skills.
Panel 20: And only one of them, on rare occasions, is to shush people. END Image: Rebecca stands in front of two shelves and a reminder to keep quiet on the second floor. She winks as she says “shush”
  1. Acquisitions | ALA. American Library Association. May 5, 2009. Accessed September 16, 2024. https://www.ala.org/tools/topics/atoz/profresourcesacquisitions/acquisitions
  2. Serials | ALA. American Library Association. April 29, 2010. Accessed September 16, 2024. https://www.ala.org/tools/atoz/Serials/serials
  3. Education. American Association of Law Librarians. Accessed September 24, 2024. https://www.aallnet.org/careers/about-the-profession/education
  4. What’s an Archivist? National Archives. June 7, 2022. Accessed September 19, 2024. https://www.archives.gov/about/info/whats-an-archivist.html
  5. ALA Standards & Guidelines | ALA. American Library Association. June 13, 2008. Accessed September 25, 2024. https://www.ala.org/tools/guidelines
  6. Vinopal J. The Quest for Diversity in Library Staffing: From Awareness to Action – In the Library with the Lead Pipe. In the Library With The Lead Pipe. January 13, 2016. Accessed September 25, 2024. https://www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2016/quest-for-diversity/
  7. Elliott J. Remember When the Patriot Act Debate Was All About Library Records? ProPublica. June 17, 2013. Accessed September 20, 2024. https://www.propublica.org/article/remember-when-the-patriot-act-debate-was-about-library-records

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Televisions and stereos line a wall

With September in full swing, folks might find themselves short on downtime as exams and courses wind into full gear. Thankfully, this month’s medical media recommendation from our new Scholarly Communications and Metadata Librarian, Brittany Smith, is a sitcom that might be easy to sneak watching an episode during a tight schedule. 

Known for its humor and heart, Scrubs is a sitcom that ran from 2001-2010 that follows a group of interns and continues throughout their residency at Sacred Heart Hospital(1). While the show centered around its lead J.D, it also spent time building out its extended cast such as fellow residents Turk and Reid, nurse Carla Espinosa, Doctor Cox and the mysterious Janitor. Winning multiple awards, the wacky series wasn’t afraid to get silly despite the medical setting; there was even an entire episode that was a musical. 

Despite the zany antics, what really made Scrubs a treat to watch was its heart. The show “wrestled with the humanity of the characters in a meaningful way,” said Smith. Both patients and the physicians are shown as real people, and when Scrubs tackled those moments, it did so with empathy and thought. Some examples include a doctor struggling with OCD, the loss of a fellow staff member, and how losing patients can impact those who care for them (2). 

Scrubs can be streamed on multiple streaming services online. 

Works Cited

1.Scrubs. Doozer, Towers Productions, ABC Signature; 2001.

2. Pantoja K. Scrubs: 15 Saddest Moments, Ranked. ScreenRant. June 23, 2019. Accessed September 12, 2024. https://screenrant.com/scrubs-tv-show-saddest-moments-ranked/

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Every country’s medical system works slightly differently. While here in the United States we can face frustrations related to insurance, high costs and other issues, that doesn’t mean other medical systems have no issues. For today’s installment of Medical Media, librarian Deborah Wassertzug recommends a television series that takes a look at the system across the pond: the National Health Service of the United Kingdom. 

This is Going to Hurt is a limited series television show from the UK, based on a memoir of the same name. Both the memoir, written by former doctor Adam Kay, and the television show, focus on the issues, struggles and experiences of junior doctors working in a National Health Service hospital, specifically their work on the obstetrics and gynecology ward. 

For those used to medical television that takes place in the United States, there is a lot of new terminology to get used to. For example, instead of residency, the UK has Doctor Specialty training (1). Despite these changes in terminology, the issues facing doctors will likely be familiar to those aware of the challenges medical professionals face in the United States: burnout, stress, overwork, and funding shortfalls. The show also tackles serious issues related to mental health issues and work-life balance among doctors, a trend also seen in the United States (3). One episode juxtaposes a private maternity hospital with an NHS hospital and raises the question of whether there are safety issues associated with “going private.”

The show isn’t entirely serious: there are lighthearted moments and its genre is likely best described as a black comedy. According to Wassertzug , the show juxtaposes hilarious scenes  with serious things people go through in medical settings, to great effect. Due to the involvement of Kay, the show is generally accurate when it comes to the dirtier aspects of medicine, so things do get a little messy. 

For those interested, the book and series can be found on Hoopla from public libraries, on consortium loan here at Himmelfarb, and the television series can be found on multiple streaming platforms online. 

1.

How Doctor Specialty Training (Residency) Works in the UK. BMJ Careers. Accessed August 21, 2024. https://www.bmj.com/careers/article/how-doctor-specialty-training-residency-works-in-the-uk

2.

Johnson A. CDC Tries Fixing Emerging Crisis: Mental Health Problems Among Doctors, Nurses. Forbes. Accessed August 21, 2024. https://www.forbes.com/sites/ariannajohnson/2023/11/01/cdc-tries-fixing-emerging-crisis-mental-health-problems-among-doctors-nurses/

3.

Doctors’ titles explained - Toolkit for doctors new to the UK - BMA. The British Medical Association is the trade union and professional body for doctors in the UK. June 28, 2024. Accessed August 21, 2024. https://www.bma.org.uk/advice-and-support/international-doctors/life-and-work-in-the-uk/toolkit-for-doctors-new-to-the-uk/doctors-titles-explained

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One of the most frequent questions we get at the library in recent months is in regards to A.I. What is A.I? Is A.I the future? Are we all about to be replaced by robots? In this month's comic strip, we simplify A.I. in order to make sense of what's realistic, what's plausible and what's still science fiction.

Speech Bubble 1:Ever since AI burst onto the scene, I’ve seen a lot of folks misunderstand how it works. Image: Rebecca, a librarian with light skin and dark curly brown hair in a ponytail speaks in front of a bunch of tech items.
Panel 4: Narration: In reality, while AI can write or talk, it’s not “thinking” like humans do Image: The robot displaying a blank expression is next to a thought bubble showing binary code.
Narration: To understand how AI “thinks” we need to understand what this kind of AI is and how it works. Image: There is a monitor and on it, a pixilated version of Rebecca is shown next to the text “Understand A.I.” Then under that is the text A: Y B: N
Panel 6: Narration: First, the kind of AI seen in movies is not the same kind in chat-gpt. That is, self-aware AI currently doesn’t exist outside of fiction. Image: Two books are shown. One of the books has a picture of a robot on it stating “foolish: it is statistically unlikely to be lupus” The title of the book is “Watt.Son M.D”
Panel 7: Speech Bubble: The AI we see discussed today is known as generative AI. It can produce things like text, images and audio by being trained on large amounts of data (1). Image: A flow chart is shown. A bunch of file cabinets is first, then an audio icon next to the text or then a picture of a monitor next to the text or and then a smiley face drawing.
Panel 7: Narrator: I’m going to vastly simplify. Say we want an AI to make images of sheep. First we’d grab a bunch of images of sheep as our training data. Image: A table is covered with a variety of photos of sheep. The sheep are all different sizes and colors.
Panel 8: Narration: Over time, as we feed the model more pictures of the sheep, the model starts to identify common shared characteristics between the images. There is a little white sheep with a black face. Next to it, text states: Aspect: fluffy Feature 2(ear) Feature 2(eye) feature: tail= sheep
Panel 9: Narration: Now, when this works as intended, after tons of images, our AI can start to produce images of sheep itself based off the training data. This is why it’s called “generative” AI; it is generating new content. Image: The robot from early has an excited expression on it’s monitor. It points to a fridge where a picture of a sheep is displayed.
Panel 10: The AI is able to produce these images not because it now “knows” what a sheep is, but by essentially large scale probability. I’m still vastly simplifying, but the AI makes the sheep fluffy not because it knows what wool is, but because 100% of its training data includes wool. Image: Rebecca stands in front of a television screen. On the screen, the robot looks confused at a black sheep in a field. Panel 11: Narration: So if we apply this to words, AI is not so much writing as it is calculating the probability of what word is most likely to follow the word it just typed. Sort of like autocorrect. Image: The background is a thunderstorm. There is text that reads: it was a dark and stormy _____? A. Night 90% B. Evening 7% C Afternoon 2% D. Day 1%
Panel 12: Narration: Okay so why bother making this distinction. Why does it matter? Image: The robot is shown with it’s monitor displaying a buffering message. Above it, a chibi Rebecca says “let me explain.” Panel 13: Narration: AI relies on its training data. Let’s consider the sheep example from earlier. In the photos I drew, none of them show a sheep’s legs. Image: Rebecca sits in front of her tablet with a drawing pen. She gestures to the viewer, exasperated. Rebecca ‘s Speech Bubble: “Look, I only have so much time to draw these things.”
Panel 14: Narration: If all the images I feed our hypothetical AI are of sheep from the middle up we might get something like this. Image: Three pictures of sheep are displayed. None of the sheep have legs and instead are puffballs of wool. One sheep is square shaped. Narration Con: Our AI can only generate based on its data. So if we feed it no pictures of sheep with legs, we get no pictures of sheep with legs (frankly is also shouldn’t make images of a sheep where the entire body is in the frame either). The backgrounds will be a mashup too, as the AI will consider it as part of the image. This leads to interesting results with a wide range of background types.
Panel 15: Narration: This is one of the reasons AI images struggle with details like fingers: how many fingers you can see in an image of a person varies widely depending on their pose and the angle of the photograph (2). Image: Four hands with different skin tones are shown, each with a different gesture. In a little bubble to the left, Rebecca is shown looking tired. Rebecca Speech Bubble: Drawing hands is hard…
Panel 16: Narration: The same thing goes for writing: when AI writes out “it was a dark and stormy night” it has no comprehension of any of those words. It’s all based on probability. And this is the misconception that leads to so many problems. Image: The robot is seated at a chair, typing at a computer. From the computer, text reads “it was a dark and stormy night” and from the robot speech bubble we get more binary.
Panel 17: Narration: For example let’s take AI hallucinations. AI Hallucinations refer to when AI makes things up, essentially lying to the user. Now that we understand how AI works, we can understand how this happens. Image: The robot is shown its monitor full of a kaleidoscope of colors and two big white eyes. The background behind it is also a mix of colors. Panel 18: Narration: AI has no comprehension of lies or the truth. It is regurgitating its training data. Which means that if it doesn't have the answer in the training data, or is fed the wrong answer, what you’re going to get is, the wrong answer.
Panel 19: For example, Google AI made headlines when it recommended people use glue to make the cheese stick on their pizza. (3). Image: A man with dark skin, glasses and a beard stands in front of a pizza and a bottle of glue. He is wearing an apron. Man’s speech bubble: “A least it said to use non-toxic glue.
Panel 20: Now where did it get this cooking tip? A joke post from reddit. Google made a deal with Reddit to train it’s A.I on the site’s data in February 2024. Image: The avatar for reddit yells after the robot who is running off with the image of a glue bottle on it’s monitor. Reddit avatar’s speech bubble: It was a joke!
Panel 21: That example was pretty harmless, but it can be much worse. AI has told people to eat poisonous mushrooms (4), provided dieting advice on a hotline for eating disorders (5) or displayed racial bias (6). Image: The grim reaper is shown, wearing a little shef scarf with his sythe. Next to him is a display of mushrooms. Underneath text reads: guest chef death showcases favorite deadly mushrooms.
Panel 22: Generative AI systems also comes up with fake citations to books and papers that don’t exist. Often is mashes up real authors and journals with fake doi numbers Image: Three journals are shown composed of fragments of other journals on their covers, each stitched together
Panel 23: Narration: And don’t get me started on the ways images can go wrong (8). Image: Rebecca stands next to a table with school supplies and a rat. The rat is looking up with her with a question mark over its head. Rebecca’s speech bubble: Just look up AI rat scandal and you’ll understand why I didn’t draw an example.
Panel 24: Image: The rat from the last panel is shown. Rat speech bubble: So AI is worthless? Narration: Absolutely not! Panel 25: Narration: AI absolutely has uses. While it’s still in early stages, AI has shown promise in helping doctors identify potentially cancerous moles Image: The robot and a doctor look at a monitor Doctor: Should I make a biopsy of both? Robot: 71% Doctor: Both it is!
Panel 25: Narration: But it’s not a magical solution to every problem. And when we forget that, our “artificial intelligence” is more artificial than anything intelligent. Image: The robot’s monitor is shown with the citations for this comic displayed.

Comic written and drawn by: Rebecca Kyser

Citations: 

1.Christian B. The Alignment Problem : Machine Learning and Human Values. W.W. Norton & Company; 2021.

2. Lanz D/ JA. AI Kryptonite: Why Artificial Intelligence Can’t Handle Hands. Decrypt. Published April 10, 2023. Accessed August 5, 2024. https://decrypt.co/125865/generative-ai-art-images-hands-fingers-teeth

3. Robison K. Google promised a better search experience — now it’s telling us to put glue on our pizza. The Verge. Published May 23, 2024. Accessed August 5, 2024. https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/23/24162896/google-ai-overview-hallucinations-glue-in-pizza

4. AI-powered mushroom ID apps are frequently wrong - The Washington Post. Accessed August 5, 2024. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/03/18/ai-mushroom-id-accuracy/

5. Wells K. An eating disorders chatbot offered dieting advice, raising fears about AI in health. NPR. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/06/08/1180838096/an-eating-disorders-chatbot-offered-dieting-advice-raising-fears-about-ai-in-hea. Published June 9, 2023. Accessed August 5, 2024.

6. Noble SU. Algorithms of Oppression : How Search Engines Reinforce Racism. New York University Press; 2018. doi:10.18574/9781479833641

7. Welborn A. ChatGPT and Fake Citations. Duke University Libraries Blogs. Published March 9, 2023. Accessed August 5, 2024. https://blogs.library.duke.edu/blog/2023/03/09/chatgpt-and-fake-citations/

8. Pearson J. Study Featuring AI-Generated Giant Rat Penis Retracted, Journal Apologizes. Vice. Published February 16, 2024. Accessed August 5, 2024. https://www.vice.com/en/article/4a389b/ai-midjourney-rat-penis-study-retracted-frontiers

9. Lewis. An artificial intelligence tool that can help detect melanoma. MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Published April 2, 2021. Accessed August 5, 2024. https://news.mit.edu/2021/artificial-intelligence-tool-can-help-detect-melanoma-0402

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A picture of the city of chicago, right outside the chicago theater

Welcome to the Halls of Patent Medicine. Back before the regulation of food and drugs in the United States, almost anyone could make a concoction, claim it was medicine and sell it over the counter without a doctor’s prescription (1). This led to predictable results, with all sorts of items being sold for their “medicinal properties.” The history of patent medicine is a treasure trove of outrageous marketing, dubious deals and suspicious substances. So with that in mind, let’s take a look at something from my hometown of Chicago. 

Chicago’s finest sewer water (2). Pencil Shavings and Heartbreak (3). Soapy Dirty Dishwater (3). All of these descriptors have been applied to Jeppson’s Malört, a hard liquor created in Chicago back in the 1920’s. Known for its distinctive taste, the drink is considered a staple of Chicago. And like some other beverages on the market, Jeppson’s Malört began as a medicine, not as an alcoholic beverage.

Well, at least its inventor claimed it was a medicine (4). During Prohibition, a Swedish immigrant by the name of Carl Jeppson created the beverage (wine). He began selling it to those interested in buying, and given the lack of legally available liquor, the beverage had interested buyers. According to legend, the terrible taste was part of the reason Jeppson was able to sell it; when questioned by the cops, Jeppson told them to try it, and after one shot, they’d agree that nobody would drink something so terrible for fun (4). 

But what was Jeppson’s supposed to treat anyway? Stomach worms and parasites, apparently (3). While it likely didn’t have any impact on hypothetical parasites, that wouldn’t cause any problems given lack of regulation of drugs at the time. While the drink came out after the Golden Era of Patent (an era where patent medicines boomed in sales), it would slip through before the passage of the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act, allowing Jeppson to sell his concoction despite his dubious claims (1). 

After Prohibition ended, Jeppson sold his formula. Later, it would be popularized in the late 2000’s by a local bartender, and become the iconic drink of Chicagoland. While you can purchase it outside of the city these days, it might be best to hold off unless you want to try the taste of “pencil shavings and heartbreak” for yourself. 

1. Smithsonian. Balm of America: Patent Medicine Collection. Smithsonian Institution. Accessed July 25, 2024. https://www.si.edu/spotlight/balm-of-america-patent-medicine-collection/history

2. Schnitzler N. Check Out This Documentary On Malört, The Spirit That’s Proud To Be Undrinkable. Food Republic. Published April 21, 2015. Accessed July 25, 2024. https://www.foodrepublic.com/2015/04/21/check-oDow C. Jeppson’s Malört - A Brief Education. Real Food Traveler. Published November 12, 2019. Accessed July 25, 2024. https://www.realfoodtraveler.com/jeppsons-malort-a-brief-educationut-this-documentary-on-malort-the-spirit-thats-proud-to-be-undrinkable/

3. Dow C. Jeppson’s Malört - A Brief Education. Real Food Traveler. Published November 12, 2019. Accessed July 25, 2024. https://www.realfoodtraveler.com/jeppsons-malort-a-brief-education/

4 John W. Chicago’s Malört Liqueur Is Both Off-Putting and Excellent. Food & Wine. Accessed July 25, 2024. https://www.foodandwine.com/travel/history-of-malort-chicago-novelty-liquor

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The world of medicine has always drawn fascination from outsiders. Maybe this is why so many television shows, books and movies revolve around doctors, nurses, and other medical settings. As part of a new series on the blog, we here at Himmelfarb are going to dive into personal favorite pieces of media centered around medicine. While some of these titles may be familiar, hopefully there will be one or two among the bunch for one to enjoy as a treat after big exams. 

To start off the series, we’ll begin with my recommendation: 

House MD (2004-2012)

I’ve always loved a good mystery. As a teenager, I poured over classic Sherlock Holmes stories, fascinated by the solutions that I could never see coming. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that when I happened to catch an episode of House MD that I was instantly hooked. 

House MD is a mystery show packaged inside a medical show. Based on the character Sherlock Holmes (there’s a reason House’s best friend is named “Wilson”) and a real life doctor (1), the show centers on the aforementioned Doctor House, who is an expert at solving difficult medical mysteries. House is often cynical, unfriendly, and rude, but he’s engaging to watch despite his personality flaws. Each episode, House and his team aim to solve a medical mystery centered around a patient of the week. Like his namesake, House is unconventional and while his habit of breaking and entering is inadvisable in the real world, it does make for exciting television. The side characters of the show, such as Wilson, Cuddy, House’s team and later a cast of interns, provide plenty of other perspectives to follow that contrast with House’s own cynical worldview. When the show is at its best, the mystery of the week is compelling and ties into something going on in House’s own life. 

While parts of the show have aged poorly in the years since it’s premiered, the base formula of a flawed protagonist and a mystery only he can solve still holds up. It’s absolutely worth a watch if one wants to take a dive into one of the most popular shows of the 2000s. Just don’t take House’s bedside manner as a learning example. 

1.Gonzalez S. There’s A Doctor Behind ‘House’: Internist Lisa Sanders. YaleNews. Published October 30, 2009. Accessed July 22, 2024. https://news.yale.edu/2009/10/30/theres-doctor-behind-house-internist-lisa-sanders
2. House M.D. Heel & Toe Films, Shore Z Productions, Bad Hat Harry Productions; 2004.

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