With Humanities Highlights, Himmelfarb staff aims to spotlight useful books from our Humanities collection. This week, we’re showcasing “Rigor Mortis: How Sloppy Science Creates Worthless Cures, Crushes Hope, and Wastes Billions,” by NPR science-journalist Richard Harris.
About the Book:
Applying his decades of journalistic experience to the “reproducibility crisis” - a term coined to describe the difficulty in replicating large amounts of published science - Richard Harris interviews many key figures attempting to improve the standards of science. Chapter by chapter, he analyzes factors of the crisis such as human error (reporting only what works, not doing double blind experiments, refusal to comply with fact checkers), sample sizes determined by budget, experiments that use only one cell line, test animal problems, a culture that incentives publication speed over accuracy, debunked facts circulating like ghost ships, and more.
Part compendium of errors, part call to action, “Rigor Mortis” is an eye-opening account of the last couple decades of scientific rigor.
Reasons to Read:
If you’re looking for a balanced, outsider’s take on the subject, Harris does an excellent job presenting arguments and counter-arguments. For example, he discusses both Brian Nosek’s Reproducibility Project: Cancer Biology, which attempted to replicate 50 published attention-gathering papers, and the criticism of the project from Robert Weinberg, one of the lead scientists of the chosen studies (Harris, 2017, pg. 159).
Despite the aggressive (and somewhat hyperbolic) title, Harris writes with a sense of concern that never feels disparaging. If you’re looking for a broader look at the issue, the extensive interview range presents a fuller picture than many of the articles out there.
Reasons to Avoid:
If you’re already familiar with the issue, “Rigor Mortis” could prove depressing.
Although science self-corrects, and although Harris presents improvements across the board (and emphasizes how many of them would be cost effective), the road ahead seems long, and the weight of culture change seems daunting.
With Humanities Highlights, Himmelfarb staff aims to spotlight useful books from our Humanities collection. This week, we’re showcasing “The Year of Magical Thinking” by Joan Didion.
About the Book: “The Year of Magical Thinking” is a memoir of the grief experienced by Joan Didion, novelist and journalist, after the sudden death of her husband, John Gregory Dunne. Written the year after his death, Didion turns her journalistic eye to her own raw thought processes, resulting in a masterful study of grief and a testament to a successful marriage.
Reasons to Read: Since Didion wrote “The Year of Magical Thinking so close to her husband’s death, the work maintains an immediacy; reading it almost captures the evolution of her thoughts as they developed. Raw but measured, it provides a sharp picture of grief that could very well help those who are grieving.
Reasons to Avoid: If you’re triggered by flaunting of luxury, be prepared for copious references to exotic travel, hotel living, ruby crystal glasses, and phrases like [speaking of the late 60s], “a mood where no one thought twice about flying 700 miles for dinner" (Didion, 2005, p. 49).
Further Reading:
Play It as It Lays - Didion’s classic 1970 novel, which depicts 1960s Hollywood and an emerging nihilism (available at Himmelfarb through Ebook Central Complete).
Slouching Towards Bethlehem - Didion’s 1968 collection of non-fiction, often regarded as the best example of her new-journalism (available through consortium loan).
References:
Didion, J. (2005). The Year of Magical Thinking. Vintage International.
With Humanities Highlights, Himmelfarb staff aims to spotlight useful books from our Humanities collection. This week, we’re showcasing “The Status Syndrome: How Social Standing Affects Our Health and Longevity” by Sir Michael Marmot.
About the Book: Based on the Whitehall Studies (ten year mortality studies into the British Civil Service), “The Status Syndrome” is the culmination of Sir Michael Marmot’s decades long research. In it, he concludes that autonomy and the ability to participate in society are key factors of health. Relentlessly, he investigates the usual suspects of poor health - smoking, processed foods, etc - and demonstrates how they don’t fully account for health disparities. A blend of medical research and public health recommendation, “The Status Syndrome” demonstrates a keen intersection of analysis and application.
Reasons to Read: Beyond being highly accessible, Michael Marmot brings a unique perspective as the original leader of the Whitehall studies. And since the studies themselves focus solely on the middle class, the book avoids the obvious (ex: of course dire poverty leads to poor health outcomes).
It’s a book that goes beyond left and right wing politics, and, in fact, might challenge either value-set. It can be read selfishly - i.e. what are the ingredients for a healthy/quality life, and how do I position myself? Or, it can be read selflessly - i.e. how can we organize society so others can have a healthy/quality life?
Reasons to Avoid: The book takes a commonsense idea - higher status correlates tightly with better health outcomes - and takes the magnifying glass to its nuances. But if you prefer easily graspable ideas without looking into the examples, then “higher status correlates tightly with better health outcomes” might be enough for you.
If you’re a policy-junky, you can skim the Acheson report online (fully titled the “Independent Inquiry into Inequalities in Health Report”), from which Marmot derives his government recommendations.
(Not) Fun Facts:
In an eye-opening example, Marmot features our very own D.C. as an example of status gradient. “The status syndrome can be illustrated by a short ride on the Washington, D.C., subway. Travel from the southeast of downtown Washington to Montgomery County, Maryland. For each mile traveled, life expectancy rises about a year and a half. There is a twenty-year gap between poor blacks at one end of the journey and rich whites at the other” (Marmot, p. 2).
References
Marmot, Michael. (2005). The Status Syndrome. Times Books.
At the end of January each year, the day arrives. International Holocaust Remembrance Day is observed this Saturday, January 27.
Memory and the act of commemoration are paramount in preventing history from repeating itself. International Holocaust Remembrance Day, also known as International Day in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust, was established by the United Nations in November 2005. The day commemorates the killing, by the Nazi regime and its collaborators, of six million Jews and millions belonging to other populations. January 27 was the date chosen to commemorate this day because it was the date that the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and extermination camps were liberated by Allied forces. Other countries also commemorate the Holocaust on different days.
You may have seen the 2022 Himmelfarb Library blog post commemorating this day, which covered doctors and the Holocaust, and another post from that year, which covered the Nazi Medical Research Dilemma. This year, we will focus on evidence that experiencing the trauma of the Holocaust induced genetic and epigenetic changes that are intergenerational. Epigenetics refers to “heritable changes in phenotype which do not involve alterations to the underlying DNA sequence” (Martin, 2014).
In a 2014 study, the first of its kind, blood samples were collected from 80 adult offspring with at least one Holocaust survivor parent. These blood samples were correlated with maternal and paternal PTSD in the parents (Yehuda et al., 2014). Findings showed that the glucocorticoid receptor gene GR-1F was altered, but in different ways, depending on whether the subjects experienced maternal or paternal PTSD. The findings of the study indicated that both maternal and paternal PTSD impact the stress response of offspring via the process of methylation, which is a first-line biochemical process that plays a critical role in the modification of DNA (Menezo et al., 2020).
Systematic review has also been applied to the topic of intergenerational trauma resulting from the Holocaust, Published in 2019, “Intergenerational consequences of the Holocaust on offspring mental health: a systematic review of associated factors and mechanisms”, reviewed 23 studies focused on the impact of the Holocaust on parent and child characteristics and interactions which were found to lead to the development of psychological symptoms, as well as biological and epigenetic variations (Dashorst et al., 2019).
Reviewing the evidence, the authors sought to examine: “association between parental and offspring’s mental health problems;” "perceived parenting and attachment;” “parental Holocaust history;” "additional stress and traumatic life events in Holocaust survivor offspring;” and “cortisol metabolism, epigenetic factors, and genetic predisposition” (Dashorst et al., 2019, pp. 22-23).
Assembling and reviewing this evidence, the authors suggest their findings indicate that, rather than pointing to direct observation of particular disorders in offspring, the impact of Holocaust trauma appears to result in diverse mental health problems that are influenced by characteristics of both the parents and the offspring, suggesting that treatment should be offered to both generations, as well as parenting support for traumatized parents raising children. Intergenerational effects were also found to impact cortisol levels, which regulate the body’s stress response. Holocaust survivor offspring were found to have increased vulnerability to stress.
Evidence related to Holocaust survivors and their offspring offers important guidance on biological mechanisms impacted by trauma, and on the diagnosis and treatment of, and support for, mental health conditions. However, new studies are more difficult to undertake as the generation that survived the Holocaust begins to die off.
Locally, this year’s commemoration of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which coincides with a surge in antisemitism worldwide, will take place in DC at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum on Friday, January 26 and Saturday, January 27. Events open to the public include reading of victims’ names and the option to light a memorial candle. On Friday, January 26, between 2-3:45 p.m., Holocaust survivors will be present at the museum to engage visitors about their experiences.
Consider making a trip to the Museum this year to speak with a Holocaust survivor -- the opportunity will not last forever.
Holocaust literature is widely available at GW. This research guide from Gelman Library can help guide your exploration of our collections.
Also, consider joining GW’s SMHS Anti-Racism Coalition for its upcoming discussions of the book It Could Happen Here (available to read online through Himmelfarb Library), by Jonathan Greenblatt, head of the Anti-Defamation League. The ADL was founded in 1913 "to stop the defamation of the Jewish people, and to secure justice and fair treatment to all."
International Holocaust Remembrance Day offers us all an opportunity to reflect, to learn and to consider how we can all work to prevent the conditions that fostered a climate of hate to develop into the historical events that coined the word genocide.
References
Dashorst, P., Mooren, T. M., Kleber, R. J., de Jong, P. J., & Huntjens, R. J. C. (2019). Intergenerational consequences of the Holocaust on offspring mental health: A systematic review of associated factors and mechanisms. European journal of psychotraumatology, 10(1), 1654065. https://doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2019.1654065
Martin S. (2014). Journal Watch review of Influences of maternal and paternal PTSD on epigenetic regulation of the glucocorticoid receptor gene in Holocaust survivor offspring. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 62(6), 1101–1103. https://doi.org/10.1177/0003065114560792
Menezo, Y., Clement, P., Clement, A., & Elder, K. (2020). Methylation: An ineluctable biochemical and physiological process essential to the transmission of life. International journal of molecular sciences, 21(23), 9311. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21239311
Yehuda, R., Daskalakis, N. P., Lehrner, A., Desarnaud, F., Bader, H. N., Makotkine, I., Flory, J. D., Bierer, L. M., & Meaney, M. J. (2014). Influences of maternal and paternal PTSD on epigenetic regulation of the glucocorticoid receptor gene in Holocaust survivor offspring. The American journal of psychiatry, 171(8), 872–880. https://doi.org10.1176/appi.ajp.2014.13121571
As we reflect on the life, work, and impact that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. has had on our nation and the world, we are reminded that Dr. King was passionate about activism on racial discrimination, poverty, and health disparities. A great way to honor Dr. King’s legacy and continue his important work is to learn more about anti-racism, inequities, and disparities in healthcare and use this knowledge to help build a more inclusive healthcare system. Himmelfarb Library has some great resources that can help you learn more about these topics so you can put your knowledge into action!
Himmelfarb Resources:
Himmelfarb’s Anriracism in Healthcare Guide provides information and resources related to antiracism in healthcare including links to professional healthcare organizations centered around diversity and health justice issues, training resources, and links to GW-specific organizations. Browse the Journal Special Collections tab to find journal issues and health news on antiracism-related issues. Antiracism books and ebooks available at Himmelfarb are also included in this guide including:
In addition to the Antiracism in Healthcare Guide, Himmelfarb has a Diversity and Disparities in Health Care collection of books and e-books with nearly 200 books addressing issues of disparity and representation of minority communities in healthcare.
If you are interested in becoming more involved, consider reaching out to local student or professional organizations such as White Coats for Black Lives or the Antiracism Nursing Student Alliance. Involvement with these and similar organizations can help you put your knowledge into action and offer opportunities for collaboration in furthering the cause of finding solutions to healthcare disparities and opportunities to educate others on issues of health injustices.
With Humanities Highlights, Himmelfarb staff aims to spotlight useful books from our Humanities collection. This week, we’re showcasing an inspirational book for the New Year: “Mountains Beyond Mountains: the Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer,” by Tracy Kidder.
With Humanities Highlights, Himmelfarb staff aims to spotlight useful books from our Humanities collection. This week, we’re showcasing an inspirational book for the New Year: “Mountains Beyond Mountains: the Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer,” by Tracy Kidder.
About the Book: Part biography, part origin story of Partners in Health, “Mountains Beyond Mountains” tells the story of Dr. Paul Farmer, a man who dedicated his life to battling disease and serving the poor with out-of-the-box-thinking, a justice-fueled irreverence for the status quo, and a willingness to redefine the impossible. Journalist Tracy Kidder follows Farmer’s service in Haiti and Peru with wonder and intimidation, entertaining periodic skepticism about Farmer’s practicality (walking 7 hours to visit a single patient, for example) while ultimately marveling at the work accomplished.
Reasons to Read: As an inspiration for anyone studying medicine or public health, Farmer shows that apathy can be overcome, policy change can happen, millions can be saved – and anything’s possible.
Reasons to Avoid: Farmer’s example seems (at times) impossibly high, even unreplicatable, and his vision of charity impossibly uncompromising. It’s important to remember that charity does not require genius and that any progress helps.
Fun Facts:
The Arcade Fire song, “Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)” is named after the novel (CBC Music).
Further Reading:
Bending the Arc - a 2017 documentary about Partners in Health
Himmelfarb Library is proud to support GW Nursing students, faculty, researchers, and staff by providing professional-level, scholarly full-text nursing resources. Today’s post will highlight some of our top nursing databases, journals, books, and guides.
Databases:
CINAHL Complete is one of our most highly used nursing resources! CINAHL Complete provides access to nursing journals and publications produced by the National League for Nursing and the American Nurses Association. In addition to full-text access to 600 titles, CINAHL Complete provides easy-to-understand Evidence-Based Care Sheets and Quick Lessons for a variety of conditions. Topics covered include nursing, biomedicine, alternative/complementary medicine, consumer health, and 17 allied health disciplines.
ClinicalKey for Nursing is another top nursing database available through Himmelfarb. With access to full-text evidence-based nursing monographs, clinical trial modules, books, journals, practice guidelines, and core measures with nursing recommendations, ClinicalKey for Nursing is a great resource for all things nursing-related!
TelemedInsights, developed by the GW School of Nursing and the School of Medicine and Health Sciences, supports interactive self-paced learning to support high-quality, culturally competent patient care using telehealth technology. This great resource is designed for students and healthcare professionals. To access this resource, click the login button. No login or password is required. However, if accessing this resource from off-campus, you must use the GW VPN.
Journals:
Himmelfarb provides access to more than 200 nursing journals! Our most popular, highest-use titles are:
American Journal of Nursing (AJN): As the oldest and largest circulating nursing journal in the world, AJN promotes excellence in professional nursing with articles focused on cutting-edge, evidence-based information while providing a holistic outlook on health and nursing.
Journal of Nursing Administration (JONA): With content geared to nurse executives, directors of nursing, and nurse managers, JONA is an authoritative source of information on developments and advances in patient care leadership. This journal prides itself in delivering practical, solution-oriented articles that provide the information and tools to help you excel in a changing healthcare environment.
International Journal of Nursing Studies (IJNS): IJNS published original research on a wide range of nursing topics including healthcare delivery, organization, management, policy, and research methods.
Journal of Advanced Nursing (JAN): JAN publishes articles related to evidence-based nursing, midwifery, and healthcare. Topics include cancer nursing, community nursing, geriatric nursing, home care, mental health nursing, nursing research, and more!
E-Books:
We also have some great e-books available! Notable titles include:
Learn more about Himmelfarb’s nursing resources by visiting our Nursing Guide. You’ll find information about nursing textbooks, and NCLEX resources, as well as information for BSN, MSN, Nurse Practitioners, DPN, and Ph.D. nursing students. We also have a Nurse Practitioners Guide that includes information on physical examination, diagnosis, drug information, links to professional organizations, and evidence-based medicine. Himmelfarb’s Antiracism in Healthcare Guide is another fantastic resource providing resources to help you learn about antiracism and racial bias in healthcare.
With Humanities Highlights, Himmelfarb staff aims to spotlight useful books from our Humanities collection. This week, we’re showcasing “Microcosm” by Carl Zimmer.
With Humanities Highlights, Himmelfarb staff aims to spotlight useful books from our Humanities collection. This week, we’re showcasing “Microcosm” by Carl Zimmer.
About the Book: “Microcosm” chronicles the scientific advances – and the birth of microbiology – through the lens of E. coli (to borrow Zimmer’s phrase) [5]. Because of their relative simplicity (they’re one of the only genomes that scientists have completely mapped), E. coli has been at the vanguard of insights into DNA, metabolism, evolution, and the manipulation of life. Microcosm is a stunning love letter to finding the biggest insights in the smallest places.
Reasons to Read: If your only knowledge of E. coli comes from a headline about Chipotle, or
if you enjoy seeing the world completely differently: a world where the majority of genes in your body aren’t your own [53], where your body is a site of chemical warfare, and where the lines between species, viruses, and hosts blur.
Reasons to Avoid: If you’re already well versed in the history of microbiology and genetic engineering, Microcosm might be redundant for you.
Fun Facts:
E. coli, which have been bio-engineered to glow, can be trained to “draw” - including pixel art of Mario (Simon-Lewis, 2017).
Human genes can be inserted into - and functional within - E. coli (Zimmer, 2008, 187).
Simon-Lewis, A. (05/24/2017). Scientists teach E.coli bacteria to 'draw'. Bacteria draws Mario. Wired. https://www.wired.co.uk/article/disco-bacteria-mit
With Humanities Highlights, Himmelfarb staff aims to spotlight useful books from our Humanities collection. This week, we’re showcasing “The Knife Man: Blood, Body Snatching, and the Birth of Modern Surgery” by Beth Macy.
With Humanities Highlights, Himmelfarb staff aims to spotlight useful books from our Humanities collection. This week, we’re showcasing “The Knife Man: Blood, Body Snatching, and the Birth of Modern Surgery” by Beth Macy.
About the Book: “The Knife Man” is a biography of maverick surgeon, “John Hunter:” the father of scientific surgery. Moore deep-dives into the murky depths of pre-enlightenment surgery and the (sometimes sketchy, sometimes shadowy) birth of modern surgical practice.
Reasons to Read: If you enjoy reading about quacky medicine (bloodletting for every possible ailment), want to reinforce your gratitude for the 21st century (anesthetics!), or feel intrigued by sentences like, “Excitedly, he hurried the limb up to his attic” (Moore, 2005, p. 11).
Reasons to Avoid: If you’re squeamish about rotting bodies (and physicians tasting them . . .), excising bullets with grime encrusted tools, cauldrons to boil down skeletons, bladder stones “the size of tennis balls” (p. 46), or grisly accounts of gonorrhea (one Georgian aristocrat had “at least” 19 bouts) (p.128).
Fun Facts:
Among many other firsts, JohnHunter was the first person to successfully practice artificial insemination, way back in the 1770s (Ombelet and Robays, 2015).
John Hunter’s eclectic manor formed the basis for Robert Louis Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. With his wide involvement in grave robbing rings, it’s not hard to imagine. (John Hunter Left a Body of Work Behind Him, 2019).
"The Dissecting Room," by T.C. Wilson, which depicts William Hunter, John's brother
References:
John Hunter Left a Body of Work Behind Him. (Oct. 4th, 2019). Scottish Field.
Moore, Wendy. (2005). The Knife Man. Crown.
Ombelet, W., & Robays, J. Van. (2015). Artificial insemination history: hurdles and milestones. Facts Views
With Humanities Highlights, Himmelfarb staff aims to spotlight useful books from our Humanities collection. This week, we’re showcasing “Dopesick” by Beth Macy.
With Humanities Highlights, Himmelfarb staff aims to spotlight useful books from our Humanities collection. This week, we’re showcasing “Dopesick” by Beth Macy.
About the Book: “Dopesick” is an inside look at America’s opioid crisis through the lens of big pharma, drug dealers, addicts, and the communities desperately trying to save them. Taking a zoom-in-out approach, Macy contextualizes several families of drug abusers and dealers (which are fluid categories) into the overall opioid epidemic. This microcosm forefronts the human suffering of decisions made tucked away in boardrooms and sales offices.
What Makes it Essential: As a resident of Roanoke, VA since 1989, Macy’s reporting for The Roanoke Times positioned her to directly report on the disintegration of Appalachian communities (Weeks, 2022). Her 2012 book, Factory Man, covered the shuttering of Appalachian factories and helped her write the bigger picture of a broken community targeted by a predatory pharmaceutical company.
Reasons to Read: “Dopesick” takes an uncomfortable look at the strategies big pharma uses to target doctors and how easy it can be to follow incentives. Macy investigates their rationalization while also providing examples of people who stand up against the system despite facing the same pressures.
Caveats: While “Dopesick” discusses Purdue Pharma, it’s a book about the entirety of the crisis. For a deeper look into Purdue Pharma, Barry Meier’s “Pain Killer: An Empire of Deceit and the Origin of America's Opioid Epidemic” helps complete the picture.
Further Reading:
The Big Fix: Hope After Heroin, by Tracey Helton Mitchell - which Beth Macy calls the best book about heroin recovery that she’s read (available at the DC public library)
Dreamland: The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic, by Sam Quinones (available at Himmelfarb)
References:
Weeks, Olivia. (2022, February 4th). Q&A: Beth Macy on her Journey from Paper Girl to Hard-Hitting Opioid Journalist. The Daily Yonder. https://dailyyonder.com/qa-beth-macy-on-her-journey-from-paper-girl-to-hard-hitting-opioid-journalist/2022/02/04/
