Fownhope’s Heart of Oak Society traces its roots to the age of friendly societies, when communities provided their own safety net. Its anniversary celebrations reveal a tradition still very much alive, says MARK SEDDON
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Germ warfare threatens defenceless humanity
Antibiotics, once the saviours of humans and animals, are no longer providing protection and cure as overuse has lead to germs developing resistance. What’s to be done? asks PETER FROST
HUMANITY’S SAVIOUR: Selman Waksman
ANGUS REID explains the significance of Cuba’s egalitarian in letter and spirit Family Code and the pertinent lessons it holds for democracies anywhere in the world
Special report by PEOPLE’S WORLD
NICK WRIGHT considers how the isolation of Israel and a new film on the controversial Italian communist leader are creating new reference points for Italy’s left
CARLOS MARTINEZ says Cuba’s achievements in the face of a criminal blockade are startling, but the island’s future if the United States succeeds in crushing it looks bleak
AMNON BROWNFIELD STEIN reports that far-right MPs who mobbed the event organised by Hadash may have helped raise awareness of the brutality of the Israeli right
Antibiotic materials and substances have been used for centuries to treat infections, although we didn’t know that many infections were caused by bacteria.
Until the 20th century, bacterial infections that we now consider straightforward to treat like pneumonia were the largest cause of human death.
Various natural materials including honey, moulds and plant extracts had long been used to treat infections by some of the earliest civilisations . The ancient Egyptians, for example, used mouldy bread applied to infected wounds.
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