Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Chapters.
A Call to Action: Antony Blinken's Quest for Peace in Gaza Chapter number.1
Antony Blinken, the 71st United States Secretary of State, sat at his desk, his eyes fixed on the stack of files in front of him. The situation in Gaza was deteriorating rapidly, and he knew he had to act fast. The conflict between Israel and Palestine had been ongoing for decades, but the recent escalation was different. The humanitarian crisis was deepening, and the risk of further violence was escalating by the day.
By Muhammad Ahmadabout a year ago in Chapters
What makes tuberculosis (TB) the world's most infectious killer?
In 2008, archeologists uncovered two 9,000-year old skeletons. There’s no definitive way of knowing what killed these ancient people, but we do know their bones were infected
By TBH Agencia Exclusiva Colsanitasabout a year ago in Chapters
How we conquered the deadly smallpox virus
10,000 years ago, a deadly virus arose in northeastern Africa. The virus spread through the air, attacking the skin cells, bone marrow, spleen, and lymph nodes of its victims. The unlucky infected developed fevers, vomiting, and rashes. 30% of infected people died during the second week of infection. Survivors bore scars and scabs for the rest of their lives. Smallpox had arrived. In 1350 B.C., the first smallpox epidemics hit during the Egypt-Hittite war. Egyptian prisoners spread smallpox to the Hittites, which killed their king and devastated his civilization. Insidiously, smallpox made its way around the world via Egyptian merchants, then through the Arab world with the Crusades, and all the way to the Americas with the Spanish and Portuguese conquests. Since then, it has killed billions of people with an estimated 300 to 500 million people killed in the 20th century alone. But smallpox is not unbeatable. In fact, the fall of smallpox started long before modern medicine. It began all the way back in 1022 A.D. According to a small book, called "The Correct Treatment of Small Pox," a Buddhist nun living in a famous mountain named O Mei Shan in the southern providence of Sichuan would grind up smallpox scabs and blow the powder into nostrils of healthy people. She did this after noticing that those who managed to survive smallpox never got it again, and her odd treatment worked. The procedure, called variolation, slowly evolved and by the 1700's, doctors were taking material from sores and putting them into healthy people through four or five scratches on the arm. This worked pretty well as inoculated people would not get reinfected, but it wasn't foolproof. Up to three percent of people would still die after being exposed to the puss. It wasn't until English physician Edward Jenner noticed something interesting about dairy maids that we got our modern solution. At age 13, while Jenner was apprentice to a country surgeon and apothecary in Sodbury, near Bristol, he heard a dairy maid say, "I shall never have smallpox, for I have had cowpox. I shall never have an ugly, pockmarked face." Cowpox is a skin disease that resembles smallpox and infects cows. Later on, as a physician, he realized that she was right, women who got cowpox didn't develop the deadly smallpox. Smallpox and cowpox viruses are from the same family. But when a virus infects an unfamiliar host, in this case cowpox infecting a human, it is less virulent, so Jenner decided to test whether the cowpox virus could be used to protect against smallpox. In May 1796, Jenner found a young dairy maid, Sarah Nelmes, who had fresh cowpox lesions on her hand and arm caught from the utters of a cow named Blossom. Using matter from her pustules, he inoculated James Phipps, the eight-year-old son of his gardener. After a few days of fever and discomfort, the boy seemed to recover. Two months later, Jenner inoculated the boy again, this time with matter from a fresh smallpox lesion. No disease developed, and Jenner concluded that protection was complete. His plan had worked. Jenner later used the cowpox virus in several other people and challenged them repeatedly with smallpox, proving that they were immune to the disease. With this procedure, Jenner invented the smallpox vaccination. Unlike variolation, which used actual smallpox virus to try to protect people, vaccination used the far less dangerous cowpox virus. The medical establishment, cautious then as now, deliberated at length over his findings before accepting them. But eventually vaccination was gradually accepted and variolation became prohibited
By TBH Agencia Exclusiva Colsanitasabout a year ago in Chapters
I FELL IN LOVE WITH THE GIRL I ARRESTED
Bimbo was homeless and tired, with no relatives or friends this made her pass every night in her car. However, on this particular night, she had slept in the car as usual and it was morning already but she was still in a deep sleep. It was the bang on the window that woke her up. Opening her eyes, she saw a man in a black dress, a police officer. She was afraid and immediately sat up. " Ma'am, sleeping in the car is prohibited," the officer said. " I was awake" Bimbo responded quickly. The officer instructed her to come out of the car but she argued that she had not done anything." Ma'am, get out of the car", he repeated. "Sir, I closed my eyes just for a second." "Really?" He queried again and insisted that she come out adding that sleeping in the car is illegal but if she parks there over the corner she can do it all. Super relieved, Bimbo asked, "night long? Really?" The Officer nodded in the affirmative and she thanked him for the help. As she was about to enter her car and drive to the place, a Senior Officer came and stopped her. He asked the junior Officer, "What exactly was she doing here all
By Modupe Shodipoabout a year ago in Chapters
The Unseen Sacrifice
In a small, quiet town, there lived a man named Andy. Andy was a simple man with a heart full of love. He had fallen deeply in love with a beautiful and intelligent woman named Rina. They had been together for several years, and to outsiders, their relationship seemed perfect. But behind their smiles lay struggles that no one knew about.
By kevin stevenabout a year ago in Chapters
1 Thessalonians Chapter 5
1 Thessalonians Chapter 5 is a rich and practical chapter that offers guidance on how to live a Christian life while awaiting the return of Christ. The Apostle Paul writes to the Thessalonian church to provide instructions on various aspects of their Christian conduct. Here is a summary of the chapter:
By Danny Prem kumarabout a year ago in Chapters
A Magical Theorem Was Undiscovered for Thousands of Years
In the heart of ancient civilizations, mathematicians and scholars dedicated their lives to unraveling the mysteries of numbers. They carved their discoveries into stone tablets, passed down knowledge through generations, and laid the foundations of mathematics as we know it today. But imagine, amidst all this, a powerful theorem remained hidden, waiting for someone to discover it. This is the story of a magical theorem that eluded the minds of scholars for thousands of years.
By Komal Ghotraabout a year ago in Chapters
