For thousands of years, humanity has suspected the moon of interfering in almost every department of medicine. Sleeplessness, fever, bleeding, melancholy, romance, tides, werewolves and madness in the emergency department? Someone has almost certainly blamed the moon. This monthly rhythm seemed too powerful to be irrelevant. If the moon could …

Coffee and chocolate have spent years in and out of medicine’s good books. One month, coffee is blamed for palpitations, high blood pressure and sleepless nights. The next, it is being praised for lowering the risk of diabetes, liver disease and early death. Chocolate is treated no better. A study …

There is a strange irony in the national conversation now unfolding. We are being asked to consider hosting artificial intelligence (AI) data centres but most of us know remarkably little about what they are, what they consume or what they may demand of the country. As a result, most of …

The school holidays have arrived. Children wake later. Shoes disappear under beds. Lunch kits are forgotten for a while. Grandparents become emergency babysitters. Cousins appear from nowhere. The house fills with noise, arguments, laughter, crumbs, wet towels and small human beings who suddenly seem to be hungry every 20 minutes. …

There is one image from childhood that has never left me. After the Common Entrance results were announced, the school playground became a festival of joy. Children ran across the yard calling out the names of their new schools. Parents embraced one another. Teachers smiled with quiet satisfaction. Yet, away …

Most people worry about their heart. Some worry about their blood sugar, cancer, cholesterol, blood pressure or the mysterious ache that appears after the age of forty and never entirely leaves. Very few worry about their gums. That may be one of the greatest mistakes in modern health. The average …

There is a moment that catches many of us by surprise. Indeed, it arrives without warning. One day, your father is the strongest man you know. He lifts impossible things. Fixes impossible problems. Knows the answer to every question. Drives through the night without getting tired. Walks faster than everyone …

A few months ago, I asked an elderly patient a question I ask dozens of times each week: “How are you doing?” Her blood pressure was acceptable. Her diabetes was reasonably controlled. Her cholesterol numbers looked reassuring. “I’m fine, doctor,” she replied. Then she hesitated. The smile disappeared. “I just …

There is a person living somewhere in Trinidad and Tobago who may one day save your life. You do not know their name. You may never meet them. You will never invite them to your wedding. They will never attend your birthday celebration. They will never appear in family photographs. …

As a newly minted doctor fresh from postgraduate training in the United Kingdom, I returned home brimming with confidence. I was brash, full of textbook knowledge and ready to tackle any medical challenge that came my way. Little did I know that one of my most memorable patients would teach …

The photographs were difficult to ignore. Long lines outside the Seventh-day Adventist Hospital. Elderly patients waiting patiently in chairs. Family members guiding parents and grandparents through crowds. Faces filled with hope, anxiety and exhaustion. All for cataract surgery. Not cosmetic surgery. Not experimental treatment. Not some futuristic robotic procedure available …

The MV Hondius, an expedition cruise vessel that promised adventure among glaciers, seabirds and remote islands, has become the centre of an international public health investigation after a suspected outbreak of hantavirus left multiple passengers critically ill and at least three dead. A cruise has become a floating epidemiology lecture. …