As the average age of persons in the United States continues to rise, there is a growing need to educate people about various aspects of gerontology. At Ithaca College, the staff members at the Gerontology Institute have worked to create a range of lesson plans that deal explicitly with aging issues. All of these plans have been field tested in the classroom and they were designed to meet rigorous...

Murder has always been viewed as a monstrous crime, and the sensationalism that one finds in today's media regarding homicide and related dastardly deeds is not without precedent. This compelling digital collection from the National Library of Medicine brings together murder pamphlets from the 17th to 19th centuries which document a range of crimes via their approach to describing a range of...

Suicide is a serious and preventable public health problem. The National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention works to provide public health professionals, concerned individuals, and organizations with resources about suicide prevention. The Alliance was established in 2010 with a goal of saving 20,000 lives by 2015. It has a distinguished leadership group which includes the secretary of the...

A report with disturbing implications was released this week by the World Health Organization indicating that suicide claims close to one million lives each year, and that this figure could rise to 1.5 million by 2020. The report also noted that suicide kills more people each year than road traffic accidents in most European countries, and that worldwide, suicide claims more lives than homicide...

Researchers and scholars looking at historical pandemics frequently study the communities that were strongly affected by these various occurrences. However, this fascinating digital archive from the Center for the History of Medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School looks at seven communities during the 1918-1920 influenza pandemic that experienced low rates of influenza during this...

Space date set for Scotty’s ashes http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/5212644.stm Celebrating the Legendary James Doohan http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/features/specials/article/6527.html An Interview with James “Scotty” Doohan http://www.infinite-energy.com/iemagazine/issue26/scotty.html Space Services http://www.memorialspaceflights.com/ Star Trek: New...

The World Health Organization (WHO) performs a great deal of research related to maternal and newborn health and survival, and this recent report represents some of their latest work in this area. Working together with a wide range of partners, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the World Bank, the WHO released this 111-page report in April 2008. The report is based on data drawn...

The World Health Organization (WHO) provides a vast array of materials on global public health statistics for policy makers, journalists, and other such folks. On the site, visitors can look over reports dating back to 2005 and they are welcome to download specific sections or the entire report if so desired. Reports are usually available in at least three languages (French, Spanish, and English)...