The enigma of life: confronting marvels at the edges of science.

Einstein famously claimed that "the most incomprehensible thing about the universe is that it is comprehensible." This statement suggests that no amount of scientific explanation will suffice to make sense of the bizarre situation of the human mind within the universe. So what are the actual roles of awe and wonder within the framework of contemporary science? How, for instance, do awe and wonder inform scientists' understanding of the phenomena they are researching? What aspects of contemporary science are more likely to elicit wonder, and why? Is science rechanneling our innate thirst for knowledge and understanding toward more concrete and palpable realities, or is it aggravating the tension between truth and meaning by revealing the scope of our ignorance when it comes to probing the ultimate nature of reality? Physicist Marcelo Gleiser, experimental psychologist Tania Lombrozo, and physician Gavin Francis analyze the impact of awe and wonder on their own work and on the mindsets of their colleagues carrying out leading-edge scientific research.

Three poisonous plants (Oenanthe, Cicuta and Anamirta) that antagonise the effect of γ-aminobutyric acid in human brain.

Although we are familiar with common British plants that are poisonous, such as Atropa belladonna (deadly nightshade) and Aconitum napellus (monkshood), the two most poisonous plants in the British Flora are Oenanthe crocata (dead man's fingers) and Cicuta virosa (cowbane). In recent years their poisons have been shown to be polyacetylenes (n-C2H2). The plants closely resemble two of the most common plants in the family Apiaceae (Umbelliferae), celery and parsley.

If case reports be the food of knowledge, write on: our Cases of the Quarter.

The value of publishing case reports has long been debated and the arguments are summarised. Last year, to encourage trainees, the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh's Senior Fellows Club inaugurated an annual prize for the best case report or case series published in the Journal of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh by a doctor in training. Some of the highlights of last year's entries are reviewed, commented on and developed.

A novel approach to the history of medicine: a look at the relationship between fiction and medical history.

This paper examines the recent upsurge in novels concerned with the history of medicine. It selects a range of different novels and asks how they relate to the work of the professional medical historian. Do these novels stimulate interest in the history of medicine or do they distort historical events? It is concluded that although writers often take liberties with the historical record, on balance, their work helps us to engage with the past and is likely to inspire readers to find out more about the history of medicine.

Factors influencing overall satisfaction of Core Medical Trainees in the Yorkshire and the Humber region, UK.

Background: This study explores the importance of various factors upon the overall satisfaction of Core Medical Trainees (CMTs) in the Yorkshire and Humber Deanery to aid targeting of improvement efforts.

Methods: Responses for all CMTs in Yorkshire and the Humber to all questions and domains from the UK National Training Survey 2017 were correlated with a marker of overall trainee satisfaction. Questions with high and low degrees of correlation were identified, as well as recurrent themes.

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose: a Review of Recent Alcohol Policy Developments in Europe.

Aim: This paper briefly reviews the history of alcohol policy development in Europe leading to the current consensus in the health field on strategic priorities. There is a review of recent policy developments in selected European countries, both EU and non-EU members.

Methods: Narrative review of published journal articles, publications from WHO, and other health organisations and government publications.

Murder in the archives: additions to the Sydney Smith Collection.

Axes, knives, truncheons and several home-made weapons are some of the feature pieces of a newly deposited collection within the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh archive. This paper uses examples from this unusual collection, consisting of 40 weapons and over 400 glass slides, to demonstrate the significance and contribution it has to understanding late 19th- and early 20th-century forensic science and medicine in Scotland. Previously belonging to the late Sir Sydney Smith, these objects and glass slides supplement the Sydney Smith paper collection that contains numerous casefiles spanning his career as a forensic practitioner both in Britain and internationally.

Sir Alexander Morison and The Physiognomy of Mental Diseases: Part 2.

Sir Alexander Morison's The Physiognomy of Mental Diseases and the original art work that formed the basis of the book have not had the scholarly attention they deserve. The published book and the commissioned portraits have not been studied in any detail. Historians have tended to offer cursory assessments that have reflected their own preconceived ideas rather than properly engaging with the material.

Improving the effectiveness of communication in hospitals for people with communication difficulties: results of an online Phase II survey.

Background: In a recent paper a working group set up by the Lay Advisory Committee of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE) had looked into the problems of patients with severe communication difficulties in hospital (J R Coll Physicians Edinb 2017; 47: 211-3). The present online survey expands on this with the objective of garnering the views of physicians on this matter.

Method: An invitation aimed at physicians to complete an online survey was made through the recently published paper.

The acute medical unit model: A characterisation based upon the National Health Service in Scotland.

Background: Acute medical units (AMUs) receive the majority of acute medical patients presenting to hospital as an emergency in the United Kingdom (UK) and in other international settings. They have emerged as a result of local service innovation in the context of a limited evidence base. As such, the AMU model is not well characterised in terms of its boundaries, patient populations and components of care.

Sir Alexander Morison and The Physiognomy of Mental Diseases: Part 1.

Sir Alexander Morison's The Physiognomy of Mental Diseases and the original art work that formed the basis of the book have not had the scholarly attention they deserve. The published book and the commissioned portraits have not been studied in any detail. Historians have tended to offer cursory assessments that have reflected their own preconceived ideas rather than properly engaging with the material.