Egyptians, Not Greeks Were True Fathers of Medicine

Scientists examining documents dating back 3,500 years say they have found proof that the origins of modern medicine lie in ancient Egypt and not with Hippocrates and the Greeks.
The research team from the KNH Centre for Biomedical Egyptology at The University of Manchester discovered the evidence in medical papyri written in 1,500BC – 1,000 years before Hippocrates was born.

"Classical scholars have always considered the ancient Greeks, particularly Hippocrates, as being the fathers of medicine but our findings suggest that the ancient Egyptians were practising a credible form of pharmacy and medicine much earlier," says Jackie Campbell.
"When we compared the ancient remedies against modern pharmaceutical protocols and standards, we found the prescriptions in the ancient documents not only compared with pharmaceutical preparations of today but that many of the remedies had therapeutic merit."

The medical documents, which were first discovered in the mid-19th century, showed that ancient Egyptian physicians treated wounds with honey, resins and metals known to be antimicrobial.

The team also discovered prescriptions for laxatives of castor oil and colocynth and bulk laxatives of figs and bran. Other references show that colic was treated with hyoscyamus, which is still used today, and that cumin and coriander were used as intestinal carminatives.
Further evidence showed that musculo-skeletal disorders were treated with rubefacients to stimulate blood flow and poultices to warm and soothe. They used celery and saffron for rheumatism, which are currently topics of pharmaceutical research, and pomegranate was used to eradicate tapeworms, a remedy that remained in clinical use until 50 years ago.

"Many of the ancient remedies we discovered survived into the 20th century and, indeed, some remain in use today, albeit that the active component is now produced synthetically," says Campbell. "Other ingredients endure and acacia is still used in cough remedies while aloes forms a basis to soothe and heal skin conditions."


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Egyptian Blogger Gets 4 Year Prison Sentence

An Egyptian blogger has been sentenced to four years in prison by an Egyptian court due to the content of his writings.

Karim Amer is the first Egyptian blogger to be tried for writing blogs criticizing Egypt's al-Azhar religious authorities, President Hosni Mubarak and the religion of Islam. Charges against Amer included "spreading information disruptive of public order and damaging to the country's reputation," "incitement to hate Islam" and "defaming the President of the Republic."

"This sentence is yet another slap in the face of freedom of expression in Egypt," says Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Middle East and North Africa deputy program director of human rights group Amnesty International. "The Egyptian authorities must protect the peaceful exercise of freedom of expression, even if the views expressed might be perceived by some as offensive. Amnesty International considers Amer to be a prisoner of conscience who is being prosecuted on account of the peaceful expression of his views."

Egypt is a top receipient of U.S. foreign aid.

"The Egyptian authorities must repeal legislation that, in violation of international standards, stipulates prison sentences for acts which constitute nothing more than the peaceful exercise of the rights of freedom of expression, thought, conscience and religion," adds Hadj Sahraoui.

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Blogger In Egypt Faces 10 Years In Prison

A blogger in Egypt is jailed and faces up to 10 years in prison for his writings.

Karim Amer is the first Egyptian blogger to be tried for writing blogs criticizing Egypt's al-Azhar religious authorities, President Husni Mubarak and Islam.

Charges against him include "spreading information disruptive of public order and damaging to the country's reputation," "incitement to hate Islam"and "defaming the President of the Republic," according to human rights group Amnesty International, which is calling for Karim Amer's release.

"Karim Amer's trial appears intended as a warning by the authorities toother bloggers who dare criticize the government or use their blogs to spread information considered harmful to Egypt's reputation," says Malcolm Smart, director of Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Program. "This is particularly worrying as bloggers have increasingly been posting information about human rights abuses in Egypt, including torture and police violence against peaceful protesters."

Eqypt is a top recipient of U.S. aid.

Karim Amer was first detained by the Egyptian authorities for 12 days in October 2005 because of his writings on his blog about Islam and the sectarian riots which took place in the same month in Alexandria's Maharram Bek district. These riots followed reports that the video of a play believed to be anti-Islam was being screened in a Coptic church in the district, Amnesty International says.

After he was charged and released, disciplinary measures were taken against him and he was dismissed from al-Azhar University in March 2006. The university's disciplinary board found him guilty of blaspheming Islam, Amnesty International says.


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Iraqi Refugees Urgently Need Help from U.S., Other Nations

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is urging the United States, the European Union and otherleading nations to respond quickly to the plight of refugees who have fled Iraq and to support U.N. efforts to assist them.

"The flight of almost 2 million Iraqi citizens to other countries makes this a refugee crisis of historic proportions," says George Rupp, president of the IRC. "It is urgent that the international community meet the U.N. refugee agency's appeal for $60 million as a first step in addressing the needs of these people."

The funding would assist the nearly 2 million refugees who the U.N. says have fled to Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey, as well as 1.7 million citizens who have been displaced inside the borders of Iraq itself.

The IRC also called on the U.S. government to launch an expandedinitiative to resettle Iraqi refugees in the United States, with a focus onthree groups: the most vulnerable, particularly religious minorities; thosewith relatives already in the United States; and those at special risk because of their association in Iraq with U.S.-led coalition forces or the coalition's civilian contractors. A number of these Iraqis -- including translators and drivers -- have been killed, and the security of their surviving family members has been compromised.

"The U.S. bears a special obligation to such individuals, and they should be afforded protection and, when necessary, the opportunity of expedited resettlement in the United States," says Robert Carey, the IRC's vice president of resettlement.

"Even with an expanded program, only a small portion of refugees from Iraq can be resettled in the United States," Carey says. "So it is urgentthat the U.S. and the international community begin supporting the U.N.refugee agency's efforts on the ground to coordinate aid and ensure thesafety and security of the huge population of displaced Iraqis."

These measuresneed to be undertaken immediately, both for humanitarian reasons and toprevent a destabilization of the region that could be caused by thepresence of massive numbers of desperate refugees, he says.

Founded in 1933, the International Rescue Committee is a global leader in relief, rehabilitation, post-conflict development, advocacy andresettlement services for refugees and others uprooted or affected byviolent conflict and oppression. In the United States, the IRC has resettled thousands of refugees who fled Iraq while it was ruled by SaddamHussein, and provided relief services in Iraq in 1991 after the Gulf War and in 2003 after the invasion that toppled the Hussein regime.


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