Mcgoogan News

The National Library of Medicine’s History of Medicine division has many online exhibits, some of which will get you in the mood for Halloween:

• Harry Potter’s World: Renaissance Science, Magic, and Medicine
• Do Mandrakes Really Scream? Magic and Medicine in Harry Potter
• Frankenstein: Penetrating the Secrets of Nature

Additionally, among the millions of published biomedical articles and books, there is sure to be research influenced by popular culture and folklore. Take a look at some of these Halloween-esque themed articles:

When zombies attack!: Mathematical modelling of an outbreak of zombie infection
P. Munz, I. Hudea, J. Imad and R.J. Smith
in: J.M. Tchuenche and C. Chiyaka (Eds.)  Infectious Disease Modelling Research Progress (pp.  133-150). Hauppauge, NY : Nova Science Publishers, 2009.
Free full-text (PDF)

Harry Potter and the curse of headache.
Sheftell F, Steiner TJ, Thomas H.
Headache. 2007 Jun;47(6):911-6.
PMID: 17578544
Abstract /  UNMC full-text /  TNMC full-text

Classification of human breathing sounds by the common vampire bat, Desmodus rotundus.
Gröger U, Wiegrebe L.
BMC Biol. 2006 Jun 16;4:18.
PMID: 16780579
Free full-text

[Does garlic protect against vampires? An experimental study]
Sandvik H, Baerheim A.
Tidsskr Nor Laegeforen. 1994 Dec 10;114(30):3583-6. Norwegian.
PMID: 7825135
Abstract

On the plausibility of Superman’s x-ray vision.
Pittenger JB.
Perception. 1983;12(5):635-9.
PMID: 6676715
Abstract