Big Picture (magazine)

Infobox Journal
title = Big Picture
abbreviation =


discipline = Interdisciplinary
language = English
website = http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/Professional-resources/Education-resources/Big-Picture
publisher = Wellcome Trust
country = UK
history = 2005 to present
ISSN = 1745-7777
JSTOR =The "Big Picture" series provides teachers and post-16 students with up-to-date information on research findings in biomedicine, and the social and ethical implications of this research. Published by the Wellcome Trust as a free educational resource each issue is freely available as a print subscription and via the website [ [http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/Professional-resources/Education-resources/Big-Picture/index.htm Big Picture website] ] .In addition to the print magazine, the website includes resources for teachers and online activities for students.

Recent issues and topics

How we look (June 2008)

When we see people, we recognise individuals, we make judgements about them, we draw conclusions about their age, their sex, their personality, their mood and their intentions. And, deliberately or not, we send signals to others - through our expressions, the way we dress and the way we modify our bodies.This issue of 'Big Picture' looks at this remarkable interplay - between the biology that sculpts our form and the culture that interprets, embellishes and adapts this form. It asks what we mean by ‘normal’, what beauty is and how such concepts influence the way we live. It looks at why we take the form we do and considers what we might look like in the future.

Drug Development (December 2007)

While providing immense benefits, drugs are not the perfect solution. They only work on a proportion of patients, sometimes they harm us, and we're not very good at taking them as we should. For some diseases, particularly those affecting only developing countries, there are no drugs available or they are too expensive. Drugs seem to be the answer to everything from rheumatism, through birth control, to depression. And yet while agonising over pill-popping, we consume vast amounts of untested complementary remedies.How has this situation come about? What part do pharmaceuticals play in modern life? And where might we go in the future? These are some of the questions tackled in the 'Big Picture on Drug Development'.

Epidemics (September 2007)

One of the reasons that infections are so frightening is the speed with which they can kill. Doctors dealing with human cases of avian flu in the Far East have seen their patients worsen dramatically and die within a day. Add to that the fear of the new and unknown, and emerging infections can seem truly terrifying. How do we stop new diseases emerging or re-emerging infections getting out of hand? How does this happen in a world of such global economic imbalance, where countries vary greatly in the resources they can put into fighting disease? And how do we balance individual rights with the need to protect public health?

Evolution (January 2007)

"Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution." When biologist Theodosius Dobzhansky wrote these words in 1973, he was reflecting on the coming together of two strands of thinking: evolutionary change, kick-started by Darwin in the mid-19th century, and genetics, a subject whose origins go back to the same year, with Mendel's studies, but only really got going in the 20th century. Since then, the general principles of Darwinian evolution have been widely accepted. At least, they have been in the scientific community. In wider society, a significant proportion of people remain sceptical. Why should this be? Why does Darwinian evolution raise controversy when, say, quantum mechanics scarcely registers on the public consciousness? This issue of 'Big Picture' looks at the theory of evolution, the evidence that supports it, unanswered questions and the history of public reaction.

Thinking (September 2006)

New techniques have opened up ways of exploring the brain. Functional imaging allows us to watch the brain in action; our understanding of the biochemistry of nerve function has blossomed; and the genetic revolution has allowed us to probe the function of individual genes and proteins. These techniques are shedding light on the very essence of human life - how we feel, think and act. Even the nature of consciousness is beginning to be unravelled.

References

ee also

* Wellcome Collection
* Wellcome Library
* Wellcome Trust

External links

* [http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/Professional-resources/Education-resources/Big-Picture/Download-previous-issues/index.htm Big Picture previous issues]
* [http://library.wellcome.ac.uk/index.html Wellcome Library website]
* [http://www.wellcomecollection.org/ Wellcome Collection website]
* [http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/ Wellcome Trust website]