“The Hakim was a doctor in the medieval sense; rather than learning the traditional medical sciences, he studied theology, literary history, logic, and grammar. Often he was a member of a pious society of dervishes, at times a student of the Koran and a poet. Lev witnessed cures of various local diseases—for example, one called pindinka, a horrible skin disease that would begin with one red spot and then spread to engulf the face in flaming red masks of scabs. If it went untreated, the disease could spread to the conjunctiva and cause the loss of an eye. ‘I had an insane fear of pindinka, but luckily was spared its suffering,’ remarked Lev. (

The Ebola and Marburg viruses are natural deadly pathogens that could be manipulated for use as agents of bioterrorism. No approved vaccines or therapies against these pathogens currently exist. However, in the 5 July online edition of Nature Medicine, a vaccine that appears to offer complete protection in non-human primates infected with the viruses is reported. (www.nature.com/naturemedicine)

Meningiomas of the anterior skull base account for 40% of all intracranial …