[LANDMARKS IN THE MEDICAL HISTORY OF ISRAEL - IS IT TRULY INTERWEAVING WITHIN THE ISRAELI POSTAL STAMP].

INTRODUCTION: Issuing postal stamps is the main sign of a nation's independence. The first stamps series of Israel were issued a mere two days after the declaration of Israel's independence. Since then, almost 1750 postal stamps were issued as a single unit or different stamps series. These stamps delineate and emphasize innovations, military and civilian technological developments, the high holidays and nature as well as respecting important national figures and holidays. The aim of our historical search of philately (stamps collection) through the 20th century till today was to find out the frequency of the interweaving of medicine, medical developments and the tribute to outstanding figures, in all medical fields, and their contribution during peace and war periods in Israeli stamps. The thorough research study revealed only 16 stamps that were issued perpetuating medical disciplines - 0.9% of all stamps. Despite their national and worldwide significance there were no stamps commemorating many medical and surgical fields. I did not find reminiscence of our military medical developments that have become a competent authority for numerous armies all over the world. Organ transplantation, surgical innovations and the large group of women physicians and surgeons that took leadership in several medical fields have no presence in our postal stamps. Nowadays, philately has lost its importance as a financial value for the prompt e-mails. I believe philately should be encouraged to issue current postal stamps dedicated to "blue and white" medicine, a thing that is even more adequate these days in which all the medical community was enlisted to battle the new corona pandemic.

Chemistry in the mail: Stamps from around the globe and public science communication in the twentieth century.

Postage stamps are designed to convey messages that reverberate symbolically with broad swaths of the public, and their content has been employed as a window into how members of the public understand the ideas represented therein. In this rhetorical analysis, we analyze Philadelphia's Science History Institute's Witco Stamp Collection, which features 430 stamps from countries around the globe dating from 1910 to 1983, to identify how chemistry is portrayed in this ubiquitous medium. We find the vernacular of science reflected and supported by these images functions to (a) define chemistry in terms of its invisibility and abstraction; (b) uphold chemical operations as instrumental and daedal, or exceptional, in nature; and (c) delineate practitioners of chemistry as-on the whole-privileged and preternatural. Our findings reveal some of the overarching communicative tools made available to twentieth-century non-experts for articulating chemistry as an enterprise and reveal how those tools positioned chemistry in terms of values related to opacity and exclusivity.

Analysing malaria events from 1840 to 2020: the narrative told through postage stamps.

The role played by postage stamps in the history of malaria control and eradication has largely gone unrecognized. Scientific investigators of malaria, especially Nobel laureates, were commemorated with special issues, but the work of the World Health Organization (WHO), which promoted an ambitious and global philatelic initiative in 1962 to support global eradication, is generally overlooked. This review examines the philatelic programme that helped to generate international commitment to the goal of malaria eradication in 1962 and established philatelic malaria icons that had worldwide recognition. Malaria-related postage stamps have continued to be issued since then, but the initial failure of malaria eradication and the changing goals of each new malaria programme, inevitably diluted their role. After the first Global Malaria Eradication Campaign was discontinued in 1969, few Nations released philatelic issues. Since the Spirit of Dakar Call for Action in 1996 a resurgence of postage stamp releases has occurred, largely tracking global malaria control initiatives introduced between 1996 and 2020. These releases were not co-ordinated by the WHO as before, were more commercialized and targeted stamp collectors, especially with attractive miniature sheets, often produced by photomontage. Having a different purpose, they demonstrated a much wider diversity in symbolism than the earlier stylized issues and at times, have been scientifically inaccurate. Nonetheless postage stamps greatly helped to communicate the importance of malaria control programmes to a wide audience and to some extent, have supported preventive health messages.

The Doctor Stamp and COVID-19: A Perspective.

Sources from literature and art continue to offer perspectives on episodes of collective sense of loss and despair from unavoidable tragedies. The Doctor Stamp, based on the famous painting by British artist Sir Luke Fildes (1844-1927), was issued in 1947 by the US Postal Service to commemorate the first centennial of the founding of the American Medical Association. At the time of issue, the US was in the middle of the mid-century polio epidemic. The author obtained two First Day Covers of The Doctor Stamp, one of which was addressed to Dr. George Minot, who shared the 1934 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for developing the treatment for pernicious anemia. The conjunction of these events-an anniversary, an incurable virus epidemic, and a doctor who found a treatment for a devastating condition of unknown etiology-offer those suffering from a sense of loss and despair due to COVID-19 some hopeful anticipation of better days to come.

Francisco Campos-Rivadeneira and Roberto Levi- Castillo: Their lives and contributions to the study of mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) in Ecuador. / Francisco Campos-Rivadeneira y Roberto Levi-Castillo: sus vidas y contribuciones al estudio de los mosquitos (Diptera: Culicidae) en Ecuador

The study of mosquitoes is important in the prevention of vector-borne diseases. In Ecuador, the study of local mosquito biodiversity was pioneered by two entomologists whose contributions span through the first half of the 20th century, Francisco Campos-Rivadeneira and Roberto Levi-Castillo. Both of them contributed to general aspects of Entomology and to particular insights in mosquito taxonomy. Their publications and discoveries were recognized by the international scientific community but went unnoticed in South America during their time. Today, very few citizens remember the names and contributions of these two scientists. Here, we provide an overview of their lives, a summary of their contributions, and we conclude with a broader outlook on the practice of science in Latin America during their time.

El estudio de los mosquitos es una importante tarea en la prevención de las enfermedades transmitidas por vectores. En Ecuador, el conocimiento de la biodiversidad local de mosquitos se inició con dos entomólogos pioneros que trabajaron a inicios del siglo XX: Francisco Campos-Rivadeneira y Roberto Levi-Castillo. Ambos hicieron importantes contribuciones en el campo de la Entomología en general y de la taxonomía de los mosquitos en particular. En su época, sus aportes fueron reconocidos por la comunidad científica internacional, pero pasaron desapercibidos en la región suramericana. Hoy en día, son muy pocos los que recuerdan los nombres y los aportes de estos dos hombres de ciencia. En este artículo, se presenta una breve biografía de ambos científicos y un resumen de sus contribuciones, y se establece en perspectiva la situación de la práctica de la ciencia en Latinoamérica durante la época.

Attenuated Total Reflection Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR FT-IR) Spectroscopy as a Forensic Method to Determine the Composition of Inks Used to Print the United States One-cent Blue Benjamin Franklin Postage Stamps of the 19th Century.

Through the combined use of infrared (IR) absorption spectroscopy and attenuated total reflectance (ATR) sampling, the composition of inks used to print the many different types of one-cent Benjamin Franklin stamps of the 19th century has been established. This information permits a historical evaluation of the formulations used at various times, and also facilitates the differentiation of the various stamps from each other. In two instances, the ink composition permits the unambiguous identification of stamps whose appearance is identical, and which (until now) have only been differentiated through estimates of the degree of hardness or softness of the stamp paper, or through the presence or absence of a watermark in the paper. In these instances, the use of ATR Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) spectroscopy effectively renders irrelevant two 100-year-old practices of stamp identification. Furthermore, since the use of ATR sampling makes it possible to obtain the spectrum of a stamp still attached to its cover, it is no longer necessary to identify these blue Franklin stamps using their cancellation dates.

Maria Montessori (1870-1952): Women's emancipation, pedagogy and extra verbal communication.

Maria Montessori is one of the most well-known women in Italian history. Although she was the first woman who graduated in medicine in Italy, she is mostly known as an educator. Her teaching method--the Montessori Method- is still used worldwide--Because she could not speak English during the imprisonment in India, there was a big obstacle for her communication with children. However, the need to adopt a non-verbal communication, led her to a sensational discovery: children use an innate and universal language. This language, made of gestures and mimic, is called extra verbal communication.

Maria Montessori (1870-1952): Women's emancipation, pedagogy and extra verbal communication

Maria Montessori is one of the most well-known women in Italian history. Although she was the first woman who graduated in medicine in Italy, she is mostly known as an educator. Her teaching method -the Montessori Method- is still used worldwide. Because she could not speak English during the imprisonment in India, there was a big obstacle for her communication with children. However, the need to adopt a non-verbal communication, led her to a sensational discovery: children use an innate and universal language. This language, made of gestures and mimic, is called extra verbal communication .