leukaemia
/luːˈkiːmiə/
Definition
A type of cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow, resulting in an abnormal production of white blood cells.
Etymology
The word originates from the Greek 'leukos' (white) and 'haima' (blood), reflecting the historical medical observation of a high white blood cell count in affected patients. It was coined in the mid-19th century by German pathologist Rudolf Virchow.
In the news
The word is used by the psychologist Candice Odgers as an analogy to explain why scientific evidence must be rigorous; she argues that we should require the same high standard of proof for blaming technology for mental health issues as we would for attributing childhood cancer to a trivial environmental factor like dye.
The social media ban sceptic: are we getting it wrong on kids, tech and mental health?
Read the full article ↗The Guardian