Ancestral bodies to universal bodies—The “re-enchantment” of the mummies of the Capuchin Catacombs in Palermo, Sicily

Based upon fieldwork conducted in the Capuchin Catacombs in Palermo, Sicily, this paper explores the way in which the disposition, display and commemoration of the dead create meaning for communities of the living. Using two theoretical frames, “the work of the dead,” of Thomas Laqueur, and the Weberian cultural–historical notions of “disenchantment” and “re-enchantment,” the analysis centers on the recent reburial of one of the star mummies of the Catacombs, that of 2-year-old Rosalia Lombardi. Rosalia Lombardi’s reburial, as well as recent forensic medical research undertaken in the Catacombs by teams of scientific experts, shows how the ideological influence and relevance of human dead to communities of the living are, in this instance, transformed from local, to transnational ideological and cultural arenas

Marx, Dalia. Tractates Tamid, Middot and Qinnim: A Feminist Commentary on the Babylonian Talmud V.9. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2013.

Book review: Marx, Dalia. Tractates Tamid, Middot and Qinnim: A Feminist Commentary on the Babylonian Talmud V.9. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2013

“I Thought I Could Endure Him But Now I Cannot” – Gendered Sensory Landscapes in MKetubot 7.7-10 and Parallels

Four consecutive mishnayot, Mishna Ketubot 7.7-7.10, concerning the rights of men and women to end marriage and betrothal are examined through the lens of two overlapping theoretical frames, anthropology of the senses and legal aesthetics, in the process expanding traditional scholarly methodologies used to examine early rabbinic halakhah and the culture in which it emerged through the use of interdisciplinary theory. Using these theoretical frames, as yet unexploited as far as rabbinic halakhah is concerned, this study highlights the intersection of sensory experience and gender in rabbinic ideologies of marriage, through analysis of the language, rhetoric and formal structure of early rabbinic halakhic texts.

From sewer to saviour-targeting the lymphatic system to promote drug exposure and activity

The lymphatic system serves an integral role in fluid homeostasis, lipid metabolism and immune control. In cancer, the lymph nodes that drain solid tumours are a primary site of metastasis, and recent studies have suggested intrinsic links between lymphatic function, lipid deposition, obesity and atherosclerosis. Advances in the current understanding of the role of the lymphatics in pathological change and immunity have driven the recognition that lymph-targeted delivery has the potential to transform disease treatment and vaccination. In addition, the design of lymphatic delivery systems has progressed from simple systems that rely on passive lymphatic access to sophisticated structures that use nanotechnology to mimic endogenous macromolecules and lipid conjugates that 'hitchhike' onto lipid transport processes. Here, we briefly summarize the lymphatic system in health and disease and the varying mechanisms of lymphatic entry and transport, as well as discussing examples of lymphatic delivery that have enhanced therapeutic utility. We also outline future challenges to effective lymph-directed therapy