'The word "blood" has symbolic significance in many different spheres' says Caroline Berry in her precise piece on the importance of haemoglobin. And, as a geneticist who has spent her life in science, it's no surprise to see that the language in her article is rather different to what might have been used by those of us more familiar with the arts and humanities.

This culture shock mirrors what happens when many of us are confronted with ill-health and (for most of us) the ...