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From New World Encyclopedia
New World Encyclopedia integrates facts with values. Written by certified experts.
Featured Article: Franz Anton Mesmer
Franz Anton Mesmer (May 23, 1734 – March 5, 1815) discovered what he called magnétism animal (animal magnetism) and others often called mesmerism. Mesmer's ideas and practices would later be developed by James Braid as modern hypnosis. Mesmer's technique of healing was met with great enthusiasm by members of the public, but with extreme skepticism by members of the medical profession who considered him a charlatan. In Mesmer's time there was no room for "alternative" medicine in Europe—medical treatments had to be validated scientifically and have a logical explanation. Mesmer's "invisible fluid" and his esoteric techniques were no match for the doctors and academicians. Thus, his life was alternately one of success, fame, and fortune on the one hand, and exile and ruin—both financial and of his reputation—on the other.
Popular Article: Chickenpox
Chickenpox, also known as varicella, is a common and very highly contagious viral disease caused by the varicella-zoster virus (VSZ). It is classically one of the childhood infectious diseases caught and survived by almost every child, although currently there is a vaccine. Following primary infection, there is usually lifelong protective immunity from further episodes of chickenpox. Recurrent chickenpox, commonly known as shingles, is fairly rare but more likely in people with compromised immune systems.
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Gustav Klimt's paintings have brought some of the highest prices recorded for individual works of art (source: Gustav Klimt)
