Big Brains Are Hard to Grow
Human brains take a long time, and a lot of energy, to grow to their mature state. This may well be an evolutionary tradeoff for having such big brains.
How Does the Body Make Vitamin D from Sunlight?
A Curious Reader asks: How exactly does exposure to sunlight cause the the human body to synthesize Vitamin D3?
Is Alcoholism a Moral Failing?
Cultural explanations for alcoholism have changed significantly throughout the years, sometimes blaming social problems, sometimes psychological.
To Reduce Infant Mortality, Train the Babysitters
“Little Mothers’ Leagues,” a program started by Dr. S. Josephine Baker at the turn of the last century, taught school-age girls to care for babies.
Workplace Burnout is Nothing New
Doctors were talking about the dangers of chronic stress, exhaustion, and anxiety back in 1909, predicting dire consequences if the symptoms were ignored.
How the Plague Reshaped the World
The bacterium that causes the plague emerged relatively recently, as bacterium go. And yet the pandemics it's created have altered the world.
Do Airplanes Really Make You Sick?
A Curious Reader asks: Am I really at a higher risk of getting sick on an airplane?
Blaming Women for Infertility in the 1940s
In the early days of fertility treatments, some doctors theorized that women’s unconscious hatred of their husbands kept them from conceiving.
The Drone Will See You Now
As drones become normalized, companies like Zipline are using them to deliver life-saving medicines to faraway places.
How Medical Researchers Used to Party
There’s always been some fuzziness in our distinctions between medicine and recreational drugs. Just look at nitrous oxide.