Raw beef cure

The Long Tradition of Dangerous “Cures”

Medical cures are usually too good to be true. Numerous doctors wrote to the prestigious British Medical Journal, reporting on their prescription of raw meat juice to patients.
X Chromosomes

The Secrets of the X Chromosome

Most people know that the X chromosome is one of the two sex chromosomes. But it does more than just determine if you're born male or female.
Bacteriophage, illustration

Fighting Bacterial Infection With…Viruses?

As bacteria develop resistance to widely-used antibiotics, some researchers are turning to bacteria’s natural enemy: a very special virus called a bacteriophage.
Charles Knowlton portrait

Charles Knowlton, the Father of American Birth Control

Decades after Charles Knowlton died, his book would be credited with the reversal of population growth in England and the popularization of contraception in the United States. 
Hantavirus particles

Solving a Medical Mystery With Oral Traditions

In 1993, Navajo elders provided a key piece of information to CDC scientists and climatologists to help combat a deadly mystery disease.
yoga class being led by instructor

How America Embraced Yoga

More than a century ago, a blend of exotic stereotypes, trendy health advice, and new ideas about religion and gender built the foundations of the American yoga movement.
Bioethics research hospital

Bioethics: Key Concepts and Research

Two experts in bioethics have curated a reading list of over 20 JSTOR sources on selected issues like: gene-editing, research and treatment, reproduction, disability, genetics, genealogy and race.
pharmaceutical advertising

Should Drug Makers Advertise?

Drug advertising is a longstanding issue in the U.S, tangled with patients’ rights to make their own decisions, doctors’ professional status, and the ethics of profiting from powerful drugs.
dental surgery ether painting

19th Century Anesthesia and the Politics of Pain

Many doctors embraced anesthesia, but critics in the medical community protested its use, giving rise to what's known as the “ether controversy.”
Toddler boy playing in sandbox

Should Parents Fear the Sandbox?

The good news is that most parents living in sanitary environments really don’t need to worry about toxocariasis. The bad news is that toxocara may be yet another obstacle placed in front of disadvantaged children.