Joseph Lister’s Antiseptic Revolution
Joseph Lister's landmark articles on antiseptic surgery in the Lancet were published 150 years ago. The revolution was not immediate.
Venom’s Healing Touch
Venom kills thousands every year, but research is showing that venom can heal as well. Venom works in a way that most drugs can only dream of.
The Secret Ingredient For Better Self-Care
One form of preventative medicine that is important, and which health policy barely considers: social connections between people.
Why Does Menopause Exist?
What is the point of menopause? Evolutionarily speaking, why do female humans go through menopause and then live for many more decades?
The Forgotten Women Physicians of World War I
For women physicians, WWI was an opportunity for service that highlighted their deeply ambiguous position, as Ellen More explained in a 1989 paper.
How Do We Know What Human Organs Do?
Apparently humans have a new internal organ. How can this be, and what does this "new organ" do?
Changing the Way We Die
Dying may seem like a straightforward business, but there are almost as many ways to approach the end of life as there are to approach life itself.
The False Promises of Wellness Culture
Wellness is everywhere today: juice cleanses, Soulcycle classes, self-care. The roots of the trend can be found in nineteenth-century health-consciousness.
When Dieting Was Only For Men
Today, we tend to assume dieting is for women, but in the 1860s, it was a masculine pursuit.