A woman looking out of a window

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?
Rosalie Slaughter Morton and Anne Morgan, an American philanthropist, in 1918

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.
The Fountain of Youth by Lucas Cranach the Elder

Marketing Immortality

Anti-aging technology isn’t limited to groundbreaking medicine.
surgeons instruments

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?
Hospice care

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.
yoga studio

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.
Letter on Corpulence William Banting

When Dieting Was Only For Men

Today, we tend to assume dieting is for women, but in the 1860s, it was a masculine pursuit.
Nausea

Why Do We Get Nauseated?

The causes of nausea are almost too numerous to mention.
Keeley Cure ad

Inside a Nineteenth-Century Quest to End Addiction

In 1880, Dr. Leslie E. Keeley promised a cure for the disease of drunkenness. The community he developed influenced our understanding of treating addiction.
PMS

How PMS Became a Thing

“Is PMS Real?” It was the headline that launched a thousand hot takes—a bold statement by Frank Bures (a male author) ...