Louis Prang Christmas

Christmas, Inc.: A Brief History of the Holiday Card

Americans still purchase approximately 1.6 billion holiday cards a year. What about this old-fashioned tradition appeals to so many?
Boston City Hospital operating theater, circa 1890, by A. H. Folsom (d. 1926) of Roxbury

Inside the Operating Theater: Early Surgery as Spectacle

Director Steven Soderbergh’s historical drama series, The Knick, brings viewers inside a New York City hospital’s operating room ...
AFP/Getty Images

Hand to Ankle: A New Grafting Technique Offers Hope

The surgical reattachment or grafting of limbs has a short history because of its difficulty.
Museum of Broken Relationships exhibit

The Museum of Broken Relationships

Located in the historic Upper Town district of Zagreb, Croatia, the Museum of Broken Relationships began as an experiment.
Paganini's Bloodletting Kit 
Courtesy of Schubertiade Music & Arts

The Vampire Virtuoso? Paganini’s Bloodletting Kit Is for Sale

Paganini's personal bloodletting kit contains three domed-shape glasses with brass twist spouts and a brass scarification (scraping) tool.
A pot being washed in a sink

To Avoid Allergies, Skip the Dishwasher

A new study says that children raised in homes where dishes are typically washed by hand have lower rates of allergies than where the dishwasher is used.
A medical professional prepares a patient for testing.

The ABCs of Ebola

A is for don’t panic. The rest is science.
Flowering Nicotiana Alata, a species of tobacco identified by star-shaped white blooms.

A Tobacco Plant that Could Cure Cancer?

Finding anti-cancer agents inside tobacco may seem like a pretty strange coincidence, but it’s not unheard of to find help in harmful places.