Boccaccio’s Medicine
In the Decameron of Boccaccio, friends tell one another stories of love to while away the hours of quarantine.
When Coffee Cargo Was Quarantined
In the 1800s, sick passengers weren’t blamed for disease epidemics—their baggage and cargo was.
How Emily Dickinson Wrestled with Darwinism
The current vogue for the Amherst poet needs to give credit to the way she readily examined her childhood ideas about fixed and immutable truth.
The Protestant Astrology of Early American Almanacs
The wildly popular books helped people understand farming and health through the movement of the planets, in a way compatible with Protestantism.
When Scientific Management Came to Japan
Japanese workers, many of them women, worked up to 17 hours a day in the early 20th century. Yet experts still wondered why they “wasted” time.
Are Viruses Alive? Define Life.
Scientists have different ideas about whether viruses are living beings. But they have solid advice on how to destroy them: wash up.
Upside-Down Jellyfish and the Mucus of Death
You could get stung by a jellyfish even when there don't seem to be any around. Meet Cassiopea xamachana and its "stinging water" weirdness.
Biomimicry Comes for the Noble Hedgehog
Inventors often use animals' adaptations to the environment in applications that benefit humans, from sharky swimsuits to hedgehog-inspired helmets.
The “Doctress” Was In: Rebecca Lee Crumpler
The first Black woman physician served communities in the South after the Civil War but was buried in an anonymous grave. That will likely change.
How Toothpaste Got Scientific Cred
Would you brush with a toothpaste for the sweet taste alone or because of its touted health benefits? The answer wasn't always so obvious.