Antibiotics have been around for less than a century. But as resistant bacteria become increasingly difficult to treat, we risk a greater number of deaths from infections.
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Articles on Medical history
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Insomnia is torture, literally, and getting enough sleep a modern obsession. Here’s why.
In my research, I try to uncover the cultural significance of the placenta and afterbirth in premodern Europe to help us better understand the social and medical history of this important organ.
Using urine in pregnancy testing dates as far back as ancient Egypt.
There’s a long history in our society of period pain being played down, or just considered “normal”. But there’s plenty of evidence in the historical records that women have always experienced it.
Speculums can be painful and invasive for many women.
Each of these five drugs have brought some incredible benefits. But they’ve usually also come with a legacy of complications.
Resuscitation has thankfully come a long way since smoke enemas.
Doctors, nurses, pharmacists and others all had their own cures for the Spanish flu. But some of these may have made things worse.
Snake oil, rich in omega-3 fatty acids, was a go-to medicine for many ailments.
The COVID pandemic is giving drug companies an opportunity to reset their image. So how did they get so big and their credibility sink so low?
A woman’s right to use fillers and have plastic surgery was a topic of discussion on the show after a male contestant alluded that he found women who used such enhancements ‘fake’.
Few trans kids in the early 20th century had access to information about trans life. That they still faced down the judgment of parents and doctors is a testament to the truth of their dysphoria.
Anzac soldiers wrote poetry about body lice, shared treatment tips and experimented with new ways of bathing.
Every time you pop an aspirin, thank the German chemist Hoffmann and not Hippocrates.
An 11th-century Persian philosopher, physician, pharmacologist, scientist and poet had a profound influence on both European thought and the Islamic world.
The success of the smallpox vaccine was far from guaranteed when Edward Jenner first published his treatise in late 18th century. A curator of the book talks about what we can learn from it today.
A century ago, Australians were battling another pandemic, tuberculosis, with public health measures many will find familiar today.
Experts recommend adopted children be told about their origins, no matter how difficult the circumstances, but doing so is tricky for adoptive parents.
Humans can identify asymptomatic cases, build trust and assauge fears. Apps cannot.
Top contributors
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Lecturer, Pharmacology, Women's Health, School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Western Australia
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Professor Emerita, Classical Studies, The Open University
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Melissa Sweet is a Friend of The Conversation.
Independent journalist and health writer; Adjunct Senior Lecturer, Sydney School of Public Health, University of Sydney; Founder of Croakey.org. PhD candidate, University of Canberra
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Professor of Communication and Media Studies, Director, News and Media Research Centre, University of Canberra
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Senior Lecturer, Centre for Nursing and Midwifery Research, James Cook University
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Senior Lecturer in the History of Science, Technology and Medicine, King's College London
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Professor of Midwifery, Associate Dean Research and HDR, Midwifery Discipline Leader, Western Sydney University
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Senior Lecturer in School of Medicine, University of Adelaide
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Assistant Professor, Bond University
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Research Fellow, University of Sydney
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Chancellor's Professor of Medicine, Liberal Arts, and Philanthropy, Indiana University
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Judith Godden is a Friend of The Conversation.
Honorary Associate, Department of History, University of Sydney
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Affiliate, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University
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Senior Lecturer in 19th and 20th-century North American History, University of Liverpool
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Associate Professor in Literary Studies, Monash University
