How Hormones Control Our Lives (2021)
An expert author details the discovery of hormones and how our growing knowledge has shaped treatment of many diseases and conditions.
History Sub-categories:
- World War II (4)
Overcoming Black Distrust in the Covid Vaccine
Success of Covid-19 vaccines depends on about 75 percent of people getting them, but distrust of medicine and of vaccines among African-Americans means they may not come close to that milepost. Two experts discuss historical reasons for distrust, how the system will have to come through in ways it has not in the past, and how community leaders will make a …
The Surprising World War II Origins of Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy has saved millions of lives, but its origins date to the chemical warfare agent mustard gas. An investigative reporter details how doctors turned death and tragedy to the lifesaver we know today.
Organ Thieves: The First Human Heart Transplant in the South
An investigative journalist explains how a black man’s heart was harvested without his family’s consent for the first human heart transplant in the South, and how incidents such as this help to explain ongoing African-American distrust of medicine.
The Shrinking Human Jaw
Over the last 8,000 years, the human jaw has been getting smaller due to an increasingly soft diet and a lack of jaw exercise. The result is an epidemic of crooked teeth and serious health consequences, as two experts explain.
“Mind Control,” and Psychedelics, and the CIA
An author discusses his investigation into CIA mind control efforts in the 1950’s and 60’s through the use of psychedelic drugs, which unwittingly led to an explosion of the drugs’ use.
History’s Worst Plagues
Plagues can wipe out entire populations and create fear and great mystery in how they spread. An author who has explored plagues and dangerous diseases explains.
Unraveling the Mystery of the Flu
The flu’s unique ability to mutate makes it one of the toughest diseases to solve, as it evades vaccines and treatment. It also has a deadly history, which prompts fears each flu season. A noted expert discusses all about the flu and its myths.
The Miracle of Transplants
Organ transplantation has dramatically changed lives and is raising hopes it could do even more for millions of people. But getting where we are has not been easy. A transplant surgeon traces the history of transplant research and notes the courage to fail among pioneering researchers and patients.
Research Ethics: How Far Have We Come?
In the mid-1960s, many Ivy League and Seven Sister colleges as well as prestigious prep schools allowed researchers to photograph incoming students naked as part of work on a now-discredited theory linking physical characteristics to leadership potential. A former student who went through it, now a physician and writer, discusses how research ethics have …
The Early Days of Hormones (2019)
Hormones were unknown until a little more than 100 years ago, and experts admit we still have a lot to learn. An expert author details the discovery of hormones and how our growing knowledge has shaped treatment of many diseases and conditions.
Homesickness
What we now call “homesickness” used to be a medical diagnosis called “nostalgia,” and it was considered life-threatening. Today many people consider homesickness to be a childish emotion, but an expert says it’s nothing to be ashamed of. We all suffer from it sometime and need to know how to cope.
