Some two thousand years, an ancient Roman physician made a trip to Hungary, for unknown reasons, and now, archaeologists have found his tomb near Jászberény, a city located approximately 50 miles...
In order to understand the history of probiotics, one needs to imagine a time before modern medicine , when people looked to nature to heal their ailments. Many ancient civilizations consumed...
A sharp increase in global antibiotic resistance has caused scientists to search for viable alternatives. But while innovative ancient treatments using maggots, leeches and honey are being...
In ancient Megiddo, a city on the crossroads of major trade routes, two upper-class brothers underwent "angular notched trephination," the earliest example of its kind found in the Ancient Near East...
Marijuana, also known as cannabis, has been used by humans for thousands of years for both medicinal and recreational purposes. Its versatility and effectiveness in treating a wide range of ailments...
Researchers from Michigan State University recently completed a comprehensive study of the genomes of several species of mint plants , to trace their evolutionary pathways at the chemical level...
The medical field has advanced significantly compared to where it was fifty years ago, let alone over 1,000 years ago. Although modern technology has allowed us to understand more about the human...
Indigenous peoples in the Amazon and Andes regions of South America have been chewing coca leaves for as many as 8,000 years. But did you know that these leaves were only transformed into highly-...
Is it time to kill the term “placebo effect”? A researcher looking at questionable medieval medicines, that are today shunned as placebos, has shown how early physicians triggered patient’s brains...
Researchers in Turkey have unearthed yet another trepanned skull. But was this brutal operation the work of magicians or medics? While the academic disciplines of neurology and neurosurgery didn't...
The history of medicine is an amazing tale. Not only that, but a peek beneath the covers can hopefully help us understand some of the bizarre worldviews confronting us today in the realm of...
It wasn’t until the 1970s that scientists developed an effective cure for leprosy . Up until then this terrible disease was feared not just for its awful symptoms, but also for the stigma that came...
Pliny the Elder claimed Emperor Nero consumed the last stalk of silphion, which was believed to have gone extinct almost 2000 years ago. But now, a Turkish professor claims to have identified the...
Visit any park in China over the last few hundred years and you’re likely to see dozens of people practicing qigong. What started as a traditional Chinese treatment over 4,000 years ago has become a...
Archaeologists performing excavations in the ancient city of Hadrianopolis in Paphlagonia, in the Black Sea region of northern Turkey unearthed a piece of rock that contained a most revealing...
Archaeologists in Borneo, Indonesia have unearthed the skeleton of a man who was an amputee, and he underwent his complicated medical procedure some 31,000 years ago! Until now, all archaeological...
History is filled with bizarre, and often degrading, jobs that we can’t imagine doing today. Shepherd of the Royal Anus is up there with the worst of them. The ancient Egyptians have been remembered...
The Cambridge University Library has just launched an ambitious new initiative that will result in the public release of an extensive collection of manuscripts from medieval times. The Curious Cures...
Tycho Brahe, the 16th century Danish astronomer, alchemist, astrologist, and scientist (1546-1601) was a force to be reckoned with – the true epitome of the brilliant, mad scientist. In the backdrop...
One of the most fascinating medical phenomena is the placebo effect. In medicine, a placebo is considered to be any medical treatment that is not “real.” This could be a fake pill, shot, or in some...
It is commonly believed that acupuncture played a key role in China’s medical history and is often seen as an integral part of China’s traditional health care, at least in the west. However, was this...
A detailed medical examination of the remains of one Egyptian mummy led to a surprising and unprecedented discovery. A team of researchers from New Jersey University in the United States, Alcalá...
A low-cost, high-risk drug hiding in plain sight – in your kitchen cabinet! This is a highly aromatic spice that can change the trajectory of your food, and is sometimes used as a healing agent in...
For all of Europe’s pretentions of progress with civil democracies and human rights, the archives are filled with anything but. From the blood of Roman gladiators being sold as a remedy for epilepsy...
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