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medical history

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Jun 10

Analysis: Revisiting a pioneering female doctor who opposed abortion

By Dr. Howard Markel

Despite the advancements she made on behalf of women’s health, Dr. Mary Amanda Dixon Jones adopted an anti-abortion stance that doesn’t comport with modern medicine.

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Mar 10

What happened when the 1918 flu pandemic met WWI

By Dr. Howard Markel

In 1918, working at an overcrowded Army base hospital, let alone finding yourself in one, was a nightmare.

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Sep 30

Watch 7:33
Why discovery of DNA’s double helix was based on ‘rip-off’ of female scientist’s data

By William Brangham, Jason Kane, Claire Mufson

It is the famous lightbulb-going-off story every school kid learns: How James Watson and Francis Crick discovered the structure of DNA, cementing their place in scientific history. But as William Brangham explains, a new book titled "The Secret of Life"…

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Jul 10

Arthur Ashe’s other great serve? As activist for health

By Dr. Howard Markel

Ashe served as a beacon of kindness and courage for generations of African Americans, tennis players and fans, HIV/AIDS patients, nurses, health care workers, and doctors like me.

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Feb 27

How a medical student helped discover lifesaving insulin

By Dr. Howard Markel

Dr. Charles H. Best made his most important discovery before he turned 23.

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Jan 23

The day Marie Curie got snubbed by the French science world

By Dr. Howard Markel

One hundred and ten years ago, Marie Sklodowska Curie was formally rejected for membership by the French Academy of Sciences.

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Dec 08

A childhood accident didn’t impair James Thurber’s comic vision

By Dr. Howard Markel

This minor genius of mirth lost his left eye at the age of 6.

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Nov 07

How a mysterious ailment ended Eleanor Roosevelt’s life

By Dr. Howard Markel

None of her doctors knew what was causing her rare blood disorder. And given this was more than 50 years ago, the treatment options were rather limited.

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Sep 09

The sexual assault case that shocked Hollywood almost a century ago

By Dr. Howard Markel

On Sept. 9, 1921, a young actress named Virginia Rappe died of a ruptured urinary bladder, days after a Labor Day party where she alleged that silent movie star Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle had assaulted her.

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Aug 28

Why you can thank Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. for doctors washing their hands

By Dr. Howard Markel

In the mid-19th century, doctors in elite teaching hospitals would unknowingly spread deadly bacteria to expectant mothers. Here's how Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. helped change that.

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Full Episode
Saturday, Oct 4
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