Jul 21 How mental health struggles wrote Ernest Hemingway’s final chapter By Dr. Howard Markel On a Sunday morning, the famed writer awoke early in a discombobulated and distressed mood. The rest is literary history -- and part of a family’s legacy of pain. Continue reading
Jul 13 Analysis: Why some schools stayed open during the 1918 flu pandemic By Dr. Howard Markel During the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic, when an estimated 675,000 people died in the U.S. alone, the majority of public schools were closed for weeks to months on end. But three major cities kept their schools open amid valid questions and… Continue reading
Jun 12 ‘One day they simply weren’t there.’ How researchers reconstructed Anne Frank’s last months By Dr. Howard Markel Today would have been the 91st birthday of Anne Frank, the girl who left behind a tattered, hidden diary, now known as the gem-like book that's treasured by many millions. But the exact date of her death is unknown, and… Continue reading
Apr 20 What history revealed about cities that socially distanced during a pandemic By Dr. Howard Markel In 2005, in response to the threat of H5N1, a flurry of pandemic preparedness planning began in Washington and across the nation that would set the groundwork for what’s happening now. Continue reading
Apr 04 Dorothea Dix’s tireless fight to end inhumane treatment for mental health patients By Dr. Howard Markel Today marks the 218th birthday of Dorothea Lynde Dix, one of the America’s most eminent reformers of the living conditions and treatment of the mentally ill. Continue reading
Mar 24 How the discovery of HIV led to a transatlantic research war By Dr. Howard Markel As the world struggles to constrain the new coronavirus, it's worth remembering the discovery of another deadly, global virus and a controversy that played out among the researchers who brought it to light. Continue reading
Feb 21 The dramatic death of a former president at the U.S. Capitol By Dr. Howard Markel Perhaps the strangest event that ever occurred in the House chamber of the Capitol harkens all the way back to 1848. Continue reading
Jan 21 How the quest to preserve Lenin’s body helps the living By Dr. Howard Markel Over the last century, the Lenin preservation laboratory has created a long list of measures that help patients. Continue reading
Dec 17 What caused Beethoven’s deafness? By Dr. Howard Markel It is a query that has invited many diagnoses over the last 200 years. Continue reading
Nov 22 John F. Kennedy kept these medical struggles private By Dr. Howard Markel Long before he died at age 46, President John F. Kennedy was a very sick man. Continue reading