Trans people affirmed their gender without medical help in medieval Europe − history shows how identity transcends medicine and law

Restrictions on medical care for transgender youth assume that without the ability to medically transition, trans people will vanish. As of 2024, 26 U.S. states have banned gender-affirming care for…

US dodged a bird flu pandemic in 1957 thanks to eggs and dumb luck – with a new strain spreading fast, will Americans get lucky again?

In recent months, Americans looking for eggs have faced empty shelves in their grocery stores. The escalating threat of avian flu has forced farmers to kill millions of chickens to…

Infectious diseases killed Victorian children at alarming rates — their novels highlight the fragility of public health today

Modern medicine has enabled citizens of wealthy, industrialized nations to forget that children once routinely died in shocking numbers. Teaching 19th-century English literature, I regularly encounter gutting depictions of losing…

Hispanic health disparities in the US trace back to the Spanish Inquisition

Many of the significant health disparities and inequities Hispanic communities in the United States face are tied to a long history of health injustice in the Hispanic world. The health…