MEDICINE

The Caduceus: The Mistaken Meaning of the Medical Symbol

This ancient symbol, also called the Staff of Hermes, depicts two snakes intertwining around a stick that is capped by wings. It’s used as a medical logo, but for almost all its roughly 5000-year history, the caduceus had nothing to do with medicine.

An Australian Zoo Needs Help Collecting Deadly Spiders and Their Eggs

The Australian Reptile Park is asking the public to capture the Sydney funnel-web spider, one of the most dangerous species in the world.

Why Doctors Warn Against Spending Too Much Time on the Toilet

Here’s another reason to rethink bringing your phone into the bathroom with you.

Going on “fart walks” can alleviate digestion issues.

The Science and Benefits of “Fart Walks”

“Fart walks” could be the answer to your gastrointestinal woes.

Nitrous oxide (also known as laughing gas) is a common anesthetic that only requires a mask over the mouth and nose.

How Does Anesthesia Work?

Anesthesia is a complex mixture of medications that lessen pain during procedures. Different types affect the body in different ways.

Scurvy decimated sailors, explorers, and regular citizens for centuries before a cure for the vitamin deficiency was discovered.

Scurvy—a “Disease of the Past”—Is Making a Comeback

A case study of a man in Australia is highlighting the return of a disease associated with Elizabethan sailors and polar explorers.

Don’t expect 120th birthdays to become the norm anytime soon.

The Average Human Lifespan May Be Reaching a Plateau

Barring some dramatic medical advancements, living into your eighties remains the best-case scenario.

Quitting Smoking Is Beneficial Even in Old Age, Study Finds

Science reinforces that it’s never too late to stop smoking.

'Knotty muscles' can be a real pain in the neck.

Are ‘Muscle Knots’ Actually Knots?

The nagging pain in your neck may feel tight, but it's knot what you think.

One of the original samples of Alexander Fleming’s penicillin mold.

Old Mold to Be Sold: Fleming’s Original Penicillin Sample Up for Auction

Queen Elizabeth II, Winston Churchill, and FDR once owned one of Fleming's penicillin mold samples. Now you can, too.

Old age may precede dying, but it doesn’t directly cause it.

Do People Really Die of ‘Old Age’?

Can an octogenarian really just collapse from the wear and tear of life?

Being an astronaut isn’t as glamorous as you were led to believe.

10 Surprising Facts About Your Childhood Dream Jobs

In the latest episode of The List Show, we’re tackling some fun facts—and the occasional harsh truth—about the careers you imagined for yourself as a kid.

13 Myths About Organ Donation, Debunked

Not only is there a chronic shortage of organ donations in the U.S.—there multiple myths about the process.

Legionella in a Petri dish under UV light.

What Is Legionnaires’ Disease?

The unusual respiratory illness was named for a 1976 outbreak among attendees of an American Legion conference.

Why Does My Eyelid Sometimes Twitch?

Caffeine is just one of the things that may be to blame for the irritating spasms.

A health care worker prepares to deliver an mpox vaccine during the 2022 outbreak.

8 Times the World Health Organization Declared a Public Health Emergency (Including for Mpox)

All of the WHO's declarations of emergency since 2007 have been for viral diseases, including the most recent one for mpox.

A scanning electron micrograph of ‘Mycobacterium tuberculosis’ particles (colorized red), the bacterium that causes TB.

6 of the World’s Oldest Diseases

Ailments as diverse as tooth decay and malaria have caused suffering for thousands, even millions, of years—and they’re not done with us yet.

An Olympic swimmer sports circular bruises from cupping therapy.

Why Are Some Olympic Swimmers Covered In Dark Circles?

In events where success or failure can be measured in tiny increments, it’s not surprising athletes will turn to any potential advantage. But does cupping actually work?

Transorbital lobotomies have now entered the chat.

10 Riveting Nonfiction Books on History’s Greatest Medical Mysteries

These gory yet fascinating reads delve into the weirdest chapters of medical history, from the dancing plague of 1518 to the bizarre saga of Typhoid Mary.

If you’re eating a healthy and balanced diet, you may not need extra vitamins.

Is It Possible to Overdose on Vitamins?

Too much of anything, even a helpful or healthy thing, can hurt you. Medication? Definitely. Water? Absolutely. Exercise? You bet. Vitamins? Quite possibly.

Pills come in orange containers for a clever reason.

Why Do Prescription Pills Come in Orange Bottles?

Those orange bottles are no accident—they were specifically designed to keep both medications and people safe.

Quiz: Can You Match the Historical Remedy with the Illness?

Figure it out, stat!

13 People Who Operated on Themselves

From the Founding Father who stuck whalebone where he shouldn’t have to the only known woman to have given herself a C-section.

The vast majority of tonsillectomies are performed on children.

Why Don’t Doctors Perform Tonsillectomies Like They Used To?

The surgical extraction of the tonsils was a hallmark of a 1950s childhood, but now the operation is not nearly as common.