3D-printed model of a 500-year-old prosthetic hand hints at life of a Renaissance amputee

When historians and engineers work together, they can bring a version of the past back to life.

Peden Jones, Graduate Student in Mechanical Engineering, Auburn University • conversation
June 24, 2025 • ~12 min

Greenland’s rapidly melting ice and landslide-prone fjords make the oil and minerals Trump covets dangerous to extract

Melting ice, thawing permafrost and crumbling fjord walls are just a few of the risks climate change poses for those living and working in Greenland.

Paul Bierman, Fellow of the Gund Institute for Environment, Professor of Natural Resources and Environmental Science, University of Vermont • conversation
Feb. 19, 2025 • ~11 min

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

Surgery was rare and risky in the medieval period. Though medical options were limited, trans people were able to take transitioning into their own hands.

Sarah Barringer, Ph.D. Candidate in English, University of Iowa • conversation
Feb. 18, 2025 • ~10 min

Modern surgery began with saws and iron hands – how amputation transformed the body in the Renaissance

Gunpowder warfare kicked off a new era of invasive surgery and prosthetic technology in Western medicine.

Heidi Hausse, Assistant Professor of History, Auburn University • conversation
June 17, 2024 • ~12 min

How medieval Christian ideology changed the Polish environment forever – new study

Historians and scientists discovered how colonisation in eastern Europe changed ecosystems – and the societies embedded in them.

Amanda Power, Associate Professor of Medieval History, University of Oxford • conversation
Nov. 20, 2020 • ~7 min

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