The tools in a medieval Japanese healer’s toolkit: from fortunetelling and exorcism to herbal medicines

In medieval Japan, healing might mean taking medicine, undergoing an exorcism or sidestepping harm in the first place by avoiding inauspicious days.

Alessandro Poletto, Lecturer in East Asian Religions, Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis • conversation
March 1, 2024 • ~8 min

'From Magic Mushrooms to Big Pharma' – a college course explores nature's medicine cabinet and different ways of healing

An anthropology course explores how peoples and cultures around the world use nature-based medicines to heal.

Heather McIlvaine-Newsad, Professor of Anthropology, Western Illinois University • conversation
June 9, 2023 • ~6 min

The promise of repairing bones and tendons with human-made materials

A biomedical engineer explains how human-made materials inserted in the body hold hope to repair painful injuries more efficiently than bone grafts.

Brittany Taylor, Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida • conversation
Jan. 4, 2022 • ~7 min

It's still not fully understood how placebos work – but an alternative theory of consciousness could hold some clues

The mind is a powerful thing – it can generate both symptoms of illness and symptoms of healing. Here’s what this could tell us about consciousness.

Steve Taylor, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, Leeds Beckett University • conversation
Sept. 8, 2021 • ~8 min

Why do older people heal more slowly?

Healing is a complicated process. As people age, higher rates of disease and the fact that old cells lose the ability to divide slow this process down.

Matthew Steinhauser, Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh • conversation
Nov. 24, 2020 • ~9 min

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