Medical science in the 21st century is making strides in areas that once seemed like science fiction. As technology rapidly advances, we’re seeing new possibilities for improving health and longevity. From potential treatments for tooth loss to progress in curing genetic disorders, these innovations aim to address some of the significant health challenges we face today. Research and development are moving quickly, driven by a global focus on better healthcare outcomes, making the future of medicine look promising.

Imagine a world where you can regrow lost teeth, where cancers are treated with personalized vaccines, and where organs can be grown in a lab for transplant. These are not just distant dreams but actual developments on the horizon, thanks to the dedicated work of scientists and medical professionals. Advances in gene editing, regenerative medicine, and biotechnology are leading us toward a time when diseases that were once considered incurable might be managed or even eradicated. Here, we take a look at ten of the most significant medical advancements that could shape healthcare in the coming years.

Related: Top 10 Overused and Bogus Medical Treatments

10 Tooth Regrowth Treatments

Losing a tooth has always meant getting a replacement, but researchers in Japan are changing that. They’ve developed a drug that targets the USAG-1 protein, a key player in tooth formation. By blocking this protein, the drug encourages the growth of new teeth in adults, something that was previously thought to be impossible. Animal studies have shown promising results, and human trials are set to start in 2024.

If successful, this treatment could be a game-changer for people with tooth loss, offering a natural and potentially more affordable alternative to implants and dentures. The first trials will involve 30 men aged between 30 and 64. If all goes well, the drug might be available to the public by 2030, promising a big shift in how we handle dental health.^[1]

9 Cancer Vaccines

The idea of a vaccine that not only prevents but also treats cancer is becoming a reality. Personalized cancer vaccines train the immune system to recognize and destroy cancer cells based on unique mutations in a person’s tumor. Early trials are showing that these vaccines can shrink tumors and reduce recurrence rates.

These vaccines are tailored to the genetic makeup of each patient’s cancer, making them more effective and reducing side effects compared to traditional treatments. As research continues, personalized cancer vaccines could become a standard option in cancer care.^[2]

8 CRISPR Gene Editing

CRISPR gene editing is offering new ways to treat genetic disorders by allowing precise changes to the human genome. This technology uses an RNA molecule to guide a cutting enzyme to specific DNA sequences, enabling targeted modifications. Current clinical trials for conditions like sickle cell anemia and beta-thalassemia have shown promising results, with patients experiencing fewer symptoms and improved health markers.

CRISPR’s potential goes beyond treating genetic diseases; it might even help prevent them. As more trials progress, CRISPR could become a key tool in genetic medicine, offering tailored treatments for various hereditary conditions.^[3]

7 Lab-Grown Organs

Lab-grown organs could revolutionize transplantation. Scientists are now able to create functional miniature organs, or organoids, from human stem cells. These mini-organs, such as kidneys, livers, and hearts, replicate the structure and function of their full-sized counterparts and are being used to study diseases and test drugs more effectively than with animal models.

This is a significant step in regenerative medicine. While we’re not yet at the stage of growing full-sized organs for transplantation, the progress with these miniature versions suggests that lab-grown organs could one day help address the shortage of donor organs and transform transplant medicine.^[4]

6 Artificial Blood

Artificial blood represents a major leap forward in emergency medical care and transfusion practices. Scientists have been developing synthetic blood that can replicate the essential functions of natural blood, such as transporting oxygen and aiding in clotting. Unlike donated blood, which can face supply shortages and compatibility issues, artificial blood can be produced on-demand and used universally, regardless of a patient’s blood type. This development is particularly valuable in critical situations where immediate blood availability is essential.

One of the key advantages of artificial blood is its stability and longevity. Unlike natural blood, which requires refrigeration and has a limited shelf life, synthetic blood can be stored for long periods without the need for special conditions. This makes it an ideal resource for use in remote or resource-limited areas where access to fresh blood supplies might be limited. In trauma care, military operations, and disaster response, the ability to quickly access and use artificial blood can make a significant difference in patient outcomes, potentially saving lives in situations where conventional blood supplies are inaccessible or depleted.

In addition to its logistical benefits, artificial blood also offers a safer option for transfusions by eliminating the risk of transmitting blood-borne diseases. This reduces the potential for complications that can arise from infections transmitted through donated blood. As research and development continue to advance, artificial blood is expected to become a standard component in hospitals and emergency response systems worldwide. This innovation not only addresses longstanding challenges related to blood supply and safety but also marks a significant step forward in our ability to provide effective and universal healthcare solutions.^[5]

5 Bionic Eyes

Bionic eyes are an exciting development for people with severe vision loss. These devices work by turning visual information into electrical signals that the brain can understand, bypassing the damaged parts of the eye. One well-known system is the Argus II, which helps patients regain some ability to see light and movement. It uses a small camera on a pair of glasses to capture images, which are then sent to a tiny array of electrodes on the retina. This allows the brain to pick up on basic visual cues, helping people distinguish between light and dark and detect motion.

Researchers are constantly working to improve these technologies. They’re developing better sensors and processors that could provide clearer and more detailed images. The goal is to help people recognize simple shapes and better navigate their surroundings. While we’re not yet at the point where bionic eyes can fully restore vision, the improvements made so far are already making a big difference in the lives of those who use them.

The hope is that, with continued research, even more advanced versions of bionic eyes will be able to provide a higher level of vision restoration. This could greatly improve independence and quality of life for those with vision impairments. It’s an exciting time for this technology, and the progress being made gives a lot of hope for the future.^[6]

4 Alzheimer’s Disease Treatments

Significant advancements have been made in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, offering new hope in combating this debilitating condition. Researchers are making progress in addressing the disease’s key pathological features, particularly the accumulation of amyloid plaques and tau tangles in the brain. Monoclonal antibodies, such as aducanumab and the newer donanemab, have shown potential in targeting and reducing amyloid plaque levels. These treatments work by helping the immune system recognize and clear these harmful proteins, which are thought to contribute to the progression of Alzheimer’s.

Monoclonal antibodies are a type of targeted therapy that specifically binds to certain proteins, marking them for removal by the immune system. In the case of Alzheimer’s, these antibodies are designed to bind to amyloid-beta plaques, facilitating their clearance from the brain. Clinical trials have shown that treatments with these antibodies can slow the cognitive decline in patients by reducing the buildup of these plaques. Although these treatments are still in the relatively early stages of development, the results so far are promising, suggesting that they could play a crucial role in managing Alzheimer’s in the future.

Beyond monoclonal antibodies, other innovative approaches are being explored to improve the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Early detection techniques, including advanced imaging and biomarker analysis, are being developed to identify the disease before significant symptoms appear. Personalized treatment plans that incorporate these new diagnostic tools, combined with targeted therapies like monoclonal antibodies, hold the potential to significantly alter the course of Alzheimer’s disease. This combination of early intervention and precise, targeted treatment offers hope for better outcomes for patients and their families, potentially transforming the landscape of Alzheimer’s care.^[7]

3 Targeted Drug Delivery for Childhood Brain Tumors

Doctors and researchers are making significant strides in developing innovative treatments for childhood brain tumors, particularly medulloblastomas, which are the most common malignant brain tumors in children. Traditional therapies, like surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy, often come with severe side effects due to their impact on healthy brain tissue. To address this challenge, scientists are exploring cutting-edge approaches, including the use of nanoparticles as a more targeted and effective means of delivering anti-cancer drugs. Nanoparticles are ultra-tiny, engineered particles capable of carrying therapeutic agents directly to cancer cells while bypassing healthy tissues, thus reducing collateral damage and improving outcomes.

In recent studies, nanoparticles have been engineered to cross the blood-brain barrier, a natural defense that often blocks the delivery of traditional drugs to the brain. These nanoparticles can be loaded with anti-cancer drugs and designed to recognize specific markers on medulloblastoma cells. Once they reach their target, the nanoparticles release their drug payload directly into the tumor, maximizing the treatment’s efficacy. Early laboratory and animal studies have shown promising results, with reduced tumor size and fewer side effects compared to conventional therapies. Researchers are also investigating how to fine-tune nanoparticle design to improve precision further and integrate them with other treatments, such as immunotherapy, to enhance their effectiveness.

This approach holds great promise not only for treating medulloblastomas but also for advancing how pediatric brain tumors are managed overall. By leveraging the precision of nanotechnology, doctors hope to transform these devastating diagnoses into conditions that can be treated with minimal harm to young patients, preserving their quality of life and long-term development. Clinical trials will be the next critical step as researchers work to ensure the safety and effectiveness of these groundbreaking therapies in children.^[8]

2 Stem Cell Therapy for Spinal Cord Injuries

Stem cell therapy is showing real promise for helping people with spinal cord injuries. Research from the Mayo Clinic highlights that this approach involves injecting stem cells into the damaged spinal cord to help repair and regenerate the tissue. Patients who have undergone this therapy have reported improvements in their motor functions and a reduction in some of their symptoms, which is encouraging news for anyone living with these types of injuries.

The Mayo Clinic study found that stem cell therapy is generally safe, with no severe adverse effects reported, and there are signs that it might help patients regain some of their lost functions. People who received the treatment noticed improvements in their ability to move and perform everyday tasks, which are crucial for maintaining independence. As more research is conducted, there is hope that stem cell therapy could become a key part of the treatment plan for those with spinal cord injuries, helping them to lead more active and fulfilling lives.^[9]

1 Personalized Medicine: Tailoring Treatment to Individual Needs

Personalized medicine is all about tailoring medical treatments to fit each person’s unique genetic makeup. By looking at a patient’s genes, doctors can make more informed decisions about which treatments are likely to work best for them. This is particularly helpful for complex conditions like cancer or genetic disorders where traditional treatments might not be as effective. Instead of a one-size-fits-all approach, personalized medicine aims to find the most suitable treatment for each individual, which can help improve outcomes and reduce side effects.

In recent years, advances in technology have made personalized medicine more accessible and practical. Techniques like single-cell sequencing and new types of blood tests allow doctors to get a much clearer picture of a person’s health. These tools help in understanding how diseases develop differently in each individual, making it possible to tailor treatments more precisely. For instance, knowing specific genetic variations can guide doctors in choosing the right medication or treatment plan that will be most effective for the patient.

What’s exciting about personalized medicine is that it’s not just about treating illnesses; it’s also about preventing them. By analyzing genetic information, doctors can identify potential health risks and develop personalized prevention strategies. This proactive approach means that personalized medicine could help people stay healthier longer and reduce the need for more intensive treatments later on. It’s a significant shift towards a more individualized and effective healthcare system, focusing on the unique needs of each person.^[10]

We expect our doctors to be competent, ethical, and up to date. What we don’t understand is that these qualities sometimes conflict. For example, does a new surgical technique really work, or does the patient just think it does? The only way to tell is with a clinical trial—somebody is going to secretly get a fake surgery as a test control. Is that ethical?

That’s just one of the many controversies the doctors are hotly debating (out of public sight, for the most part).

10Doctors Can Be Deceived Or Make Mistakes

Medical journals help physicians stay up to date. Unfortunately, they sometimes contain papers written by drug company ghostwriters. For instance: In 2000, a paper in the New England Journal of Medicine praised Vioxx, a new pain reliever. The writers—some of whom later turned out to be connected with the company that made Vioxx—played down cardiac side effects. Does Vioxx sound familiar? It was taken off the market in 2004 for—you guessed it—causing cardiac problems.

Most medical treatment goes through clinical trials to make sure that it works and is safe. However, experts recently went back through some of those studies and found that over a third of them had mistakes. These ranged from relatively small stuff all the way up to recommending treatment for the wrong group of people. And that’s not all. A second look at the studies that led governments to stockpile flu-fighting agents Tamiflu and Relenza showed that these drugs probably aren’t as effective as researchers once believed. They might shorten your bout of flu by half a day, but there’s no evidence that they will prevent complications or keep you out of the hospital.

9Advance Directives Can Let Dementia Patients In For Risky Research

Doctors won’t treat you without your informed consent. So what if you’re unconscious? Hopefully, you’ve filled out an advance directive. You might even have a research advance directive on file, if you don’t mind taking a chance and possibly helping others in the future. It’s pretty basic—unless you come down with dementia.

Alzheimer’s has been studied for over 100 years, but we still don’t know much about it. Research is a priority, and some scientists do it with the help of an advance directive. The special research consent has to be signed before the patient gets dementia, and this doesn’t happen often. Some believe that requiring this consent blocks valuable research. Others aren’t at all comfortable with the idea, and they’ve got a point, too. Terrible things have happened during human experiments.

The Alzheimer’s Association takes the middle ground. They suggest enrolling everybody in research if there’s little risk, obtaining the surrogate’s consent for risky research with potential benefits, and requiring research consent for any risky research without likely benefits.

8Incidental Findings Can Ruin Your Life

Modern medicine has the most powerful tools in history. However, sometimes it’s possible to see too much. Say you go to the ER because you’re feeling depressed, and routine tests show a mass on your adrenal gland. It’s such a common finding, doctors call it “incidentaloma.” These tumors are usually benign, but the doctors won’t know for sure that it’s not cancer unless they do a lot of tests.

Cancer? Do all the tests!

So they do all the tests, and those come back benign, because that’s what incidentalomas usually are. However, now you have huge medical bills and are feeling emotionally overwhelmed, maybe even suicidal. You could just ask the doctor not to tell you about incidental findings. However, if it involves gene sequencing, the doctor might ignore your request. The American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics tells its members to look for unrelated risky genes whenever they do genetic tests and to tell the patient about whatever they find. Medical technology can cause some expensive, heartbreaking problems. Nobody really knows how to handle the problem of incidental findings.

7Unethical Co-Branding

Co-branding can do wonderful things. For example, some credit card companies donate $100 to a medical center if new customers spend $500 within six months of being approved. Businesses, including hospitals, link their names with other companies for greater public visibility. It usually works out well for everybody. However, problems can come up if the hospitals don’t do their homework on potential business partners.

Some genetic screening companies, for example, avoid regulation by describing their tests as “recreational.” Some direct-to-consumer companies that provide cardiac screening are under attack by consumer groups for pushing tests that these groups claim will do more harm than good.

It’s a mixed bag. Even experts who oppose direct marketing to patients have to admit that there’s no solid evidence so far that it’s harmful as an educational tool. Beyond that, there’s a lot of controversy. So don’t automatically assume the name of a respected medical institution on something guarantees it’s just what the doctor ordered—think it through and read the fine print.

6You Could Wake Up During Surgery

As depressing as modern medicine can be, at least there’s anesthesia. Back in the day, surgery on a wide-awake patient was ghastly for everybody. Well, guess what? Today, one or two patients out of 1,000 wake up while they’re being operated on. Not surprisingly, up to 70 percent of them develop PTSD.

It happens when the general anesthesia is too light. The drugs are so powerful, that it’s a fine line between no pain and no vital signs. Anesthesiologists want to keep you alive and comfortable. Sometimes, they just can’t tell how much is enough, especially toward the end of a case, when your body has used up most of the anesthesia. Also, for certain high-risk surgeries, they have to go easy on the gas because you’re already in critical condition.

There can’t be any guarantees that you won’t wake up before they want you to. The good news is that, if you do, you’ll probably feel pressure, not pain. The pressure of instruments and strange hands deep inside your body, moving around—no wonder the PTSD rate is high.

5Doctors May Have Conflicts Of Interest

Everybody munches on freebies at the grocery store. Why shouldn’t doctors get free samples, too? Drug company reps offer them everything, from notepads to free pizza. Of course the physicians take some. Then they go on practicing medicine their own way. Probably. This isn’t a problem in itself—doctors have to eat and doodle just like the rest of us. Conflict of interest only gets serious when money and influence are at stake.

That happens a lot. Researchers say that 40 percent of the drug company directors they studied also held top posts at major academic medical centers. Those directors, on average, got well over $250,000 a year for their services. Then they went back to the medical center and ran its health care, research, and school their own way. Probably.

It also turns out that your medical care may be different—and possibly more expensive—if your doctor owns any labs and equipment or is a partner in a specialty hospital. Federal and state laws restrict self-referrals. In spite of that, it’s been shown that patients have more tests and more surgeries in areas where physicians own a lot of the local medical infrastructure.

4 No One Really Knows What Your Health Care Costs

When medical bills arrive, most people reach for their checkbook or maybe for the phone to call the insurance company (and possibly a bankruptcy lawyer). Would you believe the hospital might back off if you challenge the bill? Or that hospitals charge different prices depending on your insurance? They do this because nobody has a clue how much your visit actually costs. Don’t take our word for it. In 2004, the UC Davis Health System chief financial officer said, “There is no method to this madness. As we went through the years, we had these cockamamie formulas. We multiplied our costs to set our charges.”

Hospitals use a master price list called a “chargemaster.” Except in California, you don’t have the right to see one. Even if you do, it won’t make much sense. There’s no national standard for them, and everybody updates them differently. Your insurance company may get a discount of more than 50 percent off chargemaster prices. Uninsured? You’ll pay the full amount. Obamacare has caused a boom in medical billing specialists. But still no one is sure how to code your medical bill.

3Electronic Health Record Errors

Your medical records were once stored on paper. Doctors and hospitals have saved time, space, and money by switching over to the electronic health records. These wonderful software packages save lives, too, but nothing is perfect. Computer and human errors are also present. Even worse, contracts with the software companies are silencing physicians who want to complain about the software.

Errors are common. Doctors miss important lab results because the screen is badly designed. Medication doses are mixed up. Notes disappear. And no one is tracking these errors. It’s even possible that this has contributed to the US Ebola crisis. Thomas Duncan caught the bug in Liberia. After coming home, he went to a Dallas ER for symptoms that could easily have been something like the flu. He did tell them where he’d been, and a nurse did enter that into his electronic record. What happened next isn’t clear, but it’s possible that the nurse’s note wasn’t immediately available to the ER doctor and other health care providers because of a software design flaw. In any case, they didn’t immediately treat Mr. Duncan for Ebola, and he later died from the disease.

2Hacked Medical Devices

Medical equipment has NSA-level cybersecurity, right? No, not at all. Recently, a Midwestern US health care chain asked the IT department to hack equipment at its 100 facilities. It was horrifyingly easy for them to access medical records, reset medicine pumps, reprogram defibrillators, change refrigerator temperature settings, and to take down emergency and lab equipment. And that’s just what the company would publicly admit. Problems included weak passwords, infected devices, and poor firewalling. However, the system’s best feature—feeding embedded information directly into medical records—also made it a hacker’s dream.

This isn’t a one-off problem. Malware shut down a New Jersey heart catheterization lab in 2010. The Conficker virus was found on 104 devices in a Tampa VA hospital. An antivirus program forced a third of Rhode Island’s hospitals to postpone everything but emergency surgeries and treatment because it mistakenly identified a critical Windows DLL as malicious.

No patients have been harmed yet, fortunately. The FDA just released cybersecurity guidelines. While they’re not federal law, good luck getting your new medical device approved if it’s not secure. And the guidelines are a heads-up to the health care world that now is the time to somehow secure all the vulnerable equipment out there.

1Unfair Treatment Of Minorities Still Exists In The US

Americans once got different medical treatment based on their ethnic background. We’ve come a long way, but not as far as we think. In 2002, the Institute of Medicine found that minorities were routinely given lower-quality health care and denied some drugs and medical procedures. They were also more likely to have an amputation for diabetes. Researchers called for system changes, as well as for more minority providers and more interpreters to overcome language barriers. Six years later, a different group found the same problems. This group put their findings in a book that people could use to improve things in their own communities.

In some ways, people are even worse off in 2014. Doctors say that it’s a very complex problem. Insurance plans and providers don’t serve poor communities. There are also cultural differences, communication barriers, and lack of information on how to access the system.

+Faking Surgery For Science

Unfortunately, our example about secret placebo surgeries isn’t theoretical. It’s rare, but it has happened. In 2009, for example, a report was published in the New England Journal of Medicine that described how 63 patients with compression fractures from osteoporosis got “a simulated procedure without cement” as part of a study. This didn’t just happen at a single hospital, either. Several major medical centers were involved. Well, that sounds horrible, but the study proved that the real surgery probably wasn’t helping anybody. Was it worth it? When it comes to sham surgery, doctors are still trying to make up their minds.

Barb likes to write about science at her blog Flight To Wonder.

Over millennia, we developed a complex and nuanced pharmacopoeia to deal with our ailments. Today, modern medicine is beginning to embrace these ancient cures. Researchers and archaeologists are working tirelessly discover these age-old remedies and develop new treatments from time-tested medicine.

10Anglo-Saxon Eye Salve

In 2015, scientists recreated a ninth-century Anglo-Saxon treatment for eye infections. Composed of onion, garlic, wine, and cow bile, the ancient salve flabbergasted researchers by effectively combating methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus—or MRSA. Discovered in an ancient medicinal text called Bald’s Leechbook, the salve could be the key in combating antibiotic-resistant super-bugs. Researchers discovered that the ancient salve killed 90 percent of MRSA bacteria cultures. They do not believe one ingredient is the key but rather the entire concoction’s antibiotic properties.

Bald’s Leechbook is one of the earliest examples of a medical textbook. Researchers believe the Anglo-Saxons practiced something similar to the scientific method with an emphasis on observation and experimentation. Scientists were blown away to discover that people were carrying on detailed studies of infection centuries before the discovery of microbes. Researchers believe there are many other ancient texts with treatments for what appear to be bacterial infections.

91300-Year-Old Pharmaceutical Operation

Between 2013 and 2015, Turkish archaeologists discovered 700 small bottles containing ancient antidepressants and heart disease drugs. Unearthed during excavations of Bathonea on Kucukcekmece Lake, the unguentaria bottles were found along with pestles, mortars, and a large cooker, suggesting this was the site of a massive ancient pharmaceutical operation. It is the largest number of bottles ever discovered at a single archaeological site.

Researchers were first alerted to the potential for ancient pharmaceuticals due to the presence of medicinal plants growing in the site. Analysis revealed the unguentaria contained methanone and phenanthrene, which are antidepressant and heart drugs respectively. Both were made from local plants. The bottles were discovered under a fire layer dating between 620 and 640, which may be evidence of the Avar invasion. While historical records mention the onslaught, this would be the first archaeological evidence of the Avar invasion in 626.

8Smoked Henbane Seeds

In 2015, archaeologists discovered evidence of medicinal henbane seed usage during excavations of Kaman-Kalehoyuk in Turkey. Eurasian henbane (Hyoscyamus niger) contains atropine and scopolamine—both of which are concentrated in the seeds. For millennia, these seeds have been used in ancient remedies and magic brews. 121 charred seeds at Kaman-Kalehoyuk were found in an old hearth along with animal dung, suggesting they were fumigated. It is the first archaeological evidence of medicinal henbane use in Asia.

The Ottomans referred to henbane as beng or benc and used it to treat toothaches, earaches, eye irritations, and a slew of other maladies. A historical record from 1608 refers to a medicinal recipe composed of henbane seeds, black pepper, and opium. Located 100 kilometers south of Ankara, Kaman-Kalehoyuk has had Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Ottoman occupations. The burned henbane seeds date to the Ottoman period between the 15th and 17th century.

7Ancient Ingrown Eyelash Remedy

A Danish Egyptologists recently translated a 3,500-year-old Egyptian papyrus containing an ancient remedy for trichiasis—or ingrown eyelashes. The document lay untouched in the University of Copenhagen archives for 80 years before Sofie Schiod translated it. The ingrown eyelash remedy requires bull fat, the blood of a bat and a donkey, lizard heart and dung, pulverized pottery, the milk of a woman nursing a boy, and a touch of honey.

The papryus’s hieroglyphics read from right to left and contain images of birds, snakes, and ships. The medicinal ingredients and their quantities are listed in red ink. Black text reveals how to put the ingredients together. Schiodt’s text was broken into seven fragments roughly equivalent to one sheet of paper. The flip side of the papyrus contains a gynecological text. German researchers studying similar ancient Egyptian medicinal documents aided Schiod’s translation. Both found similar ingredients.

6Amazing Artemisinin

In 2015, Chinese chemist Tu Youyou won a Nobel Prize for his work on artemisinin—a centuries-old wormwood-derived treatment for malaria. Researchers now believe the compound could also prove effective against tuberculosis. Michigan State University microbiologist Robert Abramovich discovered that artemisinin is capable of blocking the defense mechanism employed by Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Mycobacetrium tuberculosis requires oxygen. Our immune systems attempt to combat the infection by limiting the bacteria’s access to oxygen. When the tuberculosis bacteria are deprived of oxygen, they enter a dormant survival stage. Artemisinin blocks a molecule called heme, effectively turning off the bacteria’s oxygen sensor. This new treatment could vastly reduce the treatment window for tuberculosis, which can take up to six months in normal conditions. The extensive length of the treatment regimen is one of the hardest things about combating tuberculosis. Incomplete therapy is a major factor in the development of antibiotic strains of tuberculosis bacteria.

51000-Year-Old Hangover Cure

The Kitab-al-tabikh—or Book of Cookery—is a 1,000-year-old Middle Eastern text containing over 600 culinary and medicinal recipes. One of its most famous entries is for an ancient hangover cure. The text’s author, Ibn Sayyar Al-Warraq recommends kkishkiyya after a night of drinking. The meat, chick pea, and vegetable stew contains khask, a fermented yogurt, milk, and whey product, which alleviates the “excess heat” in the stomach and head that occur after imbibing. One can still find kkishkiyya cooked in a similar method in the Levant and northern Iraq.

Almost nothing is known of Ibn Sayyar Al-Warraq other than his death date of 961. Researchers believe that many of his recipes came from earlier works, possibly 1,000 years before the writing of Kitab Al-tabikh. The author also suggests eating cabbage before drinking, snacking between cocktails, and drinking copious water prior to eating kkishkiyya.

4Roseroot

For millennia, people have used roseroot (Rhodiola rosea) for its medicinal qualities. According to Siberian folklore, drinkers of roseroot tea can live to over 100 years. The ancient Greeks, Vikings, Caucasians, and Mongols were all enamored with it. According to the latest research, roseroot is effective in reducing moderate depression and fatigue. Its efficacy is less than conventional antidepressants like sertraline. However, its favorable benefit-to-risk ratio is much higher.

Since the 1960s, there have been nearly 200 studies on the effect of roseroot on health. For centuries, people have used to drug to combat depression, fatigue, and altitude sickness. The Vikings used it for endurance and increased strength. The ancient Chinese sent expeditions to Siberia specifically in search of the plant. Mongolian doctors use roseroot to treat cancer and tuberculosis. To this day, Central Asians believe roseroot tea is the best medicine for colds and the flu.

3Martyr Skull Bone Powder

Italian researchers have recently discovered the purposes behind mysterious holes in the skull of a 15th-century martyr. The skull was drilled to create bone powder used in the treatment of paralysis, stroke, and epilepsy. The skull contains 16 holes of various sizes and depths. Researchers believe these were made using a special trepan tool, which would have produced bone powder. In Pharmacopee universelle, French chemist Nicholas Lemery (1645–1715) reveals that skull powder drunk in water can treat illnesses of the brain.

The skull belonged to one of the Martyrs of Otranto. On August 14, 1480, after a 15-day Ottoman siege, 800 survivors were forced to convert to Islam or lose their heads. In 1771, these victims were beatified. Powdered bone derived from saints and victims of violent death was considered particularly effective in pharmacological preparations. Why this particular skull was chosen to make bone powder remains a mystery.

2Ramesseum Medical Papyri

In 1991, Egyptian and French archaeologists discovered a series of medical papyri at the Ramesseum necropolis. These ancient documents go back to the beginning of the 18th century BC and lay out priceless pharmacological knowledge of the era. The works give detailed descriptions of anatomy, diseases, and recommended treatments. The papyri are written in vertical columns of hieratic script.

Ramesseum was the mortuary temple of Ramesses II, one of the longest ruling pharaohs. Ramesses II was known for his construction of temples, buildings, and even cities. His Theban necropolis was the “cherry on top.” Papyrus III describes the eruption of a volcano, which may be Santorini, and discuss how to treat burn victims. Dated to 1700 BC, it also contains the oldest know reference to medicinal cannabis. Papyrus IV covers problems related to female anatomy. It discusses childbirth, newborns, and contraception. An outlier, Papyrus V is written in hieroglyphics.

1Amur Cork Cancer Medicine

In 2014, researchers discovered that an ancient medicine could be effective in combating pancreatic cancer. For millennia, Chinese have used the bark of the Amur cork tree (Phellodendron amurense) as a painkiller. Researchers at the University of Texas found that Amur cork extract can block cancer development pathways. Fibrotic tissue prevents drugs from reaching tumors. The amur cork inhibits scarring around the tumor, allowing drugs to reach the cancer. Researchers also discovered that Amur cork reduces inflammation in tumors through enzyme suppression.

Pancreatic cancer is particularly deadly due to its difficulty to diagnose, aggressive behavior, and resistance to conventional treatments. The best option currently available is complete surgical excision. However, only 20 percent of patients are eligible for this treatment at the time of diagnosis. Furthermore, therapeutic agents for pancreatic cancer have proven largely ineffective. Researchers are keenly aware of the need to try novel approaches to treating this insidious ailment.

Dubbed the “Indiana Jones of folk music” by TimeOut.com, Geordie McElroy has hunted spell songs, incantations, and arcane melodies for the Smithsonian, Sony Music Group, and private collectors. A leading authority on occult music, he is also the singer of LA-based band Blackwater Jukebox.

Practicing medicine is just that—practice—because physicians are forever perfecting their skills and acquiring knowledge. With that said, medicine is continuously evolving. But every theory, invention, and breakthrough discovery had an origin, some from very modest beginnings which paved the way to how modern medicine is practiced today.

The following 10 cases are those of extraordinary discoveries. Some are due to brilliant concepts that are impossible to envision. Others are due to mistakes but nonetheless forever changed the future of medicine.

10 Barber-Surgeons

In medieval Europe, surgery was practiced primarily by barbers (as opposed to surgeons) because surgery was viewed more as a craft than a profession at that time. Barbers carried out the “treatment” of bloodletting (bleeding people) as well as tooth extractions, amputations, enemas, selling medicines, and, of course, a shave and haircut, if desired. In fact, the red-and-white pole that still symbolizes a barbershop also symbolized the white napkins and blood-soaked bandages.

What is so intriguing about the barbers during this time is that they were the first to look inside a human, which paved the way for professional surgeons. The two professions were eventually merged in 1540 by Henry VIII as the United Barber-Surgeons Company.

In time, surgery established itself as a profession, eventually causing King George II to separate the two fields in 1745 by establishing the London College of Surgeons. At that point, a university education was required to perform future operations.

9 Thomas Willis

In 1647, English physician Dr. Thomas Willis was the first in modern medical literature to discover that the urine of those who suffered from diabetes tasted sweet, comparing the flavor to that of honey. Yes, you read that correctly. Willis tasted the urine of his diabetic patients.

In fact, Willis described the flavor as “wonderfully sweet as if it were imbued with honey or sugar.” Although such a discovery is off-putting and disgusting to most, it broke down barriers to the understanding of diabetes. Ultimately, it led to the term “mellitus” as in “diabetes mellitus,” a Latin word for “honey” which Willis coined.

A medical chemist of the school of Paracelsus, Willis wrote many books during this time, his last being Rational Therapeutics. His description of the sweet taste of urine in diabetic patients is highly detailed in Section IV, Chapter 3 of the book. Willis was also the first to notice an association between depression and diabetes, an observation that was only rediscovered three centuries later.

8 Leopold von Auenbrugger

Austrian physician Leopold von Auenbrugger discovered the method of percussion in 1754 during his first years of working in a hospital. Percussion is a method in which the physician taps parts of the body with his fingers to detect the presence of fluid, such as pneumonia in a patient’s lungs. Auenbrugger, the son of an innkeeper who had observed his father tapping on barrels of wine to determine how full they were, created a new method in physical examination and medical diagnosis.

He practiced his theory on cadavers by injecting fluid into the pleural cavity to demonstrate the significance of percussion. In this way, he could determine where the fluid was and what medical efforts should be made for its removal.

Auenbrugger compared the sound of a healthy lung to that of a drum with heavy cloth over it, echoing a hollow sound when tapped. When the lung would fill with fluid, the echo would dissipate, leaving a sound similar to that of the fleshy, hollow part of the thigh.

Auenbrugger’s observations were published in what is now considered to be a medical classic, Inventum Novum. It forever changed the way that examinations would be conducted and remains the cornerstone of a physical exam to this day.

7 Nikolai Korotkoff

The circulation of blood—as well as the varying pressures—has been studied for centuries, with a broader understanding occurring in 1615 by Dr. William Harvey. In 1628, Dr. Harvey published Exercitatio Anatomica de Motu Cordis et Sanguinis in Animalibus (“On the Movement of the Heart and Blood in Animals”), which was the foundation for work on the circulatory system.

Over 100 years later in 1733, Reverend Stephen Hales recorded the first blood pressure measurement after developing a further understanding of the correlation between the heart and pulse and how it applies to blood pressure and volume. This new knowledge allowed for the invention of the first sphygmomanometer (blood pressure monitor) in 1881 by Samuel Siegfried Karl Ritter von Basch.

However, it wasn’t until 1905 that Dr. Nikolai Korotkoff discovered the difference between systolic and diastolic blood pressures, thus further improving the sphygmomanometer by using a cuff that could be placed around the arm to provide equal pressure to the limb. Korotkoff discovered the varying sounds within the arteries as pressure was applied and released, and this remains the standard of blood pressure measurement to this day.

6 Rene Theophile Hyacinthe Laennec

French physician Rene Theophile Hyacinthe Laennec, having invented the stethoscope in 1816, is considered the father of clinical auscultation. That year, Laennec had observed two children playing in a courtyard, sending signals to one another using a long piece of solid wood and a pin.

Laennec noted that the children would receive an amplified sound while holding their ears to one end of the wood while scratching the other side with a pin. He later recalled this observation during a physical examination in which he desperately wanted to listen to his patient’s lungs and heartbeat.

Laennec spent the next three years perfecting his design. Ultimately, he created a hollow tube of wood that was the forerunner of the modern-day stethoscope. With his invention, Laennec observed the various sounds of the heart and lungs, ultimately forming various diagnoses based on his observations, which were supported by autopsy findings. As a result, he was the first to write descriptions of cirrhosis, bronchiectasis, and other pulmonary conditions, eventually publishing his work in De L’auscultation Mediate (“On Mediate Auscultation”).

5 Karl Landsteiner

At the University of Vienna, Austrian biologist and physician Dr. Karl Landsteiner took an interest in why some blood transfusions were successful while others proved to be fatal. In 1900, this led to a discovery in which he classified blood into three separate groups: A, B and C. However, C would later become known as O, thus establishing the ABO blood group.

He discovered the different varieties of blood by mixing the red cells and serum from each of his staff and then demonstrating how some of the serum from different individuals agglutinated (stuck together) to the red cells of others. This research led to the publication of his 17th scientific paper in 1901 which broke down the different variations of blood types, thus outlining the importance of individual blood typing.

In 1930, Landsteiner received the Nobel Prize in physiology and medicine, although that would not be the end of his research and discoveries. Ten years later, Landsteiner and Alexander Wiener, an American colleague, discovered Rh, another blood group.

Landsteiner’s research was of paramount importance to the field of medicine. Given that not all blood types are compatible, his discoveries are still in use today and forever will be. For blood transfusions, transplantations, pregnant women, and any form of blood loss, blood typing is essential in preventing incompatibilities which could lead to agglutination, blood clumping, strokes, and death.

4 Joseph Bell

Dr. Joseph Bell was a unique medical scholar and surgeon who was obsessed with the power of observation, which he stressed was vital to physical examinations and diagnosis. Bell believed that close observation of an individual could reveal much about the patient before he even spoke a word, thus leading to an accurate diagnosis.

Prior to this, diagnoses were based simply on the symptoms. Bell, who lectured at the medical university in Edinburgh, Scotland, stressed the importance of looking past the obvious and focusing on the once minuscule. Examples of such observations would be sailors’ tattoos (which could tell you where they had traveled), a patient’s hand (which could reveal his profession), and the look of a patient’s face (which could show if he was a drinker among other things).

Bell often tested his students’ concentration to highlight the subtle signs that they had overlooked. On one occasion, he introduced a liquid compound that had a terrible taste to it. He dipped a finger into the solution, licked his finger, and then told his students to do the same.

They complied and were disgusted by the taste. Moments later, they found out that Bell had dipped the wrong finger and licked another, an observation that his students had missed. Bell had a reputation for never being wrong on a single diagnosis. In time, he became a legend at the university.

Bell’s skill was soon sought by detectives who needed his help with criminal investigations. He assisted police with investigating numerous crime scenes, describing the victims and even attempting to create profiles of the culprits. In 1888, he worked on the Jack the Ripper case.

Bell was the model for the Arthur Conan Doyle character Sherlock Holmes. Bell’s powers of observation led to the development of forensic science, forever leaving an imprint on medical and criminal investigations.

3 Paul Ehrlich

In the early 1900s, German chemist Paul Ehrlich focused his attention on immunology as well as combating infectious diseases through the use of drugs. In fact, Ehrlich coined the term “chemotherapy” in what he described as a process of treating diseases with chemicals.

During this time, Ehrlich tested his chemicals on animal models and was the first person to show the potential effect that drugs could have. In 1908, Ehrlich used arsenicals to treat syphilis in a live rabbit, which he cured. In time, he turned his interest to the cure of cancer, ultimately using the first alkylating agents and aniline dyes that proved to be effective.

His pioneering research and the therapies that he discovered—such as using chemicals that combated not only diseases but tumors as well—led to groundbreaking contributions that gave birth to chemotherapy. Prior to this, cancer was treated solely with radiation, surgery, or both. Ehrlich went on to receive the Nobel Prize for his work in immunology, and he will be forever known as the founder of chemotherapy.

2 Alexander Fleming

On September 3, 1929, Alexander Fleming, a professor of bacteriology at St. Mary’s Hospital in London, was returning from holiday when he noticed something unusual in one of his petri dishes containing the bacteria Staphylococcus. Aside from the dotted colonies containing the bacteria, Fleming observed one clear region in the dish that was free of the Staphylococcus.

This region surrounded an area in the dish where mold had grown, as if the mold had secreted something that inhibited the bacterial growth. This accidental discovery was the dawn of the antibiotic age. Fleming went on to publish his findings in the British Journal of Experimental Pathology in June 1929, keeping the interest in penicillin going with bacteriologists around the world.

It wasn’t until World War II that two scientists from Oxford University enhanced Fleming’s findings. Ernst Chain and Howard Florey began working with penicillin and, in time, produced a powder that kept its antibacterial strength for an extended time as opposed to becoming ineffective in a matter of days.

Mass production of penicillin began, ultimately saving millions of people in the battlefields who would have otherwise succumbed to bacterial infections. Fleming, Chain, and Florey were awarded the 1945 Nobel Prize in physiology and medicine for their outstanding and lifesaving discovery, which gave rise to countless more antibiotics.

1 Marie Curie

Born in Warsaw, Poland, in 1867, Marie Curie had an innate thirst for knowledge, reading and studying whatever she could get her hands on from an early age. Curie moved to Paris in 1891, enrolling at Sorbonne University where she studied physics and mathematics.

There, she met her future husband, Pierre, and the two wed four years later. They went on to investigate radioactivity together, which led to their discovery of polonium in July 1898. Later that year, they discovered yet another new chemical element: radium.

Their research and discoveries paved the way for the development of X-rays. In fact, during World War I, Marie was the head of the radiological service for the Red Cross, teaching medical orderlies and physicians the new techniques of X-rays. She also equipped ambulances with the machines, which she drove to the front lines herself.

Marie and Pierre were awarded the Nobel Prize in 1903, and Marie received a second Nobel Prize in 1911 for her research in chemistry. Her exposure to high-energy radiation during her years of research led to the deterioration of her health, and she succumbed to leukemia on July 4, 1934.

Adam is just a hubcap trying to hold on in the fast lane.

Medical science and technology are always changing. Advances in equipment and scientific knowledge allow medical procedures to become safer and less invasive so that we can all stay healthy and live longer.

However, you may be surprised by how much our medical knowledge has changed in just the last 100 years. Not that long ago, we all believed in and trusted these crazy procedures that we now know were terrible ideas. It begs the question: What current medical ideas will we look back on as insanity in the next 100 years?

10 Lobotomy

For mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and depression, some psychiatrists in the 1940s suggested putting two ice picks through your eye sockets and hammering them into your brain. By damaging the brain tissue, specifically the frontal lobes responsible for personality, lobotomy was supposed to stop the “bad behaviors” seen in schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and other mental illnesses.

Surprisingly, Antonio Egas Moniz, who developed the lobotomy, won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1949. This surgical procedure only helped about 10 percent of patients. Most individuals who had lobotomies became withdrawn, childlike people with dull personalities. They were no longer able to perform basic tasks and take care of themselves.^[1]

Around 40,000–50,000 people were lobotomized in the US alone. The USSR banned this surgery in 1950 as an inhumane procedure, saying it “changed an insane person [into] an idiot.” Soon, other countries also banned it.

Lobotomy procedures were discontinued with the advancement of psychiatric medication for mental illnesses. Many people have also petitioned that Moniz’s Nobel Prize be revoked.

9 Radioactive Water

While we try to avoid radiation now, radioactivity was a new, exciting discovery about 100 years ago. We thought it was good for our health. People bought radium pendants, uranium blankets, and radon water with the hopes of improving their digestion, arthritis, and whatever else ailed them.

One popular product was the Radium Ore Revigator, which was a watercooler lined with a radioactive ore that upon decay would “enhance” your drinking water with a high concentration of radon.^[2]

Eben Byers, a wealthy Pittsburgh steel industrialist and moderately famous golfer in the 1900s, began taking a radium water product called Radithor when his doctor suggested it for his health. By 1930, Byers had multiple cancers and holes in his skull. Most of his jaw had also fallen off.

Upon his death, people began to realize the dangers of radiation exposure. Soon, the EPA began taking steps to prevent exposure to radiation among the general population. Of course, we now know that radiation should be avoided.

8 Heroin For Your Cold

From around 1900 to the 1950s, heroin was a prescription drug used for coughs, colds, pain relief, and more. Heroin cold medicine was made by Bayer, a well-known pharmaceutical company, which even marketed the cough syrup for children.

Heroin also gained popularity as a prescription painkiller because testing showed that it was eight times more powerful than morphine. Due to its euphoric effect on the patient, heroin became an abused drug in the years following.^[3]

The US government realized that heroin was one of the most dangerous and addictive narcotics in the world and probably shouldn’t have been so readily available. The drug’s recreational use and addictive properties resulted in the discontinuation of its common medical use. In 1924, the US banned heroin. Today, it is listed as a controlled substance, illegal to possess without a DEA license.

7 Soothing Syrup For Babies

A popular medicine in the late 1800s to early 1900s was “Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup,” a drug given to babies to stop teething pain, diarrhea, and other minor ailments.

The soothing syrup aimed to prevent crying children and had popular advertising that contained appealing domestic images of mothers and babies. Many mothers told others about how well it worked to stop their children from crying and to soothe the kids to sleep.

What was in this miracle drug, you ask?

The syrup was pure morphine dissolved in alcohol and was sold until the 1930s. Morphine, a strong opiate painkiller with serious side effects and a highly addictive nature, was a dangerous substance to be giving to babies in concentrated doses.^[4]

Widely popular, the syrup unfortunately led to numerous infant deaths from overdose as well as many drug-addicted children. This resulted in its removal from the market.

6 Ecstasy

Throughout the 1970s, MDMA (aka “Ecstasy”) had a decent following of psychiatrists who suggested its use for psychological therapy in patients with depression, autism, PMS, and, ironically, substance abuse.

Psychotherapists who promoted MDMA often felt that the drug accelerated the patient’s therapy. If the patient had no inhibitions, his communication improved and he responded to his therapist’s ideas positively and openly.

With its euphoric effects, MDMA quickly became a heavily abused, recreational party drug. It was made illegal in the 1980s. Surprisingly, Ecstasy therapy may be returning for use with PTSD patients.

While MDMA is still illegal, the FDA has given it “breakthrough therapy” status as early trials showed positive results. The drug is currently going through FDA-approved clinical trials for potential use in returning veterans with PTSD.^[5]

5 Smoking For Your Health

In the early 20th century, we actually thought smoking was good for us. Inhaling tobacco fumes was believed to help asthma. Tobacco advertisements from the 1920s to the 1950s often featured doctors smoking cigarettes and endorsing their health qualities.

Lucky Strike cigarettes advertised that their manufacturing process produced a cigarette that was “your throat protection against irritation and against cough.” Smoking cigarettes was also a dieting trend among women in the 1920s. Advertising such as “reach for a Lucky instead of a sweet” attracted women to nicotine’s appetite suppressant qualities.^[6]

In 1953, three scientists named Wynder, Graham, and Croninger published their laboratory findings that confirmed cigarettes caused cancer. As a result, the tobacco industry began to suffer.

Doctors soon stopped smoking, and people realized that cigarettes were dangerous. Now, many tobacco-related ad campaigns try to get people to quit smoking and are open about how bad cigarettes are for our health.

4 Methamphetamine Diet Pills

If smoking cigarettes wasn’t enough to get you losing weight in the 1950s, you could have taken crystal meth diet pills. Amphetamine medications were taking over the country, including diet pills such as Obetrol, Dexamyl, and Eskatrol. Obetrol, which was marketed specifically for “exogenous obesity,” contained a mixture of several amphetamine salts, over half of which was methamphetamine hydrochloride (aka “crystal meth”).

Amphetamines were extremely popular. According to FDA manufacturer surveys, US production of amphetamines in 1962 reached the level of about 43 doses (of 10 milligrams each) per person per year based on the total population. Approximately 33 percent of the prescriptions were for weight loss, and women made up 85 percent of all amphetamine patients.^[7]

This widespread popularity also revealed the health problems and addictive properties associated with excessive consumption of meth. Not surprisingly, it became an abused drug.

In the 1970s, the government started restricting amphetamines and listed them as controlled substances. The popular diet pill Obetrol, which was abused as a recreational drug in the 1960s, was reformulated to remove meth, although other amphetamine salts were still present. Obetrol is no longer made today.

3 Plombage

From the 1930s to the 1950s, tuberculosis was one of the leading causes of death. Antibiotics of any kind were rare at the time, and no medications were available for the treatment of tuberculosis. However, there was a medical procedure called “plombage.”

The plombage surgery consisted of filling the patient’s pleural cavity (the lung area behind the rib cage) with random materials such as mineral oil, Lucite balls, gauze, paraffin wax, rubber, or animal fat. There is even a published study of plombage surgeries performed on children in which sterilized Ping-Pong balls were used as fillers.

The procedure would cause the lung to collapse and no longer function. According to the theory, if the diseased lung was made to collapse, it would heal itself over time. The surgery would often allow the patient to live longer and experience short-term improvement.

However, many complications were seen decades later, often from infection, hemorrhage, or movement of the foreign material filler. Thankfully, after the availability of modern antibiotics for tuberculosis in the 1950s, plombage surgery was abandoned.^[8]

2 Ear Candles

This alternative method for cleaning out earwax was often advocated because it was cheap and people could try it themselves at home. The idea was to place the unlit end of a hollow candle in your ear and then burn the other end to create negative pressure and draw wax out of the ear.

Not surprisingly, a study proved that this practice was not effective and could actually deposit hot candle wax in your ear. Many people who tried this had to see a doctor for injuries resulting from candle use.

The most shocking part? This study was published in a professional medical research journal in 1996! That is surprisingly recent for people to be using their ears as candleholders.^[9]

1 Shark Cartilage Supplements

The theme behind this health fad: “Sharks don’t get cancer, so let’s all take shark cartilage.” Research on shark cartilage in the 1970s and 1980s sparked the popularity of taking this substance for cancer. These studies showed that sharks rarely get cancer because their cartilage contains a substance that inhibits tumor growth.

Understandably, everyone wanted this to be the cure for cancer and the market became flooded with shark cartilage supplements. There were over 40 brands in various dosage formats, including pills, liquids, topical creams, and even enemas.

However, over a dozen clinical trials of shark cartilage were conducted with cancer patients and no health benefits were observed. The National Cancer Institute says that shark cartilage has no effect on cancer, and supplements are not approved for use by the FDA.^[10]

I work as a chemist and a professional pianist. I have a bachelor’s degree in environmental science and a bachelor’s in music. I live on a small goat farm and am an environmental enthusiast.

If someone mentions the period 1492-1800 in Europe, you might think: Columbus’ discovery of the Americas; Protestant Reformation; Shakespeare; Charles II; Scientific Revolution via Isaac Newton, Robert Boyle and co; Dr Johnson and Mad King George III. What you probably don’t know is that, at just the time when European Christians were denouncing supposed cannibals of the Americas as the scum of the earth, these same Europeans were swallowing just about every part of the human body as medicine.

10 Bizarre Things People Did With Corpses

10 Yummy Mummies for Medicine

In the Middle Ages, physicians began to use the bodies of ancient Egyptian mummies for medicine. In 1424, for example, the authorities in Cairo discovered persons who confessed under torture that they ‘were removing bodies from the tombs, boiling them in hot water, and collecting the oil which rose to the surface. This was sold to the Europeans for 25 gold pieces per hundredweight. The men were imprisoned’.

By the time of Shakespeare, in the 1580s, one Elizabethan traveller told of seeing ‘the bodies of ancient men, not rotten but all whole’, being daily unearthed from a Cairo pyramid. And a British merchant apprentice, John Sanderson, illicitly obtained a mummy shipment of over six hundred pounds in weight.

Come the late 17th century, it was getting much harder to smuggle mummies into Europe for medicine. Accordingly, merchants in Egypt baked up the flesh of dead lepers, beggars or camels into ‘counterfeit mummy’ to satisfy European demand. Finally, the trade plundered ‘Guanche mummies’ from the Canary Islands.

As the Guanche people were thought to have emigrated from North Africa, the civilised Europeans were in fact eating Africans; and also eating ancient Egyptians, founders of perhaps the greatest civilization the world has ever known. Perhaps the Europeans were the Real Savages after all.

9 Drink the Red Tincture

Well: you may first want to know how it was made. One should take ‘the cadaver of a reddish man … whole, fresh without blemish, of around twenty-four years of age, dead of a violent death (not of illness), exposed to the moon’s rays for one day and night, but with a clear sky’. One must next ‘cut the muscular flesh of this man and sprinkle it with powder of myrrh and at least a little bit of aloe, then soak it, making it tender, finally hanging the pieces in a very dry and shady place until they dry out’. Finally, ‘a most red tincture’ could be extracted from this artfully cured flesh.

This kind of recipe was popular among followers of the controversial medical reformer Paracelsus (d.1541). And many of these followers were extremely influential. The Paracelsian Sir Theodore Turquet de Mayerne (1573-1655) has rightly been dubbed ‘Europe’s physician’. In his long career he treated Henri IV, Elizabeth’s Secretary of State, Robert Cecil, James I, John Donne, Charles I, Charles II, and Oliver Cromwell.

8 The Vampire Pope and the Vampire Aristocracy

In July 1492 Pope Innocent VIII lay dying. One of the alleged cures attempted at Innocent’s deathbed is particularly memorable. Three healthy youths were bribed by the pope’s physician, with the promise of a ducat apiece. The youths were then cut and bled. All three presently bled to death. The pope drank their blood, still fresh and hot, in an attempt to revive his failing powers. The attempt was not successful. Innocent himself also died soon after, on 25 July.

So runs the account of the pope’s contemporary, Stefano Infessura. Infessura was a lawyer and a fierce critic of Innocent VIII. Can his claims be trusted? Contemporary evidence shows that Innocent’s Vampire Cure seems to have been merely a more extreme version of a therapy recommended by others. Marsilio Ficino (1433-1499), for example, was one of the most highly-respected figures of Renaissance Europe. And he too believed that the aged could rejuvenate themselves if they would ‘suck the blood of an adolescent’ who was ‘clean, happy, temperate, and whose blood is excellent but perhaps a little excessive’.

In 1777 one Thomas Mortimer claimed that, ‘towards the close of the fifteenth century, an idle opinion prevailed, that the declining strength and vigour of old people might be repaired by transfusing the blood of young persons’. He adds that some ‘drank the warm blood of young persons’ and that the practice was suppressed in France after ‘some of the principal nobility … turned raving mad’ as a result.

7 Cannibal monarchs

Here’s something you were never taught in your school history classes. James I refused corpse medicine; Charles II made his own corpse medicine; and Charles I was made into corpse medicine. James was in fact unusual in his refusal, and it was somewhat surprising, as he was one of the most disgusting monarchs in British history. He never washed or changed his clothes, and was so fond of hunting that he would urinate in the saddle to save the trouble of dismounting.

As for Charles I? His blood was mopped up with handkerchieves by spectators after his beheading in 1649. There is in fact a painting of this, by an eyewitness, John Weesop. Intriguingly, some of the handkerchieves belonged to Parliamentarians, who still nonetheless believed that the king’s blood could cure ‘the king’s evil’.

But the biggest player of all in the dark world of corpse medicine was Charles II. Charles reportedly paid £6,000 for the recipe for ‘spirit of skull’, originally formulated by the eminent chemist Robert Goddard in the 1650s. This distillation now became so closely associated with Charles that it was known as ‘the King’s Drops’, and was in great demand amongst élite patients. One Lady Anne Dormer drank them with chocolate against depression, and they were given to Queen Mary on her deathbed in 1694. Before that, they were the very first remedy Charles reached for on 2 February 1685, a few days before he died.

In France decades before, the Emperor Francis I (d.1547) ‘always carried [mummy] in his purse, fearing no accident, if he had but a little of that by him’. In Britain William III was given powdered skull for his epilepsy.

6 Cannibal Aristocrats and Gentry

Robert Boyle, the aristocrat who became known as the Father of Chemistry, distilled human blood into various treatments around this time, and would sometimes give these to a noble or genteel patient under a false name, lest they had qualms about swallowing blood. He claimed a near miraculous recovery in one case.

Whilst some of the nobility were therefore unwitting vampires, others were quite openly cannibalistic. A 1653 cure for epilepsy included ‘a pennyweight of the powder of gold, six pennyweight of pearl, six pennyweight of amber, six pennyweight of coral, and eight grains of bezoar’, adding: ‘also you must put some powder of a dead man’s skull’. This came from the recipe book of Elizabeth Grey, Countess of Kent. Historian Elaine Leong has shown that many other noblewomen and gentlewomen of the age made their own cannibal medicines, using mummy, skull, or blood and fat. If you were a humble tenant of such a woman, you would probably not have the nerve to refuse the cannibal treats she offered you.

10 Secrets Of Ancient Medicine

5 The Secret History of Human Skulls

If you happened to chance upon a human skull in the time of Charles II, you would probably feel great joy, rather than great fear. A prized medical commodity, one single skull could be worth as much eleven shillings (whilst an unskilled labourer might earn perhaps ten pence a day). Shavings or powder of skull could be used against epilepsy and haemorrhoids, and the King’s Drops against everything from depression down to miracle cures on the deathbed.

The most highly valued skull was one with moss on it, as pictured on the cover of Mummies, Cannibals and Vampires. This moss would be powdered and then used to stop bleeding: either on wounds or thrust up the nostrils against nosebleeds. Robert Boyle himself used it against a severe nosebleed one summer, and swore that it worked, even when merely held in his hand.

Boyle’s family were from Ireland, and so was the moss which he used. With no one left to bury the dead after the war crimes of English invaders, skeletons and skulls lay in green Irish fields for perhaps decades, and in some cases botanical moss grew on the skull. You could see these in London chemists’ shops around 1750, in the time of Dr Johnson. As late as the 1770s, by the time Mad King George III was on the throne, there were still import and export duties on skulls brought from Ireland, and later shipped onto Germany.

4 The Secret History of Human Fat

In October 1601, the then Dutch city of Ostend was a few weeks into the longest siege in history. At one point, the Dutch lured a party of Spanish besiegers into a trap and slew them all. After rifling the corpses for valuables and arms, a few of the Dutch could also be seen dragging wobbling sacks back into the city. They contained human fat, swiftly plundered from the fresh corpses by surgeons.

The reason for this was that human fat was a prime treatment against wounds and sores. Usually, the chief source of fat at this time was the executioner. In France, Italy and northern Europe he would either sell it to chemists or treat you himself. Executioners performed a surprising number of cures in this era, and in Germany one of them (records Kathy Stuart) was supposed to have saved a limb given up for amputation. The bandages he used were almost certainly soaked in human fat. In Britain in the time of Dr Johnson, fat continued in use as other corpse medicine was attacked. It was used to treat rabies, gout, cancer and arthritis.

Some idea of its value comes from an incident in Norfolk in 1736. After a man and his wife had ‘had some words’, the husband suddenly ‘went out and hanged himself’. An inquest ruled that, as this was suicide, the man must be buried at the crossroads. But, eschewing funeral or burial, ‘his wife sent for a surgeon, and sold the body for half a guinea’. While the surgeon was carefully ‘feeling about the body’ the woman assured him: ‘”he is fit for your purpose, he is as fat as butter”‘.

3 Medical Vampires at Public Executions

Touring Vienna in the winter of 1668-9, the English traveller Edward Browne saw a public execution, the man beheaded whilst sitting in a chair. ‘As soon as his head fell to the ground, a man ran ‘speedily with a pot in his hand, and filling it with the blood, yet spouting out of his neck, he presently drank it off, and ran away’. This he did, Browne adds, ‘as a remedy against the falling-sickness’.

By this time, hundreds if not thousands of those suffering ‘the falling-sickness’ (as epilepsy was then known) had drunk hot fresh blood at public executions in Austria, Germany and Scandinavia. And hundreds or thousands more would continue to do so until at least 1866.

In Denmark in 1823 the Danish storyteller Hans Christian Andersen saw ‘”a pitiful poor person made to drink by his superstitious parents a cup of the blood of an executed person, in an attempt to cure him from epilepsy”’. In Sweden the authorities did not permit blood drinking at beheadings. At a beheading in 1866 soldiers were stationed to prevent the rush for blood, so that it soaked into the earth. But as soon as the guards had left, people surged forward and, falling to their knees, crammed the bloodsoaked dirt into their mouths.

2 The Secret History of the Soul

A great many forms of corpse medicine were underpinned by one extraordinary belief: simply, that you could swallow the powers of the human soul by drinking blood, or various distillations of skull or flesh. In this sense, then, the Whitewashed Cannibalism of Europe was emphatically Christian.
Those who drank hot blood at executions might seem to have the highest chance of absorbing such power. In most cases the felon was not obviously dead as they drank. As epilepsy was then held to be a disease of the soul, there was also a special logic linking disease and cure.

In other cases, the bodies of criminals used by chemists may have hung on gibbets for some time. But our medical reformer Paracelsus, champion of such recipes, had stated quite precisely that such a corpse was useful for up to three days. This claim was rooted in a startling but widespread belief of northern Europe. For some time after what we might call legal death, the power of the soul was held to smoulder on in the body. It was associated with the blood in particular, but also with very fine hot spirits of blood which saturated all flesh and bone. Because the soul and spirits were a physical force at this time, the young red-headed man killed by violence offered the greatest source of youthful vitality, as well as the best type of flesh and blood.

1 When and why did it end?

The educated began to turn against corpse medicine around 1750. Dr Johnson and his new Dictionary were key players in this shift, with Johnson deriding the ‘horrid medicines’ of a backward past. Johnson and others sought to create a new culture of Reason opposed to unenlightened Superstition. They also increasingly gave up the idea of the soul in the body, which meant that people no longer seemed worth eating for medicine. And as the emerging Medical Profession struggled to clean up its Public Image, corpse medicine seemed an increasingly hard sell to genteel patients, who were now more easily disgusted than those of the Restoration.

But corpse medicine continued amongst ordinary people for well over a hundred years. Along with the vampires of continental beheadings, we hear of Britons obtaining skulls to treat their children in Victorian times; whilst in Scotland until around 1900 epileptics might be advised to drink from the skull of a suicide.

No less strange for being true.

10 People Who Lived With Dead Relatives

About The Author: Richard Sugg is the author of eleven books, including Mummies, Cannibals and Vampires: The History of Corpse Medicine from the Middle Ages to the Falun Gong; Fairies: A Dangerous History; Our Week with the Juffle Hunters; and The Smoke of the Soul. He has previously lectured in English and History at the universities of Cardiff and Durham (2001-2017), and his work has featured in The Guardian, Der Spiegel, The Lancet, The Times, Daily Telegraph, the London Review of Books and The New Yorker, among others. Mummies, Cannibals and Vampires has been translated into Turkish. He has appeared on television with Pat Spain, and with Tony Robinson, when they made cannibal medicines for Channel 4. It was educational. @DrSugg

Modern medicine has advanced so dramatically in the last century that it’s hard to believe that so much is still unexplained. But doctors are often faced with medical mysteries, those phenomena that currently lack a confirmed cause or full explanation.

Although we can’t list every medical mystery here, these 10 examples are a great way to illustrate how medicine continues to grow and transform over time. They also show how much new research is always needed.

10 Medical Student Syndrome

Nearly everyone has had those fleeting thoughts that they’re experiencing a symptom from a severe, undiagnosed disease. Throughout medical school, future doctors learn about thousands of diseases with various signs and symptoms that they are expected to recognize in their own patients one day. An interesting phenomenon that seems to occur in some of these people is known as “medical student syndrome.”

This occurs when medical students believe they are experiencing the symptoms of a disease that they are studying. As opposed to illness anxiety disorder, these delusions are transient.^[1]

It is unknown exactly why this occurs. But researchers believe that medical students create a mental schema as they learn about a disease and some students begin to recognize normal bodily sensations as part of this disease schema.

One study found that up to 78.8 percent of randomly sampled medical students suffer from a form of medical student syndrome. For some, this illness anxiety can be debilitating and lead to unnecessary medical bills. Despite widespread knowledge of this syndrome, it continues to propagate and affect hundreds of students each year.

9 Chemo Brain

Many cancer survivors use the term “chemo brain” to describe the thinking and memory problems that occur after chemotherapy treatment. Symptoms can vary from person to person—from difficulty concentrating to memory problems or difficulty multitasking. This is an extremely frustrating phenomenon for those who are undergoing chemotherapy.

For years, many doctors did not believe in this phenomenon. As it became more common, however, physicians began to recognize that this was a real and debilitating experience. Currently, there is no consensus on what is causing chemo brain, but it is believed to be due to more than just chemotherapy treatment. Researchers are trying to find the source of the cognitive difficulties but have been unsuccessful so far.^[2]

8 Klippel-Trenaunay Syndrome

First described in 1900, Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome (KTS) is an extremely rare disease. Affecting blood vessels, bones, and soft tissues, this condition results in three characteristic features: a red birthmark known as a port-wine stain, abnormal bone and soft tissue overgrowth, and venous malformations. The increased size of bone and soft tissue can result in oversized limbs, usually in the lower body and legs. The venous malformations can result in large blood clots.

Famous cases of KTS include Billy Corgan, the lead singer for The Smashing Pumpkins, and Matthias Schlitte, a professional arm wrestler. Notably, Matthias is known for his Popeye-like right forearm that allows him to be an extremely successful arm wrestler. His condition causes the bone in his right forearm to be 33 percent larger than the one in his other forearm. Currently, there is no cure for the condition and physicians have little explanation as to the cause of the disease.^[3]

7 Rip Van Winkle Syndrome

The disease sounds like the work of a fairy tale, but Rip Van Winkle syndrome is far from fantasy. Also known as Kleine-Levin syndrome (KLS), this disease has only a few reported cases and its physiological cause has not been confirmed.

At age 13, Stephen Maier became a victim of KLS following an upper respiratory infection. Out of nowhere, his parents were unable to wake him up. When they finally did, he was completely incoherent.

After many tests, all of which were negative, Stephen was left with no answers. Even tests on brain activity showed no abnormalities. Maier would go through sleeping spells of up to 22 hours a day for 10 to 20 consecutive days. As mysteriously as the disease appeared, it gradually faded away in his twenties.^[4]

In another case of KLS, a 17-year-old female from Pennsylvania experienced a sleeping episode that lasted 64 days—from Thanksgiving to January. She was reported to have slept 22–24 hours a day. When she did awaken to eat and use the bathroom, she was in a sleepwalking state.

In addition to this sleepiness, sufferers can experience increased appetite, hallucinations, anhedonia, childlike behavior, and hypersexuality. Between these episodes, however, the patients are completely asymptomatic.

Although it may seem appealing to some to get so much sleep, patients end up missing out on large parts of their lives. A few theories about the origin of this disease range from a virus to autoimmunity, but its cause is still largely unknown.

6 Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome

First described in 2004 by J.H. Allen and colleagues, this odd disorder presents with intractable nausea, vomiting, and GI distress. With further study, the researchers found that all these patients shared a common background of long-term cannabis use.

Although little is known about the cause of this phenomenon, two theories have been put forth. The first holds that the toxic buildup of cannabinoids may be the cause. The second has to do with the functionality of cannabinoid receptors in the brain. During these episodes, some patients have reported temporary symptom relief from a hot shower or bath or psychiatric medications. The only known cure is stopping the use of cannabis. Improvement can be seen within one to three months.

These vomiting episodes tend to last for one to two days. What is extremely odd about this disorder is that marijuana is known for its anti-vomiting effect. This paradox is especially problematic for people who use marijuana to treat nausea and vomiting and then end up feeling more nauseated. It is unclear as to why some chronic users develop this disorder while others do not.^[5]

Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome is extremely complex, and researchers are still searching for explanations. As the use of marijuana increases, it is an area that will require much more research.

5 Abscopal Effect

Michael Postow and his colleagues put forth a paper describing a patient whose metastatic melanoma tumors began shrinking after the person received the drug ipilimumab and radiotherapy. Published in the New England Journal of Medicine, this report got a lot of attention in the medical community.

The abscopal effect refers to the bizarre phenomenon where metastatic tumors throughout the body shrink in response to localized treatment of a tumor. For many years, there was no explanation for this interesting reaction. In 2004, it was first hypothesized that the immune system may play a role in this systemic shrinking. While researchers are continuing to investigate the cause of what is happening, a firm explanation has yet to be established.^[6]

4 The Lazarus Phenomenon

An 11-month-old girl in the intensive care unit at the University of Rochester Medical Center had been pronounced dead after aggressive cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), seven doses of epinephrine, two bags of fluid, and four shocks to her chest. After two minutes of asystole, the official time of death was called out at 1:58 PM.

The girl’s family was devastated and asked for her breathing tube to be removed so that they could have some time with their daughter. Fifteen minutes after she was pronounced dead, the tube was removed. Suddenly, the girl began to breathe spontaneously. Her heart began beating again, her color came back, and her gag reflex reappeared. The physicians had never seen anything like this.^[7]

The Lazarus phenomenon is a rare occurrence in which patients experience a delayed return of spontaneous circulation after CPR has been stopped. This bizarre syndrome was initially described in 1982. It was named “Lazarus” after the man who was resurrected by Christ four days after his death.

The explanation for this miraculous ability to come back to life has continued to evade physicians and researchers alike. Some believe that there may be more than one mechanism at work, such as the delayed action of drugs or high potassium.

3 Smoking Aversion From Hepatitis

Thousands of people try various methods to quit smoking every year. While many researchers are learning more about the causes behind nicotine addiction, much less is known about the roots of smoking aversion. However, one interesting trigger has been discovered for immediate smoking aversion—the development of hepatitis A.^[8]

There are various presentations when a person is infected with hepatitis A, depending upon its stage. The first phase (aka the viral replication phase) is largely asymptomatic in most patients. Moving into the prodromal or second phase, patients can experience anorexia, nausea, vomiting, muscle aches, fatigue, itching, and an aversion to smoking. The disease then begins to affect the liver and GI system before resolving.

Although aversion to smoking is a documented effect of acute hepatitis A, little is known about its cause. More research is definitely warranted in this area as the discovery of the cause of the aversion may be extremely helpful to millions of smokers throughout the world.

2 Meat Allergy From Ticks

Last year, the researchers at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases were stumped by the increasing number of US cases of anaphylaxis to a molecule found in red meat. Alpha gal is a sugar molecule that is naturally found in beef, pork, lamb, and other red meats.

As researchers delved deeper into the histories of patients with this allergy, they found that most were located in the Southeast and certain parts of New York, New Jersey, and New England. Even more interestingly, all the patients had a history of bites from the lone star tick.

This allergy was particularly hard to diagnose because it presented 3–6 hours after ingestion, unlike common anaphylaxis that presents within 5–30 minutes. The symptoms of this odd anaphylaxis ranged from hives to GI distress to itching and swelling. However, there was no throat swelling. Common allergy tests do not routinely scan for antibodies against alpha gal, so these patients are commonly misdiagnosed.

Dr. Thomas Platts-Mills initially discovered the alpha gal connection.^[9] Some of his patients with a history of lone star tick bites experienced anaphylaxis from the cancer drug cetuximab, which contains alpha gal. Although the source of the allergy has been discovered, the reason that lone star tick bites are associated with alpha-gal allergies remains a mystery.

1 Cellular Memory

Cellular memory is a controversial hypothesis that the body itself is capable of storing memories rather than only the brain. As there is mostly anecdotal evidence to support this theory, many consider it to be pseudoscientific.

Many have linked phantom pain to cellular memory for past trauma to a joint or limb. Cellular memory has also come into play in certain stories of organ transplant patients who develop the traits of their donors.

Researchers at the University of Hawaii evaluated whether organ transplant recipients experienced personality changes following their transplants and if any of these changes paralleled the history of their donors. In a study of 10 patients, each one showed 2–5 changes after the completion of a heart transplant that paralleled his or her donor’s history. These changes in preference occurred in areas such as food, art, recreation, career, and even sex.^[10]

One case involved Claire Sylvia, who received a heart from an 18-year-old male who died in a motorcycle crash. When she awoke from the surgery, she had a strong craving for beer and chicken nuggets, which was out of the ordinary for her. Additionally, she continued to have recurring dreams about someone named Tim L. After searching obituaries, she found that her heart had come from a man named Tim and later discovered that he loved all the foods that she had begun craving.

In a study done by Tufts University, researchers trained a worm and then removed its head and brain, which shrank it to 1/279th of its original size. The worm was then regrown in the lab and still showed signs of its previous training.

The research on cellular memory has a long way to go before this phenomenon is proven to be real. Nevertheless, we still don’t have any explanations for these odd parallels in numerous transplant stories.

Shelby Hoebee is a third-year medical student. While she doesn’t have much free time anymore, she still enjoys writing top 10 lists when inspiration strikes.

Prescriptions do not always lead to the pharmacy. These days, a doctor’s scribble can take you into virtual worlds and fake surgery. The homeless are also prescribed homes and addicts can pick up their heroin. Even those who bother their GPs too much run the risk of being carted off to Bingo or given Bollywood dancing lessons.

SEE ALSO: Top 10 Corpse Medicines That Turned Patients Into Cannibals

10 Depression – Books

In the United Kingdom, doctors can now prescribe reading. Should a patient with depression need treatment, they can get a prescription paper from their physician for “bibliotherapy.” However, this ticket is not a backstage pass to grab any book. Given only to those with moderate depression, it can be handed over to a librarian in exchange for specific reads. Forget about your favorite Harry Potter tome. The titles are chosen by the doctor and relate to self-help topics involving depression, anxiety, OCD, diet and feeling better.

The hope is that sufferers would feel less isolated and experience a solution-providing catharsis. Bibliotherapy already has a good track record among children. Books explaining death, divorce and other difficult life issues to kids have been around for decades. The therapy cannot cure depression on its own but might provide another way to help manage the condition.^[1]

9 Healthier Lifestyles – Community Gardening

The National Health Service (NHS) is turning people to “green prescriptions.” No, this is not marijuana. The term refers to bonding with nature to reap the medical benefits. However, in this case, the focus is more on community gardening.

The individual can enjoy less loneliness, anxiety, and depression. But what purpose does a bunch of gardeners serve together? A group project encourages better habits. One is more inclined to stay with a social project over time, foster a sense of community and even walk more if the garden can be reached on foot. Since many community crops produce vegetables, people also enjoy fresh produce that is free or cheaper than store-bought. Planning and maintaining the garden also helps people to think and communicate better. A successful project can even boost the environment. Growing trees consume harmful carbon from the air while also providing a haven for birds and wildlife.^[2]

8 Mental And Physical Illnesses – Museum Visits

In 2018, the Francophone Association of Doctors in Canada (MfdC) asked physicians a curious thing. Would they treat patients to a museum as part of their treatment? Over 100 doctors signed up for the program. The unconventional initiative is based on evidence that visual art has a positive influence on health in general.

A doctor will provide a free access card to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA). The prescription allows two adults and two children to visit the museum together. This is an additional perk. While the patient views the art, they can also spend some time with their family or friends. Being social in a safe space erases the stress that aggravates many conditions.

Shepherding people into a museum as a medical treatment is a world first. Even better, the doctors can suggest it for a wide spectrum of conditions, including trauma, anxiety, depression, epilepsy, autism and Alzheimer’s. Basically, most mental and physical ailments could benefit from this program.^[3]

7 Health Management – Nature

After a successful trial run, doctors in Scotland can now legally release their patients into the wild. Since 2018, nature is an official prescription to help treat an existing condition or to reduce the risk of developing a disease. These range from diabetes, cancer, high blood pressure, and stress. This may sound insane but numerous studies have found that nature has a beneficial effect on the human mind and body.

The program is called “Nature Prescriptions.” When a doctor decides a person needs it, they hand the patient a pamphlet explaining how nature is a powerful healing force. This calendar also highlights things to do at certain times of the year. During January, lichen hunting is recommended, while February invites gardening and dogs are best walked in March. Other suggestions include cloud adoration and hurling rocks into the ocean after inscribing them with worries. Patients are also encouraged to use their imaginations when sauntering outdoors to soak up what nature has to offer. Hiking, listening to birds or enjoying the wind are just some of the options that could lower stress levels.^[4]

6 Mental And Heart Health – Bike Rides

In 2019, Wales launched a pilot project to improve cardiovascular health. Two medical centers in the capital of Cardiff has been authorized to prescribe bike rides. Not only does regular cycling cut the risk of dying from heart disease by 52 percent but it also brightens the spirit. Needless to say, bicycles also do not pollute the air like cars and buses.

The health initiative allows doctors to give patients a six-month subscription to a bike-rental company in their area. In Europe, rented bicycles can cost up to £10 ( around $13) a day. This is not encouraging for those wishing to pedal their way to better health. The six-month subscription allows anyone to zip around the city for free. The program is the first of its kind in the United Kingdom but could lead to bigger things. Should it prove successful, the UK plans to add more out-of-the-box activities to complement conventional treatments.^[5]

5 Various Conditions – Placebos And Fake Surgery

In 2011, the German Medical Association (BÄK) gathered information about placebos. The report found that half of all German physicians prescribe placebos and as many as 88 percent in Bavaria. Contrary to what one might initially think, BÄK did not go ballistic.

The placebos included vitamin pills, homeopathic alternatives, and fake surgery. The study found that in certain cases the sham worked. Not only did it relieve the blues and aches in patients but when placebos were prescribed with real medicine, the latter showed a spike in effectiveness. Interestingly, the degree to which a placebo was successful depended on its looks and price. The cheaper they came, the less effective they were. Patients also liked pills to come in certain sizes and colors, injections proved to be the best.

Although nobody knows why placebos work, it could have something to do with trust. Whenever a patient felt that the doctor listened and understood their concerns, the phony pharmacy excelled. However, BÄK made it clear that standard medication should never be denied if a person’s health might suffer. The Association also recommended that doctors should be educated about placebos and that international guidelines should be drawn up to regulate their usage.^[6]

4 Bothering GPs – Bollywood Dancing

General practitioners have an unusual burden. Patients are making appointments for things physicians cannot help with, like loneliness, debt, welfare and housing issues. In London, almost every third appointment is non-medical. As a result, GPs are swamped. Their long working hours lead to burn-out and practices struggle to hire new doctors because of the workload.

In London, Parchmore medical center tried something called “community prescribing.” The project launched in the borough of Croyden and allowed doctors to prescribe things that got people out of their homes and more involved with their community. However, each person was allocated an activity related to their problem. Loneliness might get a ticket for bingo or Bollywood dancing lessons. Welfare issues saw prescriptions for debt and housing meetings held at church halls.

There were 112 activities available and during the 18-month trial run, around 30,000 social sessions were handed out to patients. The results were promising. People became more social and connected with their community. GPs started working normal hours and outpatient referrals to Parchmore dropped by 20 percent in 2018.^[7]

3 Homelessness – A House

Hawaii receives an annual Medicaid allotment of $2 billion. A fraction of the population is responsible for the greatest drain on this resource. Homeless people keep arriving at the emergency room with injuries, infections, mental illness and the fallout of substance abuse. Their treatment is covered by Medicaid but expenses skyrocket because individuals often return within a week with renewed infections or complications. This boomerang habit is due to living in unsanitary conditions or not having adequate shelter.

On average, one person could cost Medicaid $120,000 per year. Put that next to the $18,000 required to give someone a home and the answer seems obvious. In 2017, a radical bill was proposed. If homelessness could be classified as a medical condition, then doctors would be able to prescribe a house. Indeed, past research showed that healthcare costs fell by 43 percent in when the homeless were given housing. Despite the savings and safety for the homeless, not everyone agrees with the bill. The department of human resources development fears it might be abused to get free houses, plus that the costs could overwhelm the healthcare system anyway.^[8]

2 Burn Wounds – Virtual Reality

Shriners Hospital for Children is one of the best burn facilities in America. They treat kids that arrive with terrible burn wounds, sometimes covering their faces or as much as 70 percent of their bodies. Despite Shriners’ excellent care, the strongest painkillers are not always enough. In the words of Hunter Hoffman, the pain experienced by the kids is “astronomically high.”

Hoffman is both a cognitive psychologist and the director of the Washington-based Virtual Reality Research Center. Hoffman and his colleagues came up with a novel idea. The human attention span is only so long and pain requires a lot of focus. Theoretically, should a person get lost in a virtual world, their pain awareness should drop as more brain signals are occupied with the false reality.

Remarkably, it worked. The children’s wounds prevented a fitted device, so Hoffman used a robotic arm to hold goggles near the patient’s face. The game is called “SnowCanyon” and features cute Arctic characters the player can pelt with snowballs. The children were so distracted by the igloos and floating along the canyon that nurses could clean their wounds during the game. Indeed, their pain levels dropped by 50 percent.^[9]

1 Addiction – Heroin

In 2016, Canada’s government passed an unusual law. Heroin addicts can now get their fix legally. There are serious rules restricting access to diacetylmorphine, which is medical-grade heroin. First, a patient must have failed at every other conventional treatment. A doctor must then apply to the health department on behalf of the addict. Everyone is judged on a case-by-case basis and should the person receive approval, the department provides the diacetylmorphine.

The approach has two benefits. The drug methadone is normally used to wean patients off heroin. When compared, the statistics showed that more people kicked the habit when they used diacetylmorphine than methadone. Those on methadone were also more likely to turn to other drugs. Secondly, the addict is monitored by medical staff during the heroin injection. This provides a safe and controlled space that otherwise could end with an overdose. In fact, Canada’s rising overdose death rate was one of the reasons why the new treatment was embraced. The paradoxical approach is not unique to the country. Doctors can prescribe diacetylmorphine in Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, and Switzerland.^[10]

If we really think about it, modern medicine has reached a stage where it can’t be distinguished from magic. It’s now entirely possible to take an organ from one person and stick it on to someone else, remotely perform surgery sitting in a totally different part of the world, artificially grow cells inside a laboratory as easily as cooking, and much more.

While it’s all quite awesome and cool, admittedly, it’s important to remember that these futuristic, almost-god-like medical procedures have been a long time in the making. The history of medicine is full of breakthrough moments that have all come together to shape the field as we know it today, thanks to the efforts of countless researchers and medical experts that didn’t give up.

10. Aspirin

Salicylic acid, a natural substance found in plants like willow and meadowsweet, has been used in medicinal purposes since ancient times. Reverend Edward Stone, an English clergyman, conducted the first scientific study on the benefits of willow’s bark in 1763. In 1859, Hermann Kolbe identified the chemical structure of the chemical, though the unpleasant taste and side effects like irritation in the stomach limited its use. 

It was a German chemist, Felix Hoffmann, working at the Friedrich Bayer and Co that first synthesized aspirin in 1897. Not just aspirin, it was the first synthetic drug ever made, giving birth to the pharmaceutical industry as we know it. 

Aspirin isn’t just a pain-reliever, it has vast uses in other fields, too, especially heart disease. It remains the most widely used drug in cases of cardiovascular disease, and many studies have proven its effectiveness in the prevention of cardiovascular events, and even colorectal cancer. 

9. Magnetic Resonance Imaging

MRI – or Magnetic Resonance Imaging – is one of the most commonly-used imaging techniques for medical procedures today. Its development could be credited to multiple physicists, doctors and other experts working throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, like Sir Peter Mansfield, Edward Purcell, Raymond Damadian, and Felix Bloch, among others.

It began with the study of magnetic resonance, as researchers examined how electrons and atomic nuclei respond to magnetism. In the 1930s, I.I. Rabi developed a method to study magnetic properties and sodium movement, laying the foundation for nuclear magnetic resonance – or NMR – imaging. In the 1940s, Felix Bloch and Edward Purcell came up with their own technique to use water content in the body to generate magnetic resonance images.

In 1969, Raymond Damadian proposed the use of magnetic resonance to differentiate cancer cells from healthy tissue. By 1974, he had successfully designed the first full-body MRI machine, changing the world of medical imaging forever. 

8. DNA’s Double-Helix Structure

The 1953 discovery of the double-helix structure of DNA by James Watson and Francis Crick transformed the worlds of biology and medicine. Before, scientists and medical professionals lacked a detailed understanding of how genetic information was stored and transmitted inside the cells. Their work led to a better understanding of how genes control chemical processes within our cells, paving the way for advancements in genetic research and other fields that continue to this day.

Since the discovery, biology has evolved into a global industry, with DNA being its primary product. Today, fields like genetic fingerprinting, modern forensics, mapping of the human genome, gene therapy, and many others depend on the knowledge of the base structure of the human DNA. 

7. Organ Transplants

Organ transplantation has gone through many important steps in its history. Breakthroughs in tissue typing and drugs against organ rejection – notably Jean Borel’s discovery of Cyclosporine in the mid-1970s – have greatly improved the success rate and longevity of organ transplants. According to an estimate, modern advances in the effectiveness of kidney transplant medicine save the lives of about 74 patients every day.

Today, organs like kidneys, liver, heart, and even arms, can be successfully transplanted, though it has applications in other fields too, like its many potential uses in immunology. While the demand for organs continues to exceed supply worldwide – as about 17 people die waiting for new organs every day – the higher number of organ donors compared to the past have resulted in more transplant patients living healthier lives every year.

6. Cardiac Surgery

In the early twentieth century, the idea of safely operating on the human heart seemed impossible. The breakthrough came in May 1953, when John Gibbon successfully performed the first open-heart surgery using his own design for a heart-lung machine. It was developed with the help of his wife and research partner, Mary Hopkinson, and consisted of components like a blood reservoir, an oxygenator, a temperature regulation system, and a pump.

The creation of the heart-lung machine ultimately allowed the repair of previously fatal congenital and acquired heart diseases. All modern surgical procedures related to the heart – like bypass grafting, valvular replacement, congenital defect correction, and heart transplantation – have been possible because of that invention. It also gave rise to an entirely new type of health professional called cardiovascular perfusionist. 

5. Vaccines

The concept of immunization dates back hundreds, or even thousands, of years. Perhaps the most important breakthrough in the field, however, came when Edward Jenner, a country physician, tested a new method using material from cowpox blisters and inoculated it into a person’s skin in 1796, which proved effective against smallpox. 

This marked a turning point in the history of vaccination, and by the late 1940s, scientific advancements allowed other, more advanced vaccines to show up on the market. Vaccines have since had a profound impact on public health, saving millions of lives and providing a potent tool against some of the deadliest diseases we know of. Thanks to Jenner’s vaccine, smallpox became the first and only disease to have been completely eradicated in May 1980. 

4. Germ Theory

It’s now common knowledge that many diseases are caused by harmful pathogens, though that hasn’t always been the case. Germ theory, or the idea that specific microscopic organisms are responsible for specific diseases, emerged between 1850 and 1920, and transformed the field of medicine. 

Germ theory originally gained traction due to its compatibility with the prevailing theories of medicine at the time, and it was slowly perfected by many names. There was Joseph Lister, who introduced antiseptic surgical techniques that vastly reduced infection mortality rates. Or Robert Koch, who proved that specific germs cause anthrax, cholera, and tuberculosis, establishing the basic principles of germ theory. Another important figure was Louis Pasteur, who created the first lab vaccines for diseases like cholera, anthrax, and rabies.

3. Artificial Intelligence

The development of modern artificial intelligence has been a breakthrough event in the history of medicine. One of its many applications is in the field of diagnosis, where AI systems have achieved accuracy rates comparable to human experts. Another area is drug discovery and the ongoing proliferation of personalized treatment options, as machine-learning algorithms are being applied to analyze genomic data and identify drugs for certain types of diseases. 

Most importantly, AI models are now capable of predicting diseases just by analyzing data, leading to early identification of preventable risks. It’s particularly good at detecting diseases by interpreting sets of medical images.

2. Antibiotics

While experimenting with the influenza virus in 1928, a Scottish bacteriologist, Alexander Fleming, stumbled upon one of the most important discoveries in modern medicine. He was working with a type of fungus, and during one of his experiments, noticed that it didn’t grow near a specific type of mold that had grown on the plate. He realized that the mold – found to be from the Penicillium family of bacteria – has its own antibacterial properties that could counter the harmful effects of certain types of pathogens.

Penicillin was the first known antibiotic in history, and since then, antibiotics have played an important role in modern medicine. During the Second World War, it was an irreplaceable tool to save lives on the battlefield, as many of the deaths in previous wars could be attributed to disease. The discovery of Penicillin led to other breakthrough discoveries in medicine, particularly in the treatment of other serious diseases caused by pathogens like meningitis, pneumonia, gonorrhea, and syphilis. 

1. Hospitals

While places dedicated to amputations, births, wartime injuries, and other medical procedures have always existed in one form or another in most countries, the modern hospital could be directly traced back to the time of Roman Emperor Constantine I – or  Constantine The Great – in the fourth century AD. By the later part of that century, hospitals had started showing up across the eastern part of the empire, as it was inherently tied to the Christian idea of caring for the sick.

The modern hospital would go through many transformations in the years since. Hospitals of various forms cropped up across Europe and the Middle East throughout the Middle Ages – especially in the 12th century. Soon, the institution would be inherently tied to the larger idea of public services, as hospitals and clinics became a regular part of city infrastructure around the world.

Believe it or not, one-fifth of the 21st century is already behind us, and the past 20 years were pretty intense. While there were plenty of social and political changes across the world, one industry that has seen significant advancement is medicine.

The first 20 years of the 21st century have seen advancements in the way we identify, catalog, and treat a plethora of diseases. This list highlights the 10 most significant medical advances made in the first fifth of the 21st century.

10 Prosthetics Have Gone Bionic

The Six Million Doller Man made it seem like bionic implants and prostheses were an impossible future. That show aired in the 1970s, and the future is now! Of course, people aren’t transformed from crippled astronauts into superheroes, but bionic prosthetics have gone from science fiction to reality.

It will be a while before these limbs look and feel like biological appendages. Still, advancements are being made towards that goal. Modern prostheses can function better than past versions. Some even make it possible for the wearer to manipulate them with their minds.

By placing electrodes on various parts of the skull, a person can manipulate their bionic prostheses by thinking. The technology needs some work, but it’s been proven to function with some patients being able to open and close a bionic hand to pick up and manipulate objects.

The technology has gone beyond manipulation to make it possible to “feel” with bionic fingers. Other advancements include bionic lenses that restore vision. Work is being done to create implantable neuroprosthetic devices that can control computers, so expect this technology to improve and advance over the next 20 years.

9 HIV/AIDS Treatment Has Taken The Fight To The Virus

For years, it seemed that HIV was a virus that couldn’t be defeated. When it infected someone, it was only a matter of time before they developed AIDS, which would ultimately claim the patient’s life. For the latter part of the 20th century, that was typically the result of an infection.

There were antiviral medications patients could take, but they were numerous, and each came with side effects. This made it difficult for patients to stay on schedule, and eventually, the virus won out. That began to change in 2006 with the release of Atripla.

The medicine combined three antiretroviral drugs into a single dose, making it much easier and less damaging to take. In 2013, Stribild was released, and it combined four HIV antiretroviral medications into a single dose. Medicines and treatments continued to improve over the first two decades of the 21st century.

In 2017 and 2019, two new medications, Juluce and Dovato, were released, drastically improving treatment options for patients. Those two breakthrough drugs made it possible for every patient with HIV to be on an effective single-dose therapy, helping to reduce the number of HIV patients who develop AIDS while drastically reducing healthcare costs.

8 We Cracked The Human Genome

In 1990, an international scientific research project began the arduous task of cracking the human genome. The idea was to determine the base pairs that make up human DNA. These would then be mapped to better understand the human genome, which would aid in medical research and treatment.

In 2000, the Human Genome Project released a rough draft of the human genome. It was the first time in history that people could read a complete set of human genetic information. Three years later, a final draft was released as the program shut down, having delivered on its promise to map the three billion nucleotides contained in our DNA.

The finished project presented a mosaic of various individuals, and the data derived from the study has been instrumental in furthering our understanding of human genetics. The project made it possible to map an individual human genome easier and relatively inexpensively. This makes it possible to identify disease-causing mutations before they manifest in a patient.

Genomics advancements have furthered cancer research and treatment with the creation of more targeted drugs. Additionally, we now know the genetic basis of nearly 5,000 conditions, which is a significant improvement over the 60 we understood before we cracked the human genome.

7 Advances In Genetic Engineering

Science fiction tells us that genetic engineering results in the creation of monsters. In reality, it offers a means of correcting congenital defects and mutations that result in disease. The most well-known process for accomplishing this is CRISPR, or clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats.

Essentially, CRISPR is a means of targeted editing a living organism’s genes. It can also be used to create agricultural products, genetically modified organisms, and control pests and pathogens. The 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier for developing the technique.

The use of CRISPR genomic modification remains controversial, but it has been shown to be effective in various medical applications. Research in biomedicine shows that CRISPR can treat cancer, progeria, sickle cell disease, hemophilia, Huntington’s disease, and many more diseases resulting from a person’s genes.

In 2020, CRISPR was used effectively to treat glioblastoma and metastatic ovarian cancer. Further research and development will likely yield more advancements in treating various diseases, pathogens, and more. Research is being conducted worldwide to advance CRISPR into various therapies, suggesting it will become commonplace in the future.

6 Heart Disease Is No Longer A Death Sentence

Before the turn of the century, doctors could do very little for a patient who suffered a heart attack. Treatment typically consisted of providing a drip of morphine and lidocaine, which was believed to prevent irregular heartbeats. Most patients didn’t recover, but these days, deaths from heart disease have dropped by 40%.

A lot of that is due to the development of new medicines, including Lipitor, Mevacor, Crestor, and Simvastatin, which all work to slow the progression of atherosclerosis (plaque and fatty material buildup in the arteries). With those drugs, fewer patients are getting to the point of having a heart attack.

Still, heart attacks do occur, but when they do, they are treated very differently than they were in the past. Today, it’s all about speed. Once a patient arrives at the hospital, a clot can be destroyed with drugs. A genetically engineered tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) can bust up a clot, restoring blood flow.

Patients who require surgery are treated differently from the past, resulting in far fewer deaths from a cardiac infarction. The improvement stems from a 1998/2000 goal set by the American Heart Association, which wanted to reduce cardiac deaths by 25% by 2010. In 2008, the goal was achieved, and by 2020, a 40% reduction was reached.

5 Stem Cell Research & Application Made Leaps & Bounds

The use of stem cells in research isn’t anything new, as the technology to derive them from embryos was developed in the early 1980s. Since then, technology has advanced significantly, and medical research and treatment applications have hit the ground running in the 21st century.

Stem divide to form “daughter cells,” which can then turn into new stem cells or become any other specialized cell in the body. Under the right laboratory conditions (or in the body), stem cells can replace damaged cells. Potentially, they can be used to grow new organs.

The applications of the latter are promising, as any organs grown from a patient’s own cells wouldn’t require a lifetime of anti-rejection medication. Furthermore, the organ would theoretically be accepted without a problem, reducing the risk of transplantation, which is already a complex procedure.

Other applications include treating against disease and genetic conditions. In one study, manipulated bone marrow cells were transplanted into two seven-year-old boys. This stopped the progress of a fatal brain disease called adrenoleukodystrophy. Research into other applications is promising, suggesting stem cell therapy is truly the future of medicine.

4 Targeted Cancer Therapies Are Improving Survival Rates

For years, the primary method to treat a patient with cancer was through chemotherapy and radiation therapy. While these often worked, they did so by attacking cancer cells and healthy cells, which presents its own set of problems. Over the past decade, new techniques have been developed that make it possible to treat cancer more effectively.

Targeted therapies make it possible to eliminate many of the dangerous side effects of chemo and radiation therapies by going after the cancer cells without the danger of harming healthy cells. These targeted therapies work in several ways, but for the most part, they do the following:

-They identify and kill cancer cells directly.
-They interfere with the spread of cancerous cells, blocking the ones responsible for tumor growth.

The past decade has seen FDA approval for more than 25 new medicines that have shown an effectiveness in treating cancer patients through targeted therapy. The drugs are either small-molecule or monoclonal antibodies, which target specific cancer cells’ functions of how they divide, grow, and spread.

The technology behind targeted therapy is still relatively new, so advances are continuing around the world. It doesn’t mean we’ve beaten cancer, but we have advanced in the fight against one of humanity’s most insidious enemies.

3 Nanomedicine Left Science-Fiction Behind And Became A Reality

Sci-Fi has long been the domain of nanotechnology, and for a good reason. Programming machines smaller than cells is fantastical in nature, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. To be clear, that’s not what modern nanomedicine is, but the impact of what it has become suggests the future may be devoid of side effects.

Current nanomedicine is centered mainly around drug delivery. Instead of programming impossibly tiny robots, nanomedicine works by employing nanoparticles that are specifically engineered to target specific cells in targeted drug delivery. In short, it takes medicine directly to the affected cells, which reduces the total amount of drugs required.

Additionally, nanoparticles avoid healthy cells, which limits side effects. As the technology develops, it could reduce side effects in targeted therapies, improving drug effectiveness and survival rates.

Nanotechnology-based drugs are already on the market. Drugs like Abraxane, Onivyde, Rapamune, and others have improved anti-rejection and cancer treatments. Research is ongoing, and further advances in the treatment of HIV and cancer are looking to be the way of the future.

2 It Is Now Possible To Print Body Parts

Fabricating a body part from raw materials has long been the subject of science fiction, but that’s not the case any longer. Since 3D printing technology has advanced over the past two decades, new methods in creating implantable body parts have emerged. The current technology makes it possible to combine cell types with polymers to create living, functional tissues.

The technology behind this is still in the early phases of development, and it isn’t widely available at this time. Still, studies have made significant leaps and bounds via the technology. By 2020, researchers had successfully printed and implanted bionic eyes, hearts, skin, bionic ears, elastic bones, ovaries, and antibacterial teeth.

Because it’s still in the research and development phase, these items and organs have been successfully implanted into mice and other animals. Still, the technology is incredibly promising. As it develops, it should be possible to utilize a specialized 3D printer to recreate organs that can be implanted into patients.

Bioprinting and biotechnology companies are working hard to recreate everything from blood vessels to ears and whatever is needed in the future. It may eventually be possible to print a person’s heart to replace a damaged one without having to wait for months or even years on a transplant list.

1 RNA Vaccines Left The Lab And Took The Fight To The Virus

On their own, the vaccines developed to fight against COVID-19 are a fantastic medical achievement. Simply getting them through all the necessary red tape is noteworthy. Still, there’s far more going on behind the scenes than the average person knows because the technology that went into creating the vaccines represents a significant advancement.

The vaccines were made as quickly as they were, in part, because the research was already underway to develop the technology of RNA vaccines. Traditional vaccines work by placing an inactive version of the whole virus into the body. The immune system responds by learning how to attack and deal with it.

Another way to fight a virus is to deliver the nucleic acid that encodes the protein. The person’s immune system reacts by making the necessary protein to fight the virus. RNA vaccinations inject the nucleic acid that codes for the proteins that the cells need to make, delivering the “instructions” the body needs to fight off the virus . . . in other words, the vaccine changes the host’s DNA.

RNA vaccine technology is relatively new, and the COVID-19 vaccines are the first to make it out of the testing phase and into patients’ bodies. Thus far, it’s appeared successful, but it’s only the beginning. Further research and advancements in the technology could battle against viruses that have been difficult in the past, making RNA vaccines one of the most important medical advancements of the 21st century.