The iron lung—a simple mechanical ventilator—was first used to treat polio

Jonas Salk developed the first successful polio vaccine—and tested it on himself

The American medical researcher developed the inactivated virus vaccine from 1952 to 1955 and proved that it could prevent disease. He tested the virus on himself and his family in 1954 and then carried out formal clinical trials on more than 1.3 million children.

Brain death is a uniquely modern problem stemming from modern ventilators

Patients who would have once died from devastating brain injury can now live on a ventilator for a long period of time, creating ethical, medical, and legal dilemmas.

Pneumonia was once a leading killer before penicillin treatments

In the early 20th century, pneumonia was a top cause of death worldwide, often fatal without effective treatment. Penicillin turned a once deadly infection into one of the most treatable bacterial diseases.

The human toll of the Philips' CPAP machine recall

A CPAP machine is an air pressure-generating motor that forces open the airways of those with sleep apnea, a condition that causes nighttime breathing interruptions. In 2021, Philips Respironics recalled millions of machines after finding the device's sound dampening foam was disintegrating, sending potentially dangerous particles and fumes into users' lungs. The company was warned thousands of times about the foam—something they hid from the public and government.

Why helium mixtures are used in respiratory medicine

Unlike the air near Earth's surface, which is primarily composed of oxygen and nitrogen, heliox is composed entirely of oxygen and helium. Because helium is lighter than nitrogen, the lungs do not have to work as hard to push air, easing the uptake of oxygen via a ventilator, mask, or nasal tube.

The invention of the barometer proved that air has weight

The instrument measures air pressure by creating a partial vacuum—a region with very low density—which serves as the basis for how suction works. Mercury-based barometers were used until 2007, when they were restricted due to mercury's toxicity.

Pig heart valves have been placed in humans since 1965

The first successful use of a pig heart valve in a human was reported in 1965. This 2015 video details why humans have been able to use pig animal valves for so long with good results and how that differs from what's needed for whole organ transplants.

The first neural devices were cochlear implants, designed to treat hearing loss

Neural interfaces connect with our nervous system to restore or enhance abilities, such as hearing or movement. These neuroprostheses have enabled the restoration of mobility, communication, and activities of daily living that might otherwise require a caregiver.

Using artificial wombs to improve preterm infant health outcomes

Researchers at a hospital in the US have successfully used artificial wombs to care for preterm lambs and are now looking at the possibility of human trials. This nine-minute video includes interviews with the researchers and explains the reasoning...

Poliomyelitis is derived from Greek

Polio, formally called poliomyelitis, comes from the Greek words for gray (polios) and marrow (myelos)—a reference to the spinal cord tissue that, when infected by the virus, causes paralysis.

The treadmill was invented as a machine for prison labor

William Cubitt invented the machine in the early 1800s, imagining prisoners, usually two at a time, would use it to grind grain or pump water.

How humans breathe without thinking about it

We breathe without thinking about it thanks to the body’s respiratory system and autonomic nervous system, which controls vital functions. Breathing transports oxygen to the body’s cells to keep them working and clears the body of carbon...

After FDR was paralyzed by polio in 1921, Eleanor Roosevelt became active in politics and supported his political ambitions

FDR contracted polio at age 39 and permanently lost the use of his legs. Eleanor Roosevelt persuaded him to stay in politics, then took on the task of maintaining his public profile—attending events, building relationships, and serving as his "eyes, ears, and legs" across the country.

Their 1901 Wind Tunnel system revolutionized the study of aeronautics

Only the second to be built in the US, the wind tunnel allowed the brothers to study how air moves around more than 200 different wing shapes. This data helped them refine a key math equation, long held as the standard, that had been based only on one wing shape.

Exploring carbon compound pore structures contributed to improved gas mask filtration

During World War II, the British Coal Utilisation Research Association sought to improve the efficiency of coal as an energy source and studied the effectiveness of charcoal filters to keep soldiers safe. Rosalind Franklin's research there formed the basis of her PhD and led to five scientific papers.

Experimental hantavirus vaccines and therapies, still under development, have long been funded by the US military.

The history of many kitchen appliances involves unexpected discoveries and applications, including wartime radar turned hamster defroster and replacing an 'ice king' with heat-stealing boxes.

Eleven deaf men played a pivotal role in America's human spaceflight program

In the mid-20th century, 11 deaf men volunteered for a series of experiments that offered unprecedented insights into the effects of weightlessness on the human body. Most of the men had become deaf in early childhood as a result of spinal meningitis, a condition known to damage the vestibular system and make them less susceptible to motion sickness. For a decade, these men participated in extreme motion sickness situations, including living in a slowly spinning room, spending time in centrifuge pods designed to simulate hypergravity, and flying in parabolic flights sometimes referred to as the "Vomit Comet." (Some users may experience a paywall.)

Modern bodybuilding evolved in the 19th century

The origins of modern progressive resistance exercise are traced to ancient Greece, where a repeat Olympic victor carried a calf every day until it grew into a full-sized ox. This 56-minute comedy and history podcast journeys through the rise of modern bodybuilding, which took off during the 19th century.

View a timeline of 3D printing technology through 2019

The first working 3D printing device was invented in 1983 and utilized stereolithography, a process in which a laser triggers a chemical reaction that hardens liquid resin. Powder-based laser sintering technology was patented in 1987, with metal-based powders first being used for 3D printing in 1997.

Can AI revolutionize cancer detection?

Scientists have developed a tool to evaluate the risk of lung cancer, the most deadly form of the disease. Named "Sybil," this AI program was trained using CT scans with clear cancer signs, followed by scans where cancer wasn’t obvious. The tool is able to review CT scan data to predict a patient's of developing a lung cancer within six years. See how it works here.

A dispute about the origin of twitching frog legs led to the invention of the first battery

Experiments by Luigi Galvani on exposed frog leg nerves showed activity when they were hung from iron railings and brass hooks, suggesting the existence of "animal electricity" that discharged when connected to metals. Alessandro Volta's voltaic pile, which stacked metals with an inorganic electrolyte, showed that electricity originates from chemical reactions.

Look through this WWI stretcher bearer's bag

While it was indeed the first industrialized war, medical science had yet to catch up on the battlefield. This nearly eight-minute video sorts through the contents of a World War I stretcher-bearer's satchel. A modern doctor and ex-officer assesses the bag's various medical tools for performing first aid on the battlefield.

Listen to what it was like living as a medieval leper

This podcast uses paleopathological and anthropological findings to reconstruct what it was like for people diagnosed with leprosy in medieval times on the Eurasian continent. If a town lacked a leprosarium—an isolated leper asylum or colony—or the suspected leper was a foreigner or a Jew, which would make them ineligible for leprosarium admission, they'd be expelled.

What did people do before eyeglasses were invented?

An estimated two-thirds of the world's adults use a form of prescription glasses or contacts, proof spectacles were a godsend when they were invented in 1286 CE. But what did people do before that? Different tools were used for distinct vision problems, but some would use magnifying lenses, clear emeralds, and more. Watch this video for a historical explanation.

Microphone technology made crooning possible

Before the electric microphone, vocalists needed to project to have their voices captured. The new technology, however, made softer, more intimate singing possible, leading to a new style of singing that took off in the late 1920s, with "crooners" becoming some of the first American pop stars.

'Potter Puppet Pals' was one of the internet’s first viral videos

Created by animator Neil Cicierega in the early 2000s, Potter Puppet Pals featured felt puppets parodying the Harry Potter characters. Its 2007 video “The Mysterious Ticking Noise” became an early YouTube sensation, amassing more than 200 million views.

Explore what it's like inside a patient isolation unit, used in situations such as treating a patient or suspected patient with Ebola.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

The first robot in literature may have been a 'mechanical man' in 1907's 'Ozma of Oz,' a book in L Frank Baum's 'Wizard of Oz' series.

After 25 people used virtual reality headsets to practice flying with virtual wings—flapping their arms—their visual cortex responded to the wings almost as if they were real arms, treating them as body parts.

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his inspirational 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to the health condition that now bears his name.

In recent years a child anxiety expert has created and tested a novel phobia and anxiety treatment approach for children, focused on changing how parents respond to the fears.

About 2,000 US babies are born annually without some portion of their limbs, potentially leading to a lifetime of pricey prosthetics.

Listen to an in-depth conversation on the links between Parkinson's disease and herbicide exposure and the challenging pace of scientific investigation.

The first line of 'immortal' human cells, which can divide indefinitely and are used in scientific research, was nonconsensually taken from a Black woman.

Double world record holder Hunter Ewen helped conquer his fear of balloons, called globophobia, by training to win Guinness World Record titles for balloon inflation.

The animatronic shark from Steven Spielberg's 'Jaws,' the first modern blockbuster, was a complex underwater apparatus called 'Bruce.'

Venture capital is a form of funding provided to early-stage companies with high growth potential, typically in exchange for an equity (or ownership) stake

Elk Cloner, the first computer virus to spread in public, was written as a practical joke by Richard Skrenta, a Pittsburgh high school student.

Long before Major League Baseball began allowing instant replay for balls and strikes, an umpire reluctantly used the technology to determine whether a hit was a home run, a move that inadvertently ushered in a new era for the sport.

Planarian flatworms are small, aquatic worms with exceptional regenerative capabilities. When cut, the worms can regenerate multiple bodies in a matter of weeks.

Watch how deep-sea mining equipment collects and processes polymetallic nodules—metal-rich, potato-shaped rocks—from the ocean floor and creates environmentally damaging plumes of sediments.

Sony set the standard for cylinder-shaped batteries when it repurposed manufacturing equipment used to make rolls of magnetic recording tape.

Volcanic activity may have triggered the Black Death by spewing gases that led to crop failures in Europe, thus forcing the import of grain ships with plague-infested fleas.

The hormonal disorder PCOS was renamed PMOS in 2026, a move designed to improve care and research by shifting the focus to the hormonal causes of this condition that affects 1 in 8 women.

Domino's Pizza's 30-minute delivery guarantee was responsible for the chain's 1980s surge, but it was discontinued after the company was found liable for delivery driver accidents.

Trace how the Bill of Rights, inspired by centuries of political theory, took shape between 1774 and 1789.

In 1945, Surrealist artist Salvador Dalí and legendary animator Walt Disney began collaborating on a short film that was not completed until 2003, years after both men had died.

70 years ago today, city officials in Santa Cruz, California, banned rock 'n' roll to protect its youth from corruption after witnessing a 'provocative' concert the night before.