Aspirin was the first synthesized anti-inflammatory drug

Morphine, heroin, codeine, and more were derived from opium

Opium reached the US at about the time early colonists were itching for ways to soothe aches and pains. The active ingredient in the substance was isolated in the early 19th century, eventually leading to the manufacture and commercial sale of morphine, heroin, and other opium-based drugs.

The pharmaceutical industry evolved, in part, from the discovery of synthetic dyes

In 1856, a chemist accidentally discovered mauveine, the world’s first synthetic dye, while trying to make quinine to treat malaria. The synthetic dyes that followed helped reveal germs under microscopes, paving the way for modern imaging techniques and breakthrough treatments, such as antibiotics.

The ancient uses of asphalt

Asphalt is derived from bitumen, a naturally occurring byproduct of decomposed organic materials. As one of the thickest forms of petroleum, the substance has been in use by humans and their ancestors for at least 40,000 years for various purposes, including as a sealant, an adhesive, decoration, and more. Learn more about this ancient material here.

Aspartame was a surprise discovery from a lab working on gastric ulcers

As with saccharin and cyclamate, the aspartame discovery arose from its discoverer tasting something sweet from his workplace. In 1965, American chemist James Schlatter licked a white powder off his finger as he picked up a piece of paper and was startled to discover it tasted sweet. He applied for a patent for the substance, and received it in 1970. It is now one of the most popular artificial sweeteners. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

LSD (better known as acid) was created in 1938 by Swiss chemist Dr. Albert Hofmann

Lysergic acid diethylamide, better known as LSD or acid, was first developed synthetically in 1938 by Swiss chemist Dr. Albert Hofmann. It's since become a linchpin for an entire aesthetic, fueled a counterculture movement, and is being studied for potential therapeutic uses.

Surgery before the dawn of anesthesia

The arc toward anesthetics was painfully slow, with early pain mitigation offerings ranging from analgesics—drugs that dim pain but don't block it—and numbing surgical sites with cold water to gassing patients with carbon dioxide or bashing or bleeding them unconscious. Such treatments and the torturous surgery they preceded led many to avoid even life-saving procedures, and those who survived often kept silent about the trauma.

See how antidepressants were discovered

The decadeslong journey to the three major types of antidepressants began with medications designed to treat other maladies. Watch to learn more about how attempts to treat tuberculosis and blood pressure disorders led to new insights about neural chemistry and mood.

Food allergies were first documented more than 4,000 years ago

Although food allergies are on the rise in modern times, they have been documented in written records for thousands of years. More than 3,000 years ago, Chinese emperors advised patients to avoid certain foods, and Hippocrates noted in his work that food could cause serious harm to certain individuals, and even lead to death.

Rome's herbal panacea may not be as extinct as we thought

Silphion: cure-all, aphrodisiac, birth control, tasty seasoning. Nero allegedly ate the last of this miracle plant. This article details how a researcher may have found more. Seven centuries after the yellow-flowered plant was first documented growing in what's now Libya, it vanished. Historians proposed that the loss of Silphion may have been the first recorded extinction of any species.

In 2015, the FDA approved the first 3D-printed prescription tablet

Spritam, an epilepsy medication, had been too large and difficult to swallow, particularly due to its inability to dissolve easily. The new pill was designed with porous layers to enhance its dissolvability, paving the way for future 3D printing of drugs.

Early peptide research focused on isolating the substances from animal tissue

In the first half of the 20th century, peptides including insulin and adrenocorticotropic hormone were isolated from animals to provide life-saving medicines. ACTH was isolated from the pituitary glands of cows and pigs and insulin was isolated from the pancreas of dogs and cows.

Penicillin has saved an estimated 500 million lives since its creation

Since its introduction in the 1940s, penicillin and related antibiotics are estimated to have saved around 500 million lives worldwide—making it one of the most consequential medical breakthroughs in human history.

The term 'alcohol' has Arabic origins

Linguistic research reveals a lot about the ancient origins of alcohol. For example, studying various languages reveals that "mead," an alcoholic beverage made from honey, came even before wine.

New drugs called Gepants have been shown to improve the quality of life of many sufferers.

Journalist Eva Wiseman has had migraines since childhood. Beginning with a yawn they segue into visual auras before turning into severe pain. As it so happened, she experienced a migraine during the course of her interview with Dr. Peter Goadsby, a pioneer in understanding and treating migraines as well as getting the world to treat them seriously.

Premarin was the bestselling drug in the US in 1992

The drug, derived from the urine or pregnant mares, raised ethical and animal welfare concerns, but also became wildly popular until the Women's Health Initiative study findings in 2002 (which have since been largely disproved). In the 1990s, Premarin was used to treat menopause symptoms and also to protect against osteoporosis and heart disease among older women.

There's no specific anti-inflammatory diet, but certain foods increase the chance of inflammation

Research suggests humans can reduce inflammation by limiting foods that are already known to be unhealthy for the human body—because they alter gut bacteria and stress the immune system—such as highly-processed foods, deep fried foods, sugary drinks, trans fats, red meats, and foods made with white flour. Foods that help the body include fatty fish such as salmon, legumes, fruits, and vegetables.

A history of treating frostbite

Amid Napoleon's invasion of bitterly cold Russia, soldiers succumbed to frostbite by the thousands. Nineteenth century doctors recommended walking and rubbing snow around the affected area. Fast forward to recent years, and the FDA has approved its first ever drug to treat frostbite. Listen to this podcast to learn the history of this wintry affliction.

Hikma v. Amarin is a case the Supreme Court is hearing in 2026 that could impact how much you ultimately pay for prescription drugs

The case explores the liability of a generic drug maker for patent infringement. Hikma Pharmaceuticals launched a generic for Amarin Pharma's Vascepa (a fish oil drug), carving out a still-patented use and instead explicitly selling its product for another unprotected use. But Hikma was sued for its marketing materials that still alluded to the patented indication without outright referencing it.

Read this analysis indicating which traditional stevia medical uses have scientific evidence

This research paper investigates the various uses of Stevia rebaudiana leaves and their extracts and concludes that the substances do hold significant potential for improving cardiovascular health and inflammatory disorders in adults, among several other potential applications. Its authors suggest that further research should examine safe dosage questions and chronic disease management approaches.

More than 200 drug trials for Alzheimer's have failed or been abandoned since 2010

The complexity of Alzheimer's disease, coupled with decades of underfunded research efforts, has left patients with little in the way of effective treatments. In recent years, scientists have synthesized several drugs that studies show can slow the progression of Alzheimer's—though the disease itself remains incurable.

Poison ivy was sent to Europe in the 1600s as an exotic, ornamental oddity, where it was purposefully grown in the English royal gardens at Kew, the Faculty of Medicine in Paris, and a few other locations.

The centuries-old history of titanium white goes back to the Inca

Titanium white can be found in items ranging from paint to pills. Though it was created in New York in 1908, the pigment was first used hundreds of years earlier by the Inca, according to this article.

Why don't we synthesize blood?

We're trying. Scientists are currently working on creating viable synthetic blood, an alternative to the presently relied-upon donations that manage to fall short of demand. More than half of the world's nations struggle to meet their population's need for blood. This article details current and historical efforts to develop synthetic blood, a venture that started more than 400 years ago.

Learn more about the history of fireworks, which dates back to an accidental invention during an alchemist's quest for information about immortality.

A weed from the mustard family facilitated the molecular era of botany

The small genome and rapid growth cycle of Arabidopsis thaliana have made it an ideal organism for genetic studies, with over 100,000 research papers exploring topics such as disease resistance, stress tolerance, and response to light. The first studies were done on plants that grew from seeds saved during the Hungarian Uprising of 1956.

Arthritis is an umbrella term for various conditions that cause joint pain

Arthritis isn’t one single disease, but rather a range of conditions that all lead back to the same outcome—joint pain. This American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons primer is a go-to resource for understanding what arthritis is, the most common types, and various treatment options depending on the underlying cause.

Who was the world's first author?

This article details the effort to define the world's first author, as supported by current archaeological evidence. Clay disks found in an ancient Sumerian city point to Enheduanna, a high priestess and daughter of Akkadian King Sargon, as the...

Read a deep dive on the 'all-purpose healing' peptide BPC-157.

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

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.

English mathematician Ada Lovelace wrote the first computer algorithm a century before computers existed and hypothesized that computing devices would one day be able to compose music—foreseeing the generative AI systems of today.

Studies suggest when you sleep is as important as how much you get, and syncing with your circadian rhythms may lead to less fatigue and improved long-term health outcomes

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

Stanford built a Google Maps for the Roman Empire, revealing how much it cost to travel in the ancient world

The concept of phantom limbs, the perception that amputated limbs are still present, dates back to a French military surgeon in the 16th century.

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

Before humans, the Soviet Union and the United States sent animals—including apes, dogs, and cats—to space during the Space Race.

Sunflowers have long been a symbol of nuclear disarmament because they can extract large amounts of radioactive cesium from soil.

After the Boston Tea Party, colonists switched to coffee, which became the main morning drink for revolutionaries.

A small portion of The Winstons' 'Amen, Brother,' an obscure '60s gospel record, is the basis for thousands of hip-hop tracks, making it one of the most sampled records ever that's informally known as 'the Amen break.'

The most expensive ad of all time was for Chanel No. 5 perfume and cost roughly $33M to produce in 2004—about $57M in today's dollars.

The word 'jazz' evolved from 'jasm,' 19th-century American slang for 'energy'

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.

The US Constitution is widely regarded as the longest-standing written national constitution still in force—see how it has influenced rights worldwide.

Scientists can determine Earth's past climate conditions by analyzing air trapped in microscopic bubbles within ice cores—columns of compressed snow layers that build up over hundreds of thousands of years.

While the first exchange-traded fund (a 'basket' of different assets that can be bought and sold on a stock exchange) in the US only launched in 1993, the global ETF market has grown to more than $10T in the short time since.

Abraham Lincoln was almost assassinated weeks before his inauguration as he traveled from Illinois to DC through Baltimore in 1861; it took two independent claims for Lincoln to be convinced the threat was real

Doctors differentiate between a phobia and fear by asking patients whether their fear interferes with their day-to-day activities.

Take a 3D tour of the Hajj, Islam's annual pilgrimage to Mecca, undertaken by over 1.5 million Muslims.

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