Prescription Drugs

This cartoon from Harper's Weekly depicts how opiates were used in the 19th century to help babies cope with teething.

Inside the Story of America’s 19th-Century Opiate Addiction

Doctors then, as now, overprescribed the painkiller to patients in need, and then, as now, government policy had a distinct bias

Understanding the Doping Controversy That's Hit Sled Dog Racing

Four-time Iditarod champion Dallas Seavey's dogs tested positive for banned substances, but Seavey claims it was sabotage

Trump Declares the Opioid Crisis a Public Health Emergency. What Does That Mean?

Critics say that his plan falls short of the drastic—and costly—effort required to effectively combat the crisis

The bottle of multivitamins at left were typical of the ways Americans became addicted to amphetamines.

A Speedy History of America’s Addiction to Amphetamine

In a startling parallel to today’s opioid crisis, the drugs were liberally—and legally—prescribed despite little information on safety

Nobody has ever been charged with the Tylenol poisonings.

The 1982 Tylenol Terror Shattered American Consumer Innocence

Seven people lost their lives after taking poisoned Tylenol. The tragedy led to important safety reforms

Zebrafish

How Getting Fish Hooked on Drugs Could Help Fight Opioid Addiction

Zebra fish and humans have similar pathways of addiction, which may make them ideal test subjects for addiction studies

Paul Ehrlich was the first to take a chemical approach to immunity.

The First Syphilis Cure Was the First 'Magic Bullet'

The term 'magic bullet' once just meant a targeted drug

“Love Symbol #2”

Prince Now Has His Own Shade of Purple

The Pantone Color Institute has debuted “Love Symbol #2,” a deep purple based on the late star's custom-made piano

Hospitals Have a Big Problem: Baking Soda

It's common in kitchens, but a nationwide shortage is endangering more than baked goods

Frances Oldham Kelsey, a pharmacologist with the Food & Drug Administration, helped prevent a generation of children born with congenital deformities in the United States.

The Woman Who Stood Between America and a Generation of 'Thalidomide Babies'

How the United States escaped a national tragedy in the 1960s

Researchers discovered the effect in hamsters while trying to find a cure for jet lag in people.

Another Use for Viagra: Curing Hamster Jet Lag

It works—but only for hamsters (and maybe people) traveling east

Researchers gave capsules containing psilocybin to cancer patients with terminal cancer—and witnessed spectacular results.

Could Magic Mushrooms One Day Help Cancer Patients Face Down Death?

Two new studies show the promise of psilocybin for patients with anxiety and depression

Streams Around Baltimore Are Flush With Amphetamines

So many people are sending drugs down the drain, increasing amounts are ending up in waterways

A microscopic image of Aspergillus fumigatus, an infectious fungus that can harm people with compromised immune systems.

Deadly Fungal Infections Are Growing Antibiotic Resistance

Fungicides used in agriculture may be impacting the effectiveness of some medicines

Another Step Closer to Male Birth Control Pills

A protein might lead to an oral contraceptive for men

Head lice crawl across a nit comb and into your nightmares.

Lice That Can Resist Drugs Have Infested Half the States in the U.S.

Mutated pests that can survive common drugstore treatments have been found in at least 25 states so far

Crystalized acetaminophen, the drug in Tylenol

When This Photographer Got Sick, He Started Taking Beautiful Photos of Painkillers and Tears

The extreme closeups were one way for the photographer to understand what he was taking

The little blue pill is nothing like flibanserin, the sexual dysfunction drug for women recently approved by an FDA advisory committee.

Stop Calling Flibanserin "Female Viagra"

As the FDA weighs the merits of a new drug to boost female libido, it's clear this is not a little blue pill for women

Baker's or brewer's yeast, like the sample pictured above, could one day be used for more efficient opiate production.

Engineered Yeast Could Open up a DIY Painkiller Market

The modified microbes could also make cheaper and better opiates

Here’s More About the Drug Behind Indiana’s HIV Epidemic

Illegal use of Opana, or oxymorphone, is fueling a public health crisis in Scott County, Ind.

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