Reclaiming an organ that modern medical professionals often designate as waste may inspire more people to study and adapt ancient traditions.
How Traditional Knowledge Opens Nature’s Medicine CabinetIn Peru, the challenge of providing health care to the country’s citizens has spurred interest in alternative medicines that draw on cultural traditions.
When Rare Diseases Aren’t So RareHaving a strange and little-known condition is increasingly becoming a regular part of life, bonding patients together with a common cause.
A Daughter’s Disability and a Father’s AwakeningWhen an anthropologist’s baby was diagnosed with Down syndrome, he was overwhelmed by emotional upheaval. Then, everything changed.
When Doctors Don’t ListenAn anthropologist with chronic Lyme disease has seen firsthand the perils of the Western world’s dysfunctional approach to treating misunderstood diseases.
How Natural Birth Became Inaccessible to the PoorWhile Mexico’s middle and upper classes are discovering the wonders of natural birth, traditional Indigenous midwives are actively being discouraged from providing the same services to the lower classes.
Watching Ancient Hominins Giving BirthThe human birthing process is more difficult than that of any other primate. One researcher is using bones and computers to figure out why—and what to do about it.
Can Medical Anthropology Solve the Diabetes Dilemma?As the number of sufferers continues to rise, some researchers are moving in new directions to figure out how culture and lifestyle shape disease outcomes.
Ebola Prevention Caught in the Bushmeat TrapThe legacy of colonialism in West Africa continues to impact how communities engage with public health and conservation efforts. Taking a new approach to these can increase trust and save lives.
The Birth Whisperers of Timor-LesteIn a country with one of Southeast Asia’s worst infant mortality rates, one clinic is striving to bring improved birthing assistance to local women.
