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As ventilators continue to play an important part in helping very ill coronavirus patients, medical historian Dr Lindsey Fitzharris traces their development from the first attempts at mouth-to-mouth resuscitation through centuries of medical crises.

Charming family scenes in Victorian ads for children’s medicines were at odds with some of the dangerous ingredients they contained.

An exploration of medieval theories of embryology and the concept of the hybrid human/animal monster.

Join us for the world premiere of a chamber opera inspired by the emotionally charged letters sent to Marie Stopes in response to her “sex manual”, ‘Married Love‘.

Books leave their traces in our minds, but we leave traces of ourselves in books too, as these fascinating items found inside old works show.

When you are unwell, your bed can be both a refuge and a prison. Discover how artist Poppy Nash created a bed-centred artwork inspired by her own chronic illness and depictions of ill health from history.

Medieval illustrations often show blind people, sometimes with dogs. But working out whether these were actually guide dogs involves a mix of detailed detective work and expert speculation.

Humans have been reluctant hosts to a plethora of unpleasant parasites for centuries. And medieval evidence shows our modern distaste for these little irritations is just as ancient.

‘Bake-Off’ finalist Mary-Anne Boermans treats us to the warm and enticing pleasures of gingerbread over centuries.

The name theriac survived for around for two millennia as a pharmaceutical term. But a ‘brand’ name is not always a guarantee of quality.

If you had the chance, would you choose a genius baby?

Find out how an unruly mass of archive material from a 1930s radical health centre has inspired brand new writing.

It’s not unusual for captives to end up feeling strong bonds with their captors. But is it a matter of submission or survival?

Dr Edward Clarke's Law of Periodicity claimed that females who were educated alongside their male peers were developing their minds at the expense of their reproductive organs.

Wellcome Collection has returned an urn containing human ashes to Mindelunden i Ryvangen, a memorial park in Denmark, for burial.

Whose responsibility is it to prevent accidental burns and scalds in the home? Shane Ewen’s research shows that it’s everyone’s concern.

Once famous for his quirky cat illustrations, today Louis Wain is often portrayed as a ‘psychotic’ artist whose illness can be mapped out through his drawings. Here Bryony Benge-Abbott takes a more rounded view.

Focusing on three 19th-century women’s case notes, Millie van der Byl Williams explores how our definition of dementia has changed.

How the 1950s British film industry portrayed this disease.

Too much of the wrong sort of light can send our natural cycles off-kilter – is city life messing with your circadian rhythm?