All Historical Perspective articles
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FeaturesWhat is eating my rocks? A possible novel biological niche inside limestone
“It seems something biological has once lived inside rocks in Namibia.” Read the story of this unusual discovery…
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Long ReadsCould spiritual healing sites be fertile ground for new antibiotics?
Common motifs between Streptomyces and sites of spiritual healing may help with the discovery of new sites for bioprospecting. Although there may be a temptation to dismiss the spiritual nature of the healing sites, it is important that researchers begin to understand these in the appropriate cultural and spiritual context.
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FeaturesThe birds, the bees, and the bugs: how gut microbes impact sex hormones and reproductive health
The gut microbiome has been tied to our reproductive health through its ability to produce, break down, and modify sex hormones.
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FeaturesMicrobiome research and a paradigm shift in urban building design
There is increasing evidence that this association between a host and its microbes not only determines health and disease but also influences the behaviour of humans and other animals.
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Long ReadsAgar and the curse of purity
Discover for the first time, new information and images about Fanny Angelina Hesse, and one of the most important inventions in microbiology.
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FeaturesShining a light on microbes from the past with molecular paleomicrobiology
Is there a way to objectively address the history of microorganisms?
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FeaturesVirgin soil effect: how did European diseases impact native populations in The Americas
The transfer of disease across the ocean is believed to be a major contributor to allowing Spanish conquistadors to take over the Americas. How big of a contributor was infectious disease in the European colonisation?
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FeaturesThe pandemic potential of poxvirus infections
What can the causes of ancient pandemics, smallpox and viral evolution tell us about future threats?
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FeaturesSir Graham Wilson
Sir Graham Wilson was a pioneer in the area of public health, wartime bacteriology and food hygiene.
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Long ReadsHow war sets the stage for epidemics
On 19 June 2022, Iraq’s health authorities announced a cholera outbreak after at least 13 cases were confirmed across the country and thousands of hospital admissions for acute diarrhea were reported.
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Article‘t time’: why students prefer Guinness
‘Student’s t test’ to compare the means of two groups always seems to enjoy particularly high esteem amongst students; so much so that some may believe that the test’s name was conferred in their honour.
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FeaturesThe life and times of Sir Henry Wellcome
Wellcome was committed to high-quality science and founded other laboratories to join the WPRL, including the Wellcome Tropical Research Laboratory in Khartoum.
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FeaturesMaking us keen for quinine
In 1817, quinine became the first chemical compound used to treat an infectious disease.
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FeaturesIce, ice, maybe? Francis Bacon and frozen meat
The scientific pioneer’s ill-fated investigation into whether flesh could be preserved in snow.
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FeaturesToasting Alice Ball
Alice Ball became both the first African-American and the first woman to be awarded a Master’s degree in Chemistry in 1915.
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FeaturesThe rise of India Pale Ale
We chart the rollercoaster emergence of the India Pale AleThe emergence of the India Pale Ale.
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FeaturesSanitas, a public health hero
The Sanitas Company Limited: a once well-known concern deserving remembrance for its contribution to public health.
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FeaturesA passport to Pimlico for streptococci
Fred Griffith played a key role in the foundation of molecular genetics.
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FeaturesCitric acid's journey from sunny Sicily to industrial London
Like other major seaports, the hinterland of London’s docks was once a hive of industrial activity.
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FeaturesThe perplexing progress of pickling and preservation
In 1819, two former school friends, Thomas Blackwell and Edmund Crosse, were apprenticed to a firm making pickles and sauces.