Get curated editors’ picks, peeks behind the scenes, film recommendations and more.
For thousands of years before modern science-based medicine became the norm, bloodletting, frequently by leeches, was considered something of a medical cure-all. The treatment’s persistence was at least partially attributable to the Ancient Greek physician Hippocrates’ ‘four humours’ theory of disease, which held that illness was the result of an imbalance of the bodily fluids black bile, yellow bile, phlegm, and blood. With the rise of modern scientific medicine near the end of the 18th century, bloodletting leeches were relegated to the quack cabinet as doctors realised that the practice generally fixed very little, leaving patients weak and vulnerable from blood loss. But as this video from the science and nature documentary series Deep Look shows (in occasionally graphic, ultra-HD detail that is, perhaps, not for the squeamish), medical leeches have made a surprising comeback in hospitals, especially during reconstructive surgeries. Learn more about this video at the KQED Science website.
Video by KQED Science and PBS Digital Studios
Producer and Writer: Josh Cassidy
Narrator and Writer: Lauren Sommer
video
Biology
The key to geckos’ unrivalled climbing skills isn’t sticky feet. It’s subatomic
4 minutes
video
Technology and the self
Greetings from Green Bank – the small town where modern technology is banned
10 minutes
video
Human evolution
Far from frivolous, cuteness is a powerful – and still mysterious – force of nature
6 minutes
video
Space exploration
In the search for life, might alien ocean worlds be a better bet than Earth-like planets?
5 minutes
video
Thinkers and theories
Is simulation theory a way to shirk responsibility for the world we’ve created?
13 minutes
video
Biology
A dazzling slice-by-slice exploration of wood exposes hidden patterns and hues
2 minutes
video
Architecture
Modern architecture should embrace – not ignore or repel – the nonhuman world
8 minutes
video
Philosophy of mind
We may never settle the ‘free will’ debate, but tapping into it is still worthwhile
32 minutes
video
Ecology and environmental sciences
In an ancient English rainforest, John creates charcoal and cultivates growth
12 minutes