Pain, Pus & Poison

What exactly is physical discomfort, and how can we control it? Mosley explains the profound effect pain has on our bodies and the ways in which we have endeavored to lessen it. He shows how, since the discovery of morphine, chemistry has conquered pain-and how pain prevention and drug addiction are inextricably linked.

Infection can take over the entire human body, and up until the early 20th century the only medical defenses against it were more medieval than modern. Harnessing the power of microbes in the battle against infection led to what some consider humanity's greatest achievement-the eradication of smallpox.

With proper medical research, deadly poisons and venoms can become revolutionary, lifesaving medicines. Mosley examines how scientists have gone from finding antidotes for these poisons to applying them as treatments, in the process turning killers into cures.