The history of pharmacy and medication

Pharmacy is derived from the Greek word pharmakeia, meaning “use of drugs, medicines, potions, or spells; poisoning, witchcraft; remedy, cure.” The practice of pharmacy has been around for thousands of years, and healing with medicinal plants is as old as mankind itself. There is evidence that Neanderthals used pain-killers and antibiotics to self-medicate as early as 49,000 […]

Alchemy: how a tradition spanning millennia became modern chemistry

Alchemy is generally seen as an archaic proto-science based on superstition that is of little interest to the modern chemist. In truth, chemistry owes much to alchemy, which covers philosophical traditions and chemical history spanning several millennia in the Middle East, China, India and Europe. Alchemy has played a significant role in the development of […]