Tuesday, August 7, 2018

How hormones went from theoretical to overhyped in one century

From metabolism to sex drive, hormones come in tiny packets that pack a powerful punch, and yet there is a lot of misinformation about these chemicals. So Randi Hutter Epstein, a doctor and medical writer, decided to set the record straight. The result is her book Aroused: The History of Hormones and How They Control Just About Everything.

Though we throw around the world “hormonal” today, the concept didn’t exist before the 1900s. In the past century, we’ve gone from not knowing what these glands secreted to selling hormonal sprays that promise to make it easier to seduce. How did we get here?

The Verge spoke to Epstein about the short history of hormones, how they were involved in the “crime of the century,” and how we sometimes give...

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