Medicine has evolved considerably over the years. For example, according to Mental_Floss e-news, doctors once diagnosed diabetes by tasting a small urine sample--excess glucose caused it to taste sweet.
One field, however, has changed little throughout human history--complementary and alternative medicine. Only relatively recently have humans studied the science behind these fields.
Ten years ago, the National Institutes of Health established the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine(NCCAM) "to examine the CAM approaches through the scope of rigorous scientific research." NCCAM has supported more than 2,200 projects at scientific institutions worldwide, according to a press release.
"People have used some complementary and alternative medicine therapies since ancient times and often with little scientific evidence," said the press release.
To celebrate NCCAM's tenth anniversary, the NCCAM announced the "NCCAM 10th Anniversary Research Symposium: Exploring the Science of Complementary and Alternative Medicine".
The symposium, which will feature discussions on mind-body medicine, natural products and integrative medicine, according to the press release.
The symposium will be held from 9 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Estern time on Dec. 8 in the NIH's Building 10's Masur Auditorium. It will be videocast at http://videocast.nih.gov/
The symposium is open to the public and registration is not required.
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