Black lung is a disease often relegated to the domain of the history book. But can historical research tell us anything new about this old disease?
In an essay published in the latest issue of The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, Life of Breath historian Dr Coreen McGuire highlights the ways that science has been used to cast doubt on the causes of respiratory illnesses like black lung among coal miners, and makes the case that greater integration between science and the humanities can help us focus less on debating the causes of illness and more on the past and present voices of those affected.
