The world's unsolved problems
993 open questions across 14 fields, gathered from Wikipedia. Pick one and start thinking.
7 results in Medicine · clear · surprise me
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Definition of "disease"
There is no overarching, clear definition of what a disease is. On one hand, there is a scientific definition which is tied to a physiological process, and on the other hand, there is the subjective suffering of a patient and the loss of their life...
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Evidence-based medicine
Evidence-based medicine (EBM) has become the central paradigm in medical practice and research. However, debate continues around EBM and about how results obtained from large samples of patients can be applied to the individual.
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Lack of reliable diagnoses in some disorders
Though manuals like the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) have covered a lot of ground when it comes to defining mental illnesses, in some disorders the reliability of diagnosis is still very poor. For example, inter-rater...
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Cultural issues in defining mental disorders
Some mental illnesses like paraphilias, compulsive sexual behavior, personality disorders, etc., are still at least partially defined by societal and cultural norms, rather than a threat to an individual's well-being.
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Still no causal classification of mental disorders
A patient with a paralysis is referred to an oncologist if the condition is caused by a cancer metastasis in the spinal cord; a treatment by a neurologist is a secondary consideration. Likewise, renal insufficiency is sometimes caused by heart problems,...
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Diseases with unknown cause
There are numerous diseases for which causes are not known. There are others for which the etiology is fully or partially understood, but for which effective treatments are not yet available.
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Mechanisms of action
It is sometimes unknown how drugs work. Often it is possible to study gene expression in a model organism, and determine the genes that are inhibited by a certain substance, and make further inferences from this data. A classical example of an unknown...
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Data last refreshed 2026-10-20 03:01 UTC.