Mind-Body Wellness | Smithsonian Magazine

Neuroscientist Eugene Aserinsky attaches electrodes to his son, Armond, who was a frequent subject in his early sleep studies

The Stubborn Scientist Who Unraveled A Mystery of the Night

Fifty years ago, Eugene Aserinksy discovered rapid eye movement and changed the way we think about sleep and dreaming

October 2003

Six weeks after authorities said SARS had broken out in Asia, CDC scientists in Atlanta identified a coronavirus as the culprit.

Stopping a Scourge

No one knows if SARS will strike again. But researchers' speedy work halting the epidemic makes a compelling case study of how to combat a deadly virus

September 2003

Shoe-fitting fluoroscope, National Museum of American History.

Here's Looking at You, Kids

For three decades, the fluoroscope was a shoe salesman's best friend

July 2003

"I had a bunch of birds that had died of encephalitis at the same time people had encephalitis," says Tracey McNamara (in her Bronx apartment), a veterinary pathologist formerly at the Bronx Zoo. She helped link the virus to the 1999 epidemic.

On the Trail of the West Nile Virus

Some scientists race to develop vaccines against the scourge while others probe the possible lingering effects of the mosquito-borne infection

July 2003

The Stuff of Genes

Fifty years after the discovery of DNA's structure, the payoff hasn't matched the hype. But really, we've only just begun

April 2003

Mission Impossible?

An international campaign to rid the world of polio has made dazzling progress. But some experts question whether the scourge can ever be eradicated

February 2003

Grace Levy, 95, of Lunenburg, quit school at 13 to clean houses: "My Dad said you've gotta work."

Puzzle of the Century

Is it the fresh air, the seafood, or genes? Why do so many hardy 100-year-olds live in yes, Nova Scotia?

January 2003

Stimulants

Both ginseng and dolphins evoke passionate emotions

July 2002

Birdbrain Breakthrough

Startling evidence that the human brain can grow new nerves began with unlikely studies of birdsong

June 2002

Hero for Our Time

Challenged to prove his germ theory of disease, Louis Pasteur shaped the terrain on which the battle against anthrax is being fought

January 2002

Brave New World

Everything you wanted to know about stem cells, cloning and genetic engineering but were afraid to ask

December 1, 2001

Review of GERMS: Biological Weapons and America's Secret War

December 2001

The Way of Confucius

In a remote corner of eastern China, travelers tread the path of the ancient sage

November 1, 2001

Harmonious Cord

October 2001

Take Two and Call Me in the Morning

Once we didn't know how aspirin works; now we know that it does a lot more than ease pain and inflammation

July 31, 2001

Seeing Fingers Decipher Bones

Give Marsha Ogilvie some bones, and she'll tell you the who, what and how . . . and she does it all with her hands

April 30, 2001

Noise Busters

To dissect the din that daily assaults our ears, researchers from the Noise Pollution Clearinghouse are taking to the streets

March 1, 2001

For Some, Pain Is Orange

Persons with synesthesia experience "extra" sensations. The Letter T may be navy blue; a sound can taste like pickles

February 1, 2001

Betting on Designer Genes

Scientists dream of giving people new genes that will stop a disease or fix a problem. It is harder than anyone thought

January 1, 2001

Accents Are Forever

By their first birthday, babies are getting locked into the sounds of the language they hear spoken

January 2001

Mind & Body