Disability History | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/disability-history/RSS feed for Disability HistoryenWed, 29 Apr 2026 17:44:40 +0000The FDA Approves the First-Ever Gene Therapy for Deafness, Which Aims to Restore Hearing in Kids With a Rare Inherited Conditionhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-fda-approves-the-first-ever-gene-therapy-for-deafness-which-aims-to-restore-hearing-in-kids-with-a-rare-inherited-condition-180988635/The agency's decision is based on results from a clinical trial in which the treatment improved hearing in 80 percent of the pediatric participants. However, Deaf community advocates worry about the push to cure hearing lossWed, 29 Apr 2026 17:44:40 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-fda-approves-the-first-ever-gene-therapy-for-deafness-which-aims-to-restore-hearing-in-kids-with-a-rare-inherited-condition-180988635/Renaissance Art Linked Beauty With Virtue and Ugliness With Vice. See How Painters From Leonardo da Vinci to Botticelli Viewed Physical Attractivenesshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/renaissance-art-linked-beauty-with-virtue-and-ugliness-with-vice-see-how-painters-from-leonardo-da-vinci-to-botticelli-viewed-physical-attractiveness-180988584/An exhibition in Brussels spotlights 90-plus artworks featuring golden-haired muses, greedy old men and those deemed unattractive simply because they were differentTue, 21 Apr 2026 15:55:23 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/renaissance-art-linked-beauty-with-virtue-and-ugliness-with-vice-see-how-painters-from-leonardo-da-vinci-to-botticelli-viewed-physical-attractiveness-180988584/This Aerospace Engineer Just Became the First Wheelchair User to Travel to Spacehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-aerospace-engineer-just-became-the-first-wheelchair-user-to-travel-to-space-180987914/A brief commercial flight with space tourism company Blue Origin made Michaela "Michi" Benthaus' childhood dream come trueMon, 22 Dec 2025 21:11:58 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-aerospace-engineer-just-became-the-first-wheelchair-user-to-travel-to-space-180987914/From Fashion to Fidget Spinners, This London Exhibition Celebrates Disabled Design, Innovation and Joyhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/from-fashion-to-fidget-spinners-this-london-exhibition-celebrates-disabled-design-innovation-and-joy-180987269/"Design and Disability" features 170 objects created by disabled artists, designers, photographers, inventors and moreThu, 04 Sep 2025 15:58:58 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/from-fashion-to-fidget-spinners-this-london-exhibition-celebrates-disabled-design-innovation-and-joy-180987269/How a Deaf Quarterback Changed Sports Forever By Inventing the Huddlehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/deaf-quarterback-changed-sports-forever-inventing-huddle-180987178/Paul Hubbard called for the football team at Gallaudet University to circle around him back in 1894Thu, 04 Sep 2025 09:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/deaf-quarterback-changed-sports-forever-inventing-huddle-180987178/The Innovative History of the Artificial Limb Stretches as Far Back as Ancient Egypthttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/innovative-history-artificial-limb-stretches-far-back-ancient-egypt-180986568/Today, the technology has come so far that anyone with a 3D printer can create highly engineered and artful prosthesesTue, 13 May 2025 11:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/innovative-history-artificial-limb-stretches-far-back-ancient-egypt-180986568/These Five Trailblazing American Women Will Be Featured on Quarters in 2025https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-five-trailblazing-american-women-will-be-featured-on-quarters-in-2025-180985705/The U.S. Mint's American Women Quarters Program has announced its fourth and final group of honorees from throughout American historyFri, 20 Dec 2024 16:52:25 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-five-trailblazing-american-women-will-be-featured-on-quarters-in-2025-180985705/Neanderthal Child May Have Had Down Syndrome, Fossil Suggestshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/neanderthal-child-may-have-had-down-syndrome-fossil-suggests-180984619/The child's survival until at least 6 years old could be evidence of collaborative caregiving in Neanderthal societies, according to a new paperThu, 27 Jun 2024 21:14:53 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/neanderthal-child-may-have-had-down-syndrome-fossil-suggests-180984619/DNA Reveals Presence of Down Syndrome in Ancient Societyhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/dna-reveals-presence-of-down-syndrome-in-ancient-society-180983835/The burials of infants with Down syndrome in Europe provide insight into how babies with genetic conditions were cared for in premodern times, according to a new studyTue, 27 Feb 2024 20:22:59 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/dna-reveals-presence-of-down-syndrome-in-ancient-society-180983835/Archaeologists Discover Centuries-Old Prosthetic Hand in Germanyhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-have-discovered-a-medieval-prosthetic-hand-in-germany-180983184/Used by a man between 30 and 50 years old, the four prosthetic fingers date to between 1450 and 1620Fri, 03 Nov 2023 17:53:16 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-have-discovered-a-medieval-prosthetic-hand-in-germany-180983184/