https://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/disease-and-illnesses/RSS feed for Disease and IllnessesenThu, 16 Jul 2026 16:43:13 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/thousands-intimate-photographs-reveal-the-everyday-lives-the-romanovs-russias-last-imperial-family-180989126/The Bolsheviks executed the last czar, Nicholas II, and the rest of his family, including his famous daughter Anastasia, 108 years ago. Surviving snapshots open a portal into the royals' private worldThu, 16 Jul 2026 16:43:13 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/thousands-intimate-photographs-reveal-the-everyday-lives-the-romanovs-russias-last-imperial-family-180989126/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/cancer-cases-are-expected-to-nearly-double-by-2050-warns-the-who-low-income-countries-will-be-disproportionately-affected-180989102/In a new report, the World Health Organization predicts that new annual diagnoses will rise from about 20.6 million today to almost 35 million by 2050. The biggest increases will be in Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean regionMon, 13 Jul 2026 15:44:42 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/cancer-cases-are-expected-to-nearly-double-by-2050-warns-the-who-low-income-countries-will-be-disproportionately-affected-180989102/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/cases-of-a-parasitic-infection-that-can-cause-diarrhea-for-weeks-are-rapidly-rising-in-the-us-heres-what-to-know-180989108/The illness is caused by the microscopic parasite Cyclospora cayetanensis, which spreads via food or water contaminated with feces, usually on farms. Health officials are still investigating the source of the multistate outbreakFri, 10 Jul 2026 19:26:16 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/cases-of-a-parasitic-infection-that-can-cause-diarrhea-for-weeks-are-rapidly-rising-in-the-us-heres-what-to-know-180989108/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/did-this-duke-poison-his-brother-a-new-dna-analysis-may-solve-the-centuries-old-medici-mystery-180989086/Researchers found evidence of malaria in Francesco I de' Medici's bones, leading them to argue "with scientific certainty" that it was disease, not arsenic, that led to his death in 1587Wed, 08 Jul 2026 17:05:02 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/did-this-duke-poison-his-brother-a-new-dna-analysis-may-solve-the-centuries-old-medici-mystery-180989086/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/new-discovery-that-hunter-gatherer-children-died-of-plague-more-than-five-millennia-ago-sets-back-the-date-of-the-earliest-outbreak-180988983/The skeletons of nomadic families unearthed in Siberia harbor "Yersinia pestis" bacteria, which challenges theories about conditions needed for the disease to spreadThu, 18 Jun 2026 20:58:09 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/new-discovery-that-hunter-gatherer-children-died-of-plague-more-than-five-millennia-ago-sets-back-the-date-of-the-earliest-outbreak-180988983/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-practice-changing-gene-test-could-tell-doctors-which-patients-with-breast-cancer-can-skip-chemo-clinical-trial-suggests-180988957/Chemotherapy comes with debilitating side effects, including brain fog, nausea and nerve damage. New research suggests that many people with a common type of breast cancer need just radiation and hormone therapy to prevent recurrenceWed, 17 Jun 2026 14:01:52 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-practice-changing-gene-test-could-tell-doctors-which-patients-with-breast-cancer-can-skip-chemo-clinical-trial-suggests-180988957/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/with-a-beam-of-light-the-new-york-city-aids-memorial-honors-the-nearly-forgotten-legacy-of-this-great-american-sculptor-180988956/A new sculpture draws on materials and ideas from Scott Burton's artwork, which offered comfort in urban spaces. His final public series was a set of benches and lights on piers in BrooklynMon, 15 Jun 2026 19:57:08 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/with-a-beam-of-light-the-new-york-city-aids-memorial-honors-the-nearly-forgotten-legacy-of-this-great-american-sculptor-180988956/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-invented-a-disease-to-test-whether-ai-knew-it-was-fake-then-chatbots-started-saying-it-was-real-180988924/The eye condition bixonimania doesn't exist, but neither bots nor some researchers caught that the content was fabricated—despite obvious cluesThu, 11 Jun 2026 17:59:36 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-invented-a-disease-to-test-whether-ai-knew-it-was-fake-then-chatbots-started-saying-it-was-real-180988924/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/google-wants-to-release-32-million-mosquitoes-in-california-and-florida-heres-why-180988892/The company is asking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for permission to release millions of sterilized mosquitoes in order to fight their disease-spreading counterpartsWed, 03 Jun 2026 19:04:37 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/google-wants-to-release-32-million-mosquitoes-in-california-and-florida-heres-why-180988892/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/could-bug-spray-attract-mosquitoes-lab-insects-learned-that-the-smell-of-deet-would-lead-them-to-a-tasty-treat-180988866/Researchers don't know how the findings might overlap with real-world settings. But the discovery suggests that we're most vulnerable when our insect repellent is wearing off, meaning we should reapply it regularlyMon, 01 Jun 2026 14:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/could-bug-spray-attract-mosquitoes-lab-insects-learned-that-the-smell-of-deet-would-lead-them-to-a-tasty-treat-180988866/