https://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/doctors/RSS feed for DoctorsenFri, 29 May 2026 20:15:09 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-600-year-old-chinese-surgical-instruments-are-coated-in-an-early-local-anestheticcarefully-extracted-from-a-poisonous-plant-180988865/Researchers say the numbing agent splashed onto iron scissors and tweezers during a procedure. They were found in a Ming dynasty doctor's tombFri, 29 May 2026 20:15:09 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-600-year-old-chinese-surgical-instruments-are-coated-in-an-early-local-anestheticcarefully-extracted-from-a-poisonous-plant-180988865/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/why-did-this-wealthy-scotsman-pay-a-jeweler-to-wrap-his-teeth-in-gold-wire-hundreds-of-years-ago-180988709/What an early example of a dental bridge reveals about health, wealth and social values in the late medieval and early modern worldFri, 08 May 2026 21:32:24 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/why-did-this-wealthy-scotsman-pay-a-jeweler-to-wrap-his-teeth-in-gold-wire-hundreds-of-years-ago-180988709/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/ai-outperformed-doctors-at-diagnosing-real-world-er-patients-in-a-new-study-that-doesnt-mean-computers-will-replace-clinicians-180988660/One of OpenAI's large language models did better than physicians in several experiments, hinting that A.I.-assisted emergency medical care could be around the cornerMon, 04 May 2026 14:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/ai-outperformed-doctors-at-diagnosing-real-world-er-patients-in-a-new-study-that-doesnt-mean-computers-will-replace-clinicians-180988660/https://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/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/cancer-survivors-are-living-longer-but-still-have-complex-needs-thats-why-doctors-and-advocates-want-post-treatment-care-plans-180988629/Survivors have a heightened risk of developing cardiovascular disease, pain, insomnia, psychosocial distress and new cancers. Many, patient advocates say, are not receiving adequate long-term careWed, 29 Apr 2026 11:30:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/cancer-survivors-are-living-longer-but-still-have-complex-needs-thats-why-doctors-and-advocates-want-post-treatment-care-plans-180988629/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/doctors-used-digital-twins-of-patients-hearts-to-fix-their-irregular-heartbeats-180988476/A small clinical trial suggests the technology can help physicians perform life-saving surgeries more efficiently and safelyMon, 06 Apr 2026 15:47:43 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/doctors-used-digital-twins-of-patients-hearts-to-fix-their-irregular-heartbeats-180988476/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/a-stay-at-ellis-island-hospital-could-determine-whether-an-immigrant-had-a-chance-to-start-a-new-life-in-america-180988202/Some 276,000 patients were admitted to the medical facility between 1892 and 1951. But the abandoned complex has long been overlooked, and preservationists are fighting to save itThu, 19 Feb 2026 13:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/a-stay-at-ellis-island-hospital-could-determine-whether-an-immigrant-had-a-chance-to-start-a-new-life-in-america-180988202/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/artificial-lungs-kept-a-dying-man-alive-for-48-hours-until-he-was-well-enough-to-receive-an-organ-transplant-180988109/The patient is faring well nearly three years later, thanks to the life-saving deviceMon, 02 Feb 2026 15:46:16 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/artificial-lungs-kept-a-dying-man-alive-for-48-hours-until-he-was-well-enough-to-receive-an-organ-transplant-180988109/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/renaissance-readers-left-chemical-clues-inside-these-medical-manuals-were-they-using-human-feces-and-tortoise-shells-to-treat-illnesses-180988103/Researchers analyzed proteins extracted from "How to Cure and Expel All Afflictions and Illnesses of the Human Body" and "A Useful and Essential Little Book of Medicine for the Common Man," both written by a 16th-century German eye doctorFri, 30 Jan 2026 15:01:24 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/renaissance-readers-left-chemical-clues-inside-these-medical-manuals-were-they-using-human-feces-and-tortoise-shells-to-treat-illnesses-180988103/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/us-overhauls-immunization-schedule-for-kids-removing-recommendations-for-vaccines-against-the-flu-rsv-and-more-180987958/Announced on Monday, the revised schedule drops the number of recommended immunizations from 17 to 11. The CDC suggests that only “high-risk” kids should get many of the vaccines that are no longer endorsedTue, 06 Jan 2026 20:59:25 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/us-overhauls-immunization-schedule-for-kids-removing-recommendations-for-vaccines-against-the-flu-rsv-and-more-180987958/