Lungs | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/lungs/RSS feed for LungsenMon, 13 Apr 2026 20:06:58 +0000This Nearly 300-Million-Year-Old Mummified Reptile Reveals the Evolutionary Origins of How We Breathehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-300-million-year-old-mummified-fossil-reveals-the-origins-of-breathing-in-amniotes-180988521/Unusually well-preserved fossils have provided the earliest known evidence of a land vertebrate that could pump air in and out of its chest using muscles between the ribs—the same strategy used by modern mammals, reptiles and birdsMon, 13 Apr 2026 20:06:58 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-300-million-year-old-mummified-fossil-reveals-the-origins-of-breathing-in-amniotes-180988521/Artificial Lungs Kept a Dying Man Alive For 48 Hours—Until He Was Well Enough to Receive an Organ Transplanthttps://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/'Excitement With a Little Dash of Fear': Polar Plunges Ring in the New Year With a Splash. But What Actually Happens to Your Body?https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/excitement-with-a-little-dash-of-fear-polar-plunges-ring-in-the-new-year-with-a-splash-but-what-actually-happens-to-your-body-180987934/Three experts share the science behind taking a dip in cold water—and offer safety tips that any potential plungers should bear in mindWed, 31 Dec 2025 12:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/excitement-with-a-little-dash-of-fear-polar-plunges-ring-in-the-new-year-with-a-splash-but-what-actually-happens-to-your-body-180987934/This 14-Year-Old Built an App That Detects Heart Diseases in Secondshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/this-14-year-old-built-an-app-that-detects-heart-diseases-in-seconds-180986700/Siddarth Nandyala wants to put his tool in the hands of medical professionals so that they can catch cardiovascular abnormalities in their early stagesFri, 30 May 2025 12:13:27 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/this-14-year-old-built-an-app-that-detects-heart-diseases-in-seconds-180986700/Nearly Half of Americans Still Live With High Levels of Air Pollution, Posing Serious Health Risks, Report Findshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/nearly-half-of-americans-still-live-with-high-levels-of-air-pollution-posing-serious-health-risks-report-finds-180986499/The most recent State of the Air report by the American Lung Association found that more than 150 million Americans breathe air with unhealthy levels of ozone or particle pollutionFri, 25 Apr 2025 16:50:15 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/nearly-half-of-americans-still-live-with-high-levels-of-air-pollution-posing-serious-health-risks-report-finds-180986499/Millions More Smokers Should Be Screened for Lung Cancer—Even if They Quit Long Agohttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/millions-more-smokers-should-be-screened-for-lung-cancer-even-if-they-quit-long-ago-180983195/The American Cancer Society released new guidance on who should get yearly scans for lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer death around the worldMon, 06 Nov 2023 21:01:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/millions-more-smokers-should-be-screened-for-lung-cancer-even-if-they-quit-long-ago-180983195/Experimental RSV Vaccine Prevents Illness in Older Adults, Moderna Sayshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/experimental-rsv-vaccine-prevents-illness-in-older-adults-moderna-says-180981474/In a large clinical trial, the vaccine was 83.7 percent effective at preventing two or more symptoms of respiratory illness in people over the age of 60Fri, 20 Jan 2023 22:09:55 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/experimental-rsv-vaccine-prevents-illness-in-older-adults-moderna-says-180981474/How Boa Constrictors Breathe While Squeezing the Life Out of Their Preyhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-boa-constrictors-breathe-while-squeezing-the-life-out-of-their-prey-180979805/Researchers outfitted the snakes with electrodes and scanned them using X-rays to see how the flexing predators managed to take in airThu, 24 Mar 2022 22:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-boa-constrictors-breathe-while-squeezing-the-life-out-of-their-prey-180979805/Anally Delivered Oxygen Kept Suffocating Pigs and Mice Alive in the Lab. Could the Method One Day Save Human Lives, Too?https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/bottoms-anally-delivered-oxygen-keeps-pigs-and-mice-alive-180977767/The technique may provide doctors with a new way of providing supplemental oxygen for patients with failing lungsThu, 20 May 2021 11:30:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/bottoms-anally-delivered-oxygen-keeps-pigs-and-mice-alive-180977767/Air Pollution Is Stealing a Year of Life From People Around the Globe https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/air-pollution-stealing-year-life-people-around-globe-180970112/Tiny particles that contribute to lung disease, strokes and heart attacks are robbing Americans of 4 months and over 1.8 years of life elsewhere Thu, 23 Aug 2018 15:18:22 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/air-pollution-stealing-year-life-people-around-globe-180970112/