Medicine | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/medicine/RSS feed for MedicineenMon, 20 Jul 2026 19:35:28 +0000A Man With Paralysis Has Regained Feeling and Movement in His Hands After an Experimental Brain Implanthttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-man-with-paralysis-has-regained-feeling-and-movement-in-his-hands-after-an-experimental-brain-implant-180989156/After months of training, the patient can now move his arms and hands and feel the sensation of touchMon, 20 Jul 2026 19:35:28 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-man-with-paralysis-has-regained-feeling-and-movement-in-his-hands-after-an-experimental-brain-implant-180989156/Koalas Are at Risk of Extinction in Some Parts of Australia. Can Freezing Their Sperm and Eggs Help Save the Iconic Marsupials?https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/koalas-are-at-risk-of-extinction-in-some-parts-of-australia-can-freezing-their-sperm-and-eggs-help-save-the-iconic-marsupials-180989147/Scientists are preserving the animals' reproductive cells in liquid nitrogen in a bid to boost genetic diversity in future populationsMon, 20 Jul 2026 15:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/koalas-are-at-risk-of-extinction-in-some-parts-of-australia-can-freezing-their-sperm-and-eggs-help-save-the-iconic-marsupials-180989147/Cancer Cases Are Expected to Nearly Double by 2050, Warns the WHO. Low-Income Countries Will Be Disproportionately Affectedhttps://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/Cases of a Parasitic Infection That Can Cause Diarrhea for Weeks Are Rapidly Rising in the U.S. Here's What to Knowhttps://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/Can Printed 'Skin' Heal Burns and Prevent Scars?https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/can-printed-skin-heal-burns-and-prevent-scars-180989000/Inks created with a patient’s own cells may one day help the body regrow tissuesWed, 24 Jun 2026 12:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/can-printed-skin-heal-burns-and-prevent-scars-180989000/These Butterflies Can Live 25 Times Longer Than Their Relatives. They Might Provide Insights Into Healthy Aging in Humanshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-butterflies-can-live-25-times-longer-than-their-relatives-they-might-provide-insights-into-healthy-aging-in-humans-180988993/Their unusual diet of pollen—rather than nectar—might partially explain why members of the Heliconius genus live so long, up to nearly a yearTue, 23 Jun 2026 15:47:01 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-butterflies-can-live-25-times-longer-than-their-relatives-they-might-provide-insights-into-healthy-aging-in-humans-180988993/Scientists Are Using Nanomaterials to Heal Stubborn Wounds That Resist Antibiotic Treatmenthttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/scientists-are-using-nanomaterials-to-heal-stubborn-wounds-that-resist-antibiotic-treatment-180988972/Light-activated therapies may offer a solution to slow-healing lesions common in diabetics and burn victimsWed, 17 Jun 2026 16:36:51 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/scientists-are-using-nanomaterials-to-heal-stubborn-wounds-that-resist-antibiotic-treatment-180988972/This 'Practice-Changing' Gene Test Could Tell Doctors Which Patients With Breast Cancer Can Skip Chemo, Clinical Trial Suggestshttps://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/Scientists Invented a Disease to Test Whether A.I. Knew It Was Fake. Then, Chatbots Started Saying It Was Realhttps://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/The Operating Room Where Anesthesia Was First Demonstrated Is Now a Landmark. But for the Men Who Claimed Credit, There Was Much Miseryhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/operating-room-where-anesthesia-first-demonstrated-now-landmark-men-claimed-credit-much-misery-180988842/Medical procedures used to be a scream-filled endurance test until doctors at this Boston institution learned to tame the pain of patientsThu, 11 Jun 2026 10:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/operating-room-where-anesthesia-first-demonstrated-now-landmark-men-claimed-credit-much-misery-180988842/This Playful Interactive Reveals the Medical Advances That Have Made Life Better … and Sometimes Longerhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/this-playful-interactive-reveals-the-medical-advances-that-have-made-life-better-and-sometimes-longer-180988867/From replacing lost limbs to helping a heart find its rhythm, the work of American doctors and researchers has improved lives in incalculable waysFri, 05 Jun 2026 11:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/this-playful-interactive-reveals-the-medical-advances-that-have-made-life-better-and-sometimes-longer-180988867/See the Rescued and Restored 'Alice in Wonderland' Mural Painted for Sick Children at a New York Hospitalhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/see-the-rescued-and-restored-alice-in-wonderland-mural-painted-for-sick-children-at-a-new-york-hospital-180988898/Abram Champanier’s "Alice of Wonderland Visiting New York" was a commission from the Federal Art Project, a New Deal program that championed American art in public spacesThu, 04 Jun 2026 20:24:32 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/see-the-rescued-and-restored-alice-in-wonderland-mural-painted-for-sick-children-at-a-new-york-hospital-180988898/When the Fear of Polio Gripped the World, Jonas Salk’s Determination Led to a Liberating Medical Breakthroughhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/when-fear-polio-gripped-world-jonas-salk-determination-led-liberating-medical-breakthrough-180988798/The son of the doctor, himself now a physician and researcher, recalls his vaccination in the kitchen as painless. Now, he recounts the impact of the work his father ledThu, 04 Jun 2026 12:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/when-fear-polio-gripped-world-jonas-salk-determination-led-liberating-medical-breakthrough-180988798/These Experimental Ebola Treatments and Vaccines Might Help Slow the Outbreak Spreading in Congo and Uganda, WHO Sayshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-experimental-ebola-treatments-and-vaccines-might-help-slow-the-outbreak-spreading-in-the-congo-and-uganda-who-says-180988872/No approved therapeutics exist for the virus species causing the outbreak, which has been associated with more than 1,000 cases of Ebola. The World Health Organization has identified several therapeutics to test in clinical trials in the coming monthsTue, 02 Jun 2026 16:11:33 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-experimental-ebola-treatments-and-vaccines-might-help-slow-the-outbreak-spreading-in-the-congo-and-uganda-who-says-180988872/The Gin and Tonic Is a Cocktail With a Storied History. Don't Overlook Scotland's Connection to the Classichttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/gin-and-tonic-is-a-cocktail-with-a-storied-history-dont-overlook-scotlands-connection-to-the-classic-180988875/The country’s scientists, doctors, merchants and distillers all played significant roles in transforming the simple combination that packs a complicated mythologyTue, 02 Jun 2026 14:23:56 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/gin-and-tonic-is-a-cocktail-with-a-storied-history-dont-overlook-scotlands-connection-to-the-classic-180988875/These 600-Year-Old Chinese Surgical Instruments Are Coated in an Early Local Anesthetic—Carefully Extracted From a Poisonous Planthttps://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/