Articles tagged as Disease and Illnesses

One of the best-known paintings of the doomed Franklin expedition. Full title: "They forged the last link with their lives: HMS ‘Erebus’ and ‘Terror’, 1849–1850."

A Dentist Weighs in On What Really Doomed the Franklin Expedition

Addison’s disease may have blackened the explorers’ gums and hastened their demise, proposes a history-obsessed dentistry professor

August 22, 2017

No ornamental fish antibiotics are regulated by the FDA.

This Is Why Taking Fish Medicine Is Truly a Bad Idea

Those who misuse aquatic antibiotics are playing a dangerous game with their health, doctors and veterinarians say

August 16, 2017

The early days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic were marked with stigma and confusion.

The epidemic’s early days were perplexing and terrifying

July 3, 2017

Animals like prairie dogs can play host to plague-infected fleas.

The deadly disease can be spread by household pets

June 28, 2017

A cocktail of steroids and vitamin C, often found in citrus and leafy green produce, might hold the key to treating sepsis. Or, clinical trials might prove it overhyped.

New Research

Could Vitamin C Be the Cure for Deadly Infections?

A new protocol that includes this common nutrient could save millions of lives—and has already sparked a raging debate among doctors

June 27, 2017

Over 200,000 cases of cholera have been documented in Yemen thus far.

More than 200,000 cases have been reported in a country racked by civil war

June 26, 2017

The Little Brown Bat’s Mighty Talent

Accounting for body size, the little brown bat lives longest of any mammal–but no one knows why

June 22, 2017

Cyanobacteria, sometimes known as blue-green algae, are single-celled organisms that use photosynthesis to produce food just like plants do.

New Research

Need to Fix a Heart Attack? Try Photosynthesis

Injecting plant-like creatures into a rat’s heart can jumpstart the recovery process, study finds

June 19, 2017

In the past half-century, this tiny object has gone from feminist icon to dangerous villain to, incredibly, feminist icon once again. And no, we're not sure why the background is pink.

From Medical Pariah to Feminist Icon: The Story of the IUD

After decades of being shunned by women and doctors alike, this T-shaped device is enjoying a new surge of popularity

June 15, 2017

When Fresh Air Went Out of Fashion at Hospitals

How the hospital went from luxury resort to windowless box

June 14, 2017

Pasteur took blood samples from a cow, a sheep and a horse who had died of anthrax.

How Sheep’s Blood Helped Disprove This Wacky Nineteenth-Century Theory of Illness

Scientists didn’t understand that bacteria caused disease, but then enter Louis Pasteur

June 13, 2017

Trapped inside this ice core is evidence that suggests humans have been polluting the atmosphere with lead for thousands of years.

New Research

Humans Polluted the Air Much Earlier Than Previously Thought

Ice cores suggest that humans have been polluting the air with lead for at least 2,000 years

June 2, 2017

A new vaccine is ready for action in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

It’s the newest tool in health workers’ arsenal against the contagious virus

May 31, 2017

How Sunscreen Protects Your Skin’s DNA

The chemistry behind this protective lotion reflects a modern understanding of the danger of ultraviolet rays

May 31, 2017

"Oh, hello. I didn't see you there. I was just catching up on my latest diary entry."

Samuel Pepys Was England’s First Blogger

The famed blogger—okay, diarist—told historians so much about 17th-century daily life in England, but he could have told us so much more

May 31, 2017

It’s common in kitchens, but a nationwide shortage is endangering more than baked goods

May 25, 2017

Aubrey de Grey says, “There’s no such thing as aging gracefully.”

Can Human Mortality Really Be Hacked?

Backed by the digital fortunes of Silicon Valley, biotech companies are brazenly setting out to “cure” aging

June 2017

Chocolate, coffee and tea all played a role in overturning a medical theory that had dominated the Western world for more than a millennium.

How Coffee, Chocolate and Tea Overturned a 1,500-Year-Old Medical Mindset

The humoral system dominated medicine since the Ancient Greeks—but it was no match for these New World beverages

May 17, 2017

A nurse suits up in Liberia before entering an Ebola red zone in 2015. Now, a single case of Ebola has been confirmed in Congo by the World Health Organization.

A single death has been confirmed—now public health officials must keep an outbreak from becoming an epidemic

May 12, 2017

Drinking fountain on the Halifax County Courthouse (North Carolina) in April 1938.

New Research

Racism Harms Children’s Health, Survey Finds

Racism may not be a disease, exactly. But a growing body of research finds that it has lasting physical and mental effects on its victims

May 5, 2017