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Disease

Previous excavations at the site have revealed raven talons, toad bones and even bronze cauldrons filled with the remains of ritually sacrificed puppies

Cool Finds

This Ancient 10-Year-Old Received a ‘Vampire Burial’ to Prevent Return From the Dead

The malaria-stricken Roman child was buried in the ominously named Cemetery of the Babies with a stone inserted into its mouth

Swedish researchers used phase-contrast imaging to examine the soft tissue of a 2,400-year-old mummified hand

Now We Don’t Have to Unravel Mummies to Study Them at a Cellular Level

Phase-contrast imaging enabled researchers to non-invasively examine a mummified hand’s blood vessels, skin layers and connective tissue

Urban cats are more likely to hunt down birds, mice than rats

Cats Are Surprisingly Bad at Killing Rats

Over a 79-day period, feral felines killed just two rats, instead opting to hunt less challenging prey

Females that inherited two copies of a mutated gene developed antenna and claspers similar to males, rendering them unable to lay eggs or bite their prey

Gene Drive Technology Eliminates Malaria-Transmitting Mosquito Population

Researchers introduced a sterilization mutation that wiped out lab populations in seven to 11 generations

An aircraft hull travels the parade route in Philadelphia

World War I: 100 Years Later

Philadelphia Threw a WWI Parade That Gave Thousands of Onlookers the Flu

The city sought to sell bonds to pay for the war effort, while bringing its citizens together during the infamous pandemic

A monarch on tropical milkweed.

New Research

How This Popular Garden Plant May Spread Parasites That Harm Monarchs

Non-native tropical milkweed encourage year-round monarch populations which harbor a deadly parasite for the imperiled insect

The airways inside the human lung.

Tracking Down the Origins of Cystic Fibrosis in Ancient Europe

CF is the most common genetic disease among Caucasians, and how it became so widespread is something of a mystery

An artistic rendering of Edward Jenner vaccinating eight-year-old James Phipps in 1796.

The Mysterious Origins of the Smallpox Vaccine

Though the disease was declared eradicated in 1980, the era of smallpox is far from over

New Research

Gene Editing Treats Muscular Dystrophy in Dogs

CRISPR gene editing has relieved symptoms of a canine version of Duchenne muscular dystrophy in four puppies, raising hope for humans

Haze in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

New Research

Air Pollution Is Stealing a Year of Life From People Around the Globe

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

A pair of Aedes albopticus mosquitoes mating. These mosquitoes are very closely related to the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes used in the WeRobotics/IAEA trials, and both can carry Zika, yellow fever and dengue. The female is much larger.

Do Not Fear the Drones Air-Dropping 50,000 Mosquitoes From Above

These horny buggers are actually here to help us fight the spread of disease

New Research

Did George Orwell Pick Up TB During the Spanish Civil War?

A new technique was able to pull tuberculosis bacteria and morphine residue from a letter the author sent in 1938, ten years befor his diagnosis

An Australian City Beats Dengue Fever Using Special Mosquitoes

There has not been a case of the disease in Townsville for four years after the release of insects carrying a naturally occurring bacteria

When Bsal first arrived in the Netherlands, the pathogen wiped out 96 percent of the resident population of fire salamanders in a few years.

How American Scientists Are Planning to Thwart a Salamander Apocalypse

Yet another fungus threatens to decimate amphibians in North America, but this time, scientists stand ready

Scientists with Smithsonian’s Global Health Program examine a wrinkle-lipped bat, which can harbor a never-before-seen virus.

New Research

A Never-Before-Seen Virus Has Been Detected in Myanmar’s Bats

The discovery of two new viruses related to those that cause SARS and MERS marks PREDICT’s first milestone in the region

A kissing bug with an attached radio transmitter at a private home in Texas.

New Research

How Tiny Trackers Could Help Humans Avoid Kissing Bugs’ Deadly Smooch

The insects, which spread Chagas disease, can now be tracked with miniature radios to stop the spread of illness

Before she tackled tuberculosis, Sabin helped rethink the lymphatic system and wrote an acclaimed anatomy textbook.

Florence Sabin Pioneered Her Way in Medical Science, Then Made Sure Other Women Could Do the Same

A scientist and so much more, she helped lay the groundwork for curing tuberculosis but still found time to promote women doctors

HHV-6, one of the viruses found in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.

New Research

Childhood Virus May Have a Role in Alzheimer’s Disease

A study of 1,000 brains found two common types of herpes viruses were more prevalent in those suffering from the dementia-inducing disease

A wildlife biologist checks a big brown bat for signs of white nose syndrome, which can cause tears or even dime-sized holes in their delicate wings.

Three Ways Bats Could Bounce Back From Devastating White Nose Syndrome

Scientists are testing light therapy, a fungus-killing fungus—and maybe, doing nothing

New Research

Something Is Killing Off Africa’s Largest Baobab Trees

In the last dozen years, four of the 13 largest, and likely oldest, trees have died. Another five are ailing

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