Articles tagged as Disease | Smithsonian Magazine

Everyone Poops. Some Animals Eat It. Why?

Consuming feces can benefit not only the health and microbiomes of some animals, but also their environments

November 4, 2016

New Research

Smoking a Pack a Day for a Year Leaves 150 Mutations in Every Lung Cell

Researchers quantify just how bad smoking is for you, molecularly

November 3, 2016

The Ilban people of East Borneo captured these six warrior skulls in a single battle. They tossed the heads into a fire pit to cure and then wrapped them in vines to suspend their prize from the rafters of the community longhouse.

Explore Haunting Relics of Death With New Photography Book

Placenta-wiping fetuses are only the tip of the frightberg

October 31, 2016

Scientists are using genetic sequencing to reconstruct how AIDS hit the United States in the 1970s and 1980s.

New Research

Genetic Sleuthing Clears ‘Patient Zero’ of Blame for U.S. AIDS Epidemic

Scientists debunk the myth of the man once thought to have brought the virus to the states

October 27, 2016

Tombac, a form of tobacco, grows on a farm in Darfur. The plant could one day be used to create cheaper, better anti-malarial drugs.

New Research

Scientists Hijacked Tobacco Plants to Make Malaria Drugs

A promising new advance could make the world’s best anti-malarial drug more widely available

October 24, 2016

New Research

Neanderthals May Have Given Us Both Good Genes and Nasty Diseases

DNA analysis shows ancient hominds transmitted genes that may have helped us adapt quicker to Europe and Asia. They also gave us HPV.

October 20, 2016

One of the Wentworth elms rediscovered at Holyroodhouse

Cool Finds

“Extinct” Variety of Tree Rediscovered at Queen’s Palace in Scotland

Two Wentworth elms identified at Holyroodhouse escaped Dutch elm disease, which destroyed millions of other trees

October 6, 2016

Cool Finds

New Movie Posters Turn Scientists Into Superheroes

The Center for Infectious Disease Research recasts the fight against disease in a series of movie and comic book-style posters

September 26, 2016

Researchers fear that these normal monk seal encounters could soon grow deadly.

Why Rare Hawaiian Monk Seals Are Lining Up to Get Their Shots

Fearing devastating disease, researchers are vaccinating a wild marine mammal for the first time

September 16, 2016

New Research

This Slo-Mo Sneeze Video Shows Just How Far Spray Clouds Can Spread

Gross as it may be, by mapping the ejected sneeze droplets, researchers hope to better control the spread of disease

September 12, 2016

The pace of drug development can be key in minimizing the scale of an outbreak.

The Story of a Resurrected Antiviral Could Hold Lessons for Combating Zika

How Stanford scientists used two genetic screening techniques in tandem to unravel the mystery of a discarded antiviral

September 8, 2016

After reports of four new Zika cases, Dorchester County aerial sprayed insecticide, destroying several beekeeping operations

September 2, 2016

A illustration of a herd of hadrosaurs like the arthritic one discovered in New Jersey.

New Research

This Duck-Billed Dinosaur Had a Rare Case of Arthritis

Nothing like a bum leg

August 3, 2016

Your sub could cause that office cold to spread even more quickly.

New Research

Going Home Sick? Your Substitute Could Spread Disease More Widely

Though it may seem counterintuitive, bringing in a sub isn’t necessarily the best solution

August 2, 2016

New anti-Zika measures go way beyond bug spray.

All the Extremely Absurd Ways People Are Fighting Zika at the Rio Olympics

Donning facial masks, wearing Zika-proof uniforms and freezing sperm: Does any of this stuff actually work?

July 26, 2016

Hygiene sticks excavated at Xuanquanzhi station along the Silk Road

New Research

Ancient “Poop Sticks” Offer Clues to the Spread of Disease Along the Silk Road

The parasites found within the 2,000-year-old-feces smeared on bamboo suggest more than commodities made the trip

July 26, 2016

Athletes with Down Syndrome compete in the first-ever Olympic-style competition for people with the condition.

Cool Finds

Italy Just Hosted the First Olympics-Like Competition for People With Down Syndrome

The unique competition drew 1,000 athletes

July 25, 2016

There is an outbreak of norovirus among a group of staffers for the California delegation of the Republican National Convention in Ohio.

It’s a short-lived bug with explosive—and contagious—results

July 19, 2016

Goodbye sweet spoons, hello food safety

June 30, 2016

Scientists will attempt to edit T cells in cancer patients in the first-ever human trial of CRISPR in the United States.

The first-ever trial of CRISPR in the U.S. will test if it’s safe to edit T cells in cancer patients

June 23, 2016