Articles tagged as Disease | Smithsonian Magazine

The Two Brains at the Forefront of the Fight Against Alzheimer’s

Rudolph Tanzi and Doo Yeon Kim have invented a revolutionary new tool to study the mysteries of the disease and counter the coming epidemic of dementia

December 2015

Saiga antelope with two calves at the Black Earth Nature Reserve in Kalmykia, Russia

More than half of the world’s endangered saiga antelopes died suddenly on the Central Asian steppes last spring

November 5, 2015

A Disaster in the Kitchen Leads to a Breakthrough in the Lab

After a failed attempt at making cotton candy, biomedical engineer Chris Moraes thought to use sugar to mold silicone and study human cells

November 5, 2015

Ask Smithsonian

Ask Smithsonian: Is the World Due for Another Massive Plague Outbreak?

It is highly unlikely, experts say, but a plague-based bioterror assault is another matter

October 22, 2015

This Bronze Age skull is from the Yamnaya culture, which later developed into the Afanasievo culture of Central Asia, one of the peoples that carried early strains of plague.

New Research

Plague Was Infecting Humans 3,300 Years Earlier Than Thought

DNA from Bronze Age victims helped pinpoint mutations that allowed the disease to go from localized illness to deadly pandemic

October 22, 2015

Jaundice is usually treated with short-wave blue light.

The Innovative Spirit

These Plastic Canopies Could Save Thousands of Babies

Researchers have developed sunlight-filtering canopies as a low-tech treatment for jaundice in newborns

September 25, 2015

More than 200 concussions occurred in last year's NFL season.

Innovative Spirit Health Care

The Future of Concussions: How 5 New Advances Could Change Treatment

Scientists and engineers are working on ways to diagnose, treat and prevent head injuries

September 10, 2015

An illustration of the dengue virus, which is transmitted by mosquito bites.

A Single Protein Is the Root of Dengue’s Virulence

But researchers who found the culprit say it could be a clue in developing a vaccine for the mosquito-borne virus

September 9, 2015

New Research

See How the Plague Swept Through London

New research shows that during mass burials, bodies were given more respect than previously thought

September 1, 2015

Knut, the star of the Berlin Zoo, died due to swelling in his brain.

New Research

Knut the Polar Bear’s Mysterious Death Finally Solved

The famed Berlin Zoo bear suffered from an autoimmune disease that until now has only been known to occur in humans

August 27, 2015

A "kissing bug," the insect whose bite can transmit the parasite that causes Chagas disease

New Research

Why Infectious Tropical Diseases Are Returning to America

Climate, geography and economy are just a few risk factors

August 14, 2015

Female saiga at the Black Earth Nature Reserve in Russia in 2009

Experts are closer to an answer

August 13, 2015

Acropora species, like those pictured above in Malaysia, seem to be targeted by a disease that destroys coral tissue.

New Research

A Mysterious Disease Is Killing Corals

Researchers still haven’t cracked the mystery of “white syndrome”

August 12, 2015

An actor, playing the role of a vaccine against Ebola, performs at a school in Abidja, Ivory Coast, last September

New Research

Experimental Ebola Vaccine Gives 100 Percent Protection in Trial

An unusual trial design helped prove the vaccine safe and effective in less than a year

July 31, 2015

The vaccine isn’t as effective as hoped however, and needs several more approvals

July 25, 2015

Trending Today

Why Are People Still Using Asbestos?

The story holds parallels with that of the tobacco industry

July 23, 2015

An Anopholes mosquito, the vector for malaria, taking a blood meal from a tasty human.

New Research

Mosquitoes Can Carry, and Deliver, a Double Dose of Malaria

Insects that are already carrying one strain are more likely to pick up a second infection and harbor higher numbers of parasites

July 16, 2015

Some scientists think that humans have aided the spread of ticks that carry Lyme bacteria in a few different ways.

Lyme Disease is Spreading, and It’s People’s Fault

Thanks to climate change and human population growth, cases have been on the rise for decades

July 13, 2015

A scanning electron micrograph of Yersinia pestis bacteria

New Research

These Two Mutations Turned Not-so-Deadly Bacteria Into the Plague

The ancestor of the bacterium responsible for the Black Plague isn’t nearly as deadly

July 6, 2015

CDC spreads the word about the peril of pee in pools

June 26, 2015