Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Disease

Roughly six million Americans have Alzheimer's disease.

FDA Fully Approves First Drug Meant to Slow Alzheimer’s Disease

The drug showed promise in an 18-month clinical trial, but some experts have expressed concerns about its safety and cost

Craig's closet was unveiled at St. Vincent's Triangle earlier this month.

LGBTQ+ Pride

New Sculpture Comes to New York City’s AIDS Memorial Park

“Craig’s closet” stands near the former site of St. Vincent’s, a hospital at the center of the city’s AIDS epidemic

None

Women Who Shaped History

How an 1800s Midwife Solved a Poisonous Mystery

For decades before Doctor Anna’s discovery, “milk sickness” terrorized the Midwest, killing thousands of Americans on the frontier

The new research sequenced the genomes of more than 230 primate species, 58 percent of which are threatened with extinction.

What the Largest-Ever Study of Primate DNA Reveals About Ourselves

The findings cover not only conservation and primate evolution, but also human health and diseases

Because moose are largely solitary, it's unlikely a rabies outbreak will occur in Alaska's population, according to officials.

First Rabid Moose Recorded in Alaska Was Stumbling Through a Town

The large mammal likely contracted the virus from a fox, say wildlife officials

Just because history is the most dangerous place to visit doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go. It’s also the most interesting. You just need a guide.

Could You Survive the Black Death, the Sack of Rome and Other Historical Catastrophes?

A new book advises readers how to successfully navigate deadly disasters of the past

The toilet discovered at the House of Ahiel

New Research

Iron Age Residents of Jerusalem Suffered From Dysentery

A new analysis of 2,500-year-old toilets has found early evidence of a harmful parasite

Colorized scanning electron micrograph of a cell (green) infected with SARS-COV-2 virus particles (yellow), isolated from a patient sample.

Scientists Identify 12 Major Symptoms of Long Covid

The effort is a step toward accelerating research and finding treatments for the debilitating condition

An MRI of the brain of a person with Alzheimer's not connected to the new study.

A Man’s Rare Genetic Mutation May Have Prevented Alzheimer’s for Decades

Scientists hope the findings could lead to treatments for the memory-destroying disease

A Babylonian clay model dated to 1800 B.C.E. shows a nude couple on a couch engaged in sex and kissing.

Humanity’s First Recorded Kiss Was Earlier Than We Thought

Ancient texts suggest romantic smooching, and likely the diseases it transmitted, were widespread in Mesopotamia

A diver takes a rubbing of John Greer’s gravestone underwater at Dry Tortugas National Park.

Cool Finds

Quarantine Hospital and Cemetery Found Underwater Off the Coast of Florida

Before it was submerged, a small island was home to 19th-century yellow fever patients

A pharmacist delivers a Covid-19 booster shot in Chicago during a clinic for seniors.

Covid-19

When Should I Get Another Covid Booster?

Here’s what you need to know about getting your next vaccine

Melanoma cancer cells under a microscope

New mRNA Vaccine Shows Promise Against Skin Cancer

Research suggests the personalized vaccine, paired with an immunotherapy drug, can reduce melanoma recurrence in high-risk patients

Kathleen Corradi, New York City's new director of rodent mitigation, at a press conference on April 12, 2023.

New York City’s First ‘Rat Czar’ Will Fight Its Rodents

Kathleen Corradi says she will “bring a science- and systems-based approach” to the job

An analysis of genetic samples taken in 2020 from a market in Wuhan, China, found both the coronavirus and raccoon dog DNA.

Genetic Evidence Ties Covid’s Origin to Raccoon Dogs

New data support the theory that the virus causing Covid-19 first spread to humans from animals

Since the pandemic began, the country has implemented strict zero-Covid poicies.

China Fully Reopens to Travelers After Three Years of Closures

Hoping to boost its tourism industry, the country is now issuing all types of visas

To collect a saliva sample, technicians instruct a person to tilt their head for two to five minutes and spit the accumulated saliva into a sterile tube. The saliva-filled tube is kept on ice and sent to the laboratory to test for the presence of biomarkers for cancer or other diseases.

Is Saliva the Next Frontier in Cancer Detection?

Scientists are finding tumor signals in spit that could be key to developing diagnostic tests for various types of cancer

A worker catches chickens at a market in Cambodia, where a girl recently died from avian influenza.

Bird Flu Causes the Death of an 11-Year-Old in Cambodia

A father and daughter both contracted avian influenza, the first cases in the country since 2014

Two brothers’ remains were found buried together under the floorboards of their home. One had a hole in his skull consistent with surgery.

This Man Underwent Brain Surgery 3,500 Years Ago

Researchers discovered a punctured skull below the floor of a home in what is now Israel

An image taken through a microscope of bone marrow tissue. To cure the patient of HIV, researchers destroyed his bone marrow cells and gave him a donation of stem cells with an HIV-resistant mutation.

Patient Cured of HIV After Stem Cell Transplant, Researchers Say

He is at least the third person cured in this way, which would likely be too risky for patients who don’t also have cancer

Page 9 of 40