Disease and Illnesses

A 2,000-year-old human skeleton found at the Jabuticabeira II burial site in Brazil.

DNA From 2,000-Year-Old Skeletons Hints at the Origins of Syphilis

In contrast to a common theory, new findings suggest Columbus-led expeditions may not have transported syphilis to Europe from the Americas, though they cannot disprove the claim with certainty

Casts of the ancient chewing gum pieces, which were found in Sweden and date to between 9,540 and 9,890 years ago.

Prehistoric Chewing Gum Reveals Diet, Oral Health of Stone Age Teenagers

From preserved DNA, researchers identified which plants and animals the young people would have eaten or used for making clothing—and they found one case of a severe gum infection

People with long Covid sit in the audience at a U.S. Senate hearing about the condition on January 18.

Scientists Find Indicators in Blood Linked to Long Covid, Hinting at Future Treatments

One part of the immune system appeared to be overly active in long Covid patients in a small study, a finding researchers hope could help diagnose or treat the condition

Genes that significantly increase risk of developing multiple sclerosis were introduced to northwestern Europe by herders who migrated from the east around 5,000 years ago.

Ancient DNA From Eurasian Herders Sheds Light on the Origins of Multiple Sclerosis

Genetic variants linked to the risk of MS were brought to Europe during a migration around 5,000 years ago, a new study finds—and they might have helped herders survive

A Tuskegee study subject gets his blood drawn in the mid-20th century.

What Newly Digitized Records Reveal About the Tuskegee Syphilis Study

The archival trove chronicles the extreme measures administrators took to ensure Black sharecroppers did not receive treatment for the venereal disease

Around 80 percent of pregnant people experience morning sickness, or bouts of nausea and vomiting during pregnancy.

Why Most Pregnant People Experience Morning Sickness—and How It Could Be Treated

A hormone produced by the fetus may induce nausea and vomiting during pregnancy, a new study finds

Our ten favorite science books of the year covered everything from astronomy to undersea exploration.

The Ten Best Science Books of 2023

From stories on the depths of the ocean to the stars in the sky, these are the works that moved us the most this year

An illustration of life in medieval Cambridge

'Bone Biographies' Reconstruct Lives of Medieval Cambridge Commoners

Researchers have used skeletal remains to compile information about the lives of ordinary residents of the city

A mule deer carcass in Yellowstone National Park tested positive for the fatal neurological illness known as chronic wasting disease.

'Zombie Deer Disease' Documented in Yellowstone for the First Time

The neurological condition, called chronic wasting disease, has a 100 percent fatality rate in the deer, moose and elk it infects

Experts recommend that dog owners make sure their pets are up to date on their vaccines and reducing their contact with large numbers of other dogs. 

Hundreds of Dogs Across the U.S. Are Falling Ill With Unknown Respiratory Illness

Researchers are not sure whether a virus or bacteria is causing the pets' ailments

A candlelit vigil on January 13, 2022, in Washington, D.C., for nurses who died during the Covid-19 pandemic. A new study finds that Covid-19 was the leading reason for a growing gap in life expectancy between U.S. men and women from 2019 to 2021.

Women Now Live Nearly Six Years Longer Than Men in the United States

Disparities from Covid-19 and opioid overdose deaths are major contributors to the widening gap, according to a new study

Ketamine and esketamine are the only psychedelics currently being used clinically with eating disorder patients.

Are Psychedelics the Future of Eating Disorder Treatment?

The drugs have been shown to reduce depression and anxiety symptoms and make individuals more flexible in their thinking

Detail of the rediscovered "fiend" in Joshua Reynolds' painting The Death of Cardinal Beaufort (1789)

Hidden Demon Revealed in the Shadows of a Joshua Reynolds Painting

Conservators have restored the malignant spirit, which generated controversy among 18th-century audiences

A blood smear of a patient with sickle cell. The crescent-shaped sickle cells can be seen in the smear.

Gene-Editing Treatment for Sickle Cell Disease Moves Closer to Approval

FDA advisors said the benefits seem to outweigh any possible risks, and the agency will decide whether to approve it by December 8

Aedes aegypti mosquitoes can spread dengue fever to humans via bites.

'Extremely Rare' Case of Locally Acquired Dengue Fever Detected in California

Officials say the risk of exposure to the virus, which is spread by mosquito bites, is very low for residents

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 7.5 percent of all adults in the U.S. had experienced long Covid.

Reduced Serotonin Levels Could Cause Long Covid Symptoms, Study Finds

Researchers identify a mechanism through which inflammation related to the virus leads to lower levels of the neurotransmitter

Temperature varies from person to person and it differs throughout the day.

What's Really the Average Human Body Temperature?

Long thought to be 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit, the measurement is highly personal and varies depending on time of day, among other factors, new research finds

More than 52 million birds died in the U.S. because of avian flu outbreaks in 2022.

Editing Chicken Genes Could Slow the Spread of Bird Flu, Study Suggests

Using CRISPR technology, researchers edited a protein gene that increased chickens' resistance to the virus. But the process is far from practical use

Patients with the 1918 flu at a barracks hospital in Colorado.

The 1918 Flu Hit Frailer People the Hardest, Study Suggests

Skeletons of people who died before and during the 20th-century pandemic counter the narrative that young and healthy people were targeted by the disease

A photo from the announcemnent of this year's Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. The researchers discovered a way to edit synthetic mRNA so that it could pass by cells' defense mechanisms, allowing it to be used in Covid-19 vaccines.

Nobel Prize in Medicine Honors Two Scientists Who Enabled mRNA Vaccines

Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman discovered a way to edit mRNA so it could be used in vaccines without getting attacked and destroyed by the body

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