Disease and Illnesses

Yes, oysters can get herpes.

Oysters Can Get Herpes, And It's Killing Them

A deadly virus threatens to decimate oyster populations around the world

Tapeworms, like this one imaged using a scanning electron micrograph, weaken their victims but don't typically kill them.

The World's Parasites Are Going Extinct. Here’s Why That’s a Bad Thing

Up to one-third of parasite species could vanish over the next few decades, disrupting ecosystems and even human health

Pharmacists once used chocolate syrup to mask the bitter flavor of their remedies—and make a little money on the side.

The Unlikely Medical History of Chocolate Syrup

How the sundae staple went from treatment to just treat

Scientists can study stress in these petite primates with simply a few strands of their hair.

Stress Is Killing These Teeny Lemurs, and The Story Is In Their Hair

Sampling the fur of Madagascar’s gray mouse lemurs reveal a bevy of environmental pressures

Paul Ehrlich was the first to take a chemical approach to immunity.

The First Syphilis Cure Was the First 'Magic Bullet'

The term 'magic bullet' once just meant a targeted drug

People were just starting to gain an obsession with apocalypse fiction when Mary Shelley wrote "The Last Man."

The Author of ‘Frankenstein’ Also Wrote a Post-Apocalyptic Plague Novel

‘The Last Man’ was derided in its time for being too grim, but today it would fit in with a growing genre of dystopian fiction

Anandibai Joshee (left), Kei Okami and Tabat M. Islambooly, students from the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania.

This 19th Century "Lady Doctor" Helped Usher Indian Women Into Medicine

Ananabai Joshee dedicated her career to treating women and helped blaze a path for international doctors training in the U.S.

A painting of Franklin’s return to Philadelphia from Europe in 1785 shows him flanked by his son-in-law (in red), his daughter and Benjamin Bache (in blue), the grandson he’d taken to France as a sort of surrogate son.

What Led Benjamin Franklin to Live Estranged From His Wife for Nearly Two Decades?

A stunning new theory suggests that a debate over the failed treatment of their son's smallpox was the culprit

One of the best-known paintings of the doomed Franklin expedition. Full title: "They forged the last link with their lives: HMS ‘Erebus’ and ‘Terror’, 1849–1850."

A Dentist Weighs in On What Really Doomed the Franklin Expedition

Addison’s disease may have blackened the explorers' gums and hastened their demise, proposes a history-obsessed dentistry professor

No ornamental fish antibiotics are regulated by the FDA.

This Is Why Taking Fish Medicine Is Truly a Bad Idea

Those who misuse aquatic antibiotics are playing a dangerous game with their health, doctors and veterinarians say

The early days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic were marked with stigma and confusion.

This Was the First Major News Article on HIV/AIDS

The epidemic’s early days were perplexing and terrifying

Animals like prairie dogs can play host to plague-infected fleas.

Plague Infects Three People in New Mexico

The deadly disease can be spread by household pets

A cocktail of steroids and vitamin C, often found in citrus and leafy green produce, might hold the key to treating sepsis. Or, clinical trials might prove it overhyped.

Could Vitamin C Be the Cure for Deadly Infections?

A new protocol that includes this common nutrient could save millions of lives—and has already sparked a raging debate among doctors

Over 200,000 cases of cholera have been documented in Yemen thus far.

Yemen's Deadly Cholera Crisis is the Worst in the World

More than 200,000 cases have been reported in a country racked by civil war

Small but mighty!

The Little Brown Bat’s Mighty Talent

Accounting for body size, the little brown bat lives longest of any mammal–but no one knows why

Cyanobacteria, sometimes known as blue-green algae, are single-celled organisms that use photosynthesis to produce food just like plants do.

Need to Fix a Heart Attack? Try Photosynthesis

Injecting plant-like creatures into a rat's heart can jumpstart the recovery process, study finds

In the past half-century, this tiny object has gone from feminist icon to dangerous villain to, incredibly, feminist icon once again. And no, we're not sure why the background is pink.

From Medical Pariah to Feminist Icon: The Story of the IUD

After decades of being shunned by women and doctors alike, this T-shaped device is enjoying a new surge of popularity

When Fresh Air Went Out of Fashion at Hospitals

How the hospital went from luxury resort to windowless box

Pasteur took blood samples from a cow, a sheep and a horse who had died of anthrax.

How Sheep's Blood Helped Disprove This Wacky Nineteenth-Century Theory of Illness

Scientists didn't understand that bacteria caused disease, but then enter Louis Pasteur

Trapped inside this ice core is evidence that suggests humans have been polluting the atmosphere with lead for thousands of years.

Humans Polluted the Air Much Earlier Than Previously Thought

Ice cores suggest that humans have been polluting the air with lead for at least 2,000 years

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