Disease and Illnesses

Take heart: researchers are probing how the hard-hearted get that way, and whether they can be turned back.

How the Heart Hardens, Biologically

With age and injury, the soft tissues of the heart can turn to bone. Can this deadly process be reversed?

Grégoire Courtine, an author on the new study, holds a silicon model of a primate’s brain, a microelectrode array and a pulse generator. The brain-spine interface consists of elements like these.

A New Wireless Brain Implant Helps Paralyzed Monkeys Walk. Humans Could Be Next.

One small step for monkeys, one potential leap for humans

Smoking leaves permanent scars on cells, new research finds.

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

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

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

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

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.

Scientists Hijacked Tobacco Plants to Make Malaria Drugs

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

Yoshinori Osumi, the 2016 winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

Japanese Scientist Wins Nobel Prize for Discovering How Cells Cannibalize Worn Out Parts

Like stripping old engine parts away

Welcome the First "Three-Parent" Baby Into the World

Fertility doctor John Zhang and his team transplanted DNA from one egg to another to prevent a fatal mitochondrial disease

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

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

How badly do you want those fries?

What Does Science Say About the Five-Second Rule? It’s Complicated

The real world is a lot more nuanced than this simple rule reflects

Diesel fumes, like the ones emitted by trains, vehicles and industrial operations, are thought to be to blame for magnetite in the human brain.

Your Brain Is Full of Magnetic Minerals, and You Might Not Like the Reason Why

Blame air pollution for the microscopic minerals that go up your nose and into your noggin

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

Playing the Bagpipes Can Literally Kill You

Known as “Bagpipe Lung,” the reaction can wreak havoc on your respiratory system

The device can scan the brain while a person walks.

This Helmet Shows What's Going On Inside a Person's Brain

Researchers say it could help detect Alzheimer's and even explain why some people have exceptional talents

When It Comes to West Nile Virus, Atlanta's Cardinals May Be Our Feathered Saviors

New research suggests the bright red birds are viral “super-suppressors”

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

This Duck-Billed Dinosaur Had a Rare Case of Arthritis

Nothing like a bum leg

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

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

Haiqiang Chen tests his UV oven at the University of Delaware

Summer Produce Could Last Longer With These Five New Technologies

Scientists seek solutions to slow the inevitable process of decomposition

A new type of antibiotic is effective against antibiotic-resistant bacteria like Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

Scientists Find New Type of Antibiotics Hiding in the Human Nose

This whiff of success could be just the beginning of many new antibiotics

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