Disease

One surprising group is getting colon cancer at rates not seen since the 1890s.

New Study Shows Sharp Rise in Colorectal Cancers Among Young Adults

Its authors are not sure why the cancers have risen so much—only that they’re increasing every year

The last natural case of smallpox was recorded in Somalia in 1977.

A Child From 17th-Century Europe Might Have Rewritten the History of Smallpox

The deadly scourge goes back for centuries, but how many?

Yellow Fever Outbreak in Congo and Angola Finally Comes to an End

After almost 1,000 confirmed cases of the disease, the WHO has declared outbreak over

Seagrass grows near a village in the Spermonde Archipelago in Indonesia. Researchers there recently discovered that coastal areas with seagrass have less bacteria than grassless areas.

Seagrasses Reduce Bacteria in Polluted Waters

A new study suggests the mesmerizing fields could be important for the health of humans and sea creatures alike

Henrietta Lacks was a real person—and her cancer cells have led to many medical discoveries.

New Claims Prove the Henrietta Lacks Controversy Is Far From Over

The family of the woman who changed science forever is seeking compensation

World Health Organization workers gear up to go into an old Ebola isolation ward in Lagos, Nigeria.

Superspreaders Caused Much of the 2014 Ebola Epidemic

Just three percent of infected people caused two thirds of overall infections

After the defeat of Cleopatra's forces by Octavian (later Augustus, emperor of Rome), the Egyptian queen and her lover Marc Antony fled to Egypt. In Shakespeare's imagining, one of Cleopatra's greatest fears was the the horrid breath of the Romans. Shown here: "The Death of Cleopatra" by Reginald Arthur, 1892.

The History and Science Behind Your Terrible Breath

Persistent mouth-stink has been dousing the flames of passion for millennia. Why haven’t we come up with a cure?

Saiga at the watering hole in a federal nature reserve in Kalmykia, Russia

A Quarter of the World’s Saiga Antelope Are Dead

A virus is decimating an already fragile species

A view into Flint drinking water pipes, showing various types of iron corrosion and rust.

Scientists Now Know Exactly How Lead Got Into Flint's Water

New report points blames corrosion and warns that fixing lead poisoning nationwide will require more work than we hoped

Chinese researchers have harnessed the power of deep learning to help doctors identify this rare disease.

Can Eagle-Eyed Artificial Intelligence Help Prevent Children From Going Blind?

Deep learning pinpoints cataracts more accurately than humans, and could help prevent this form of vision loss in children

Robo-Dermatologist Diagnoses Skin Cancer With Expert Accuracy

A neural network can recognize and categorize skin lesions as well as MDs and may lead to a cancer-screening mobile app

Doctors suggest that women get Pap smears to screen for cervical cancer. But should the guidelines be changed?

More Women Die of Cervical Cancer Than Previously Thought

Past studies significantly underestimated cervical cancer deaths—and racial disparities

For British food scientists, toast color is no longer a matter of personal preference—it's a matter of health.

Why Food Experts Are Warning Not to Burn Your Toast

Is it time to bid brown toast farewell?

Skeleton of the Trojan woman

Remains From 800-Year-Old "Trojan Woman" Record Early Maternal Infection

Bacterial nodes on the skeleton and DNA from her fetus show the woman likely died from an infection of her placenta

Smallmouth salamanders reproduce sexually, which may give them certain advantages.

When Is Sex Worth Going the Distance? When You’re a Salamander, Apparently

Asexual amphibians may be less equipped to handle modern threats than their sexual counterparts

Standing water in urban areas is ideal breeding ground for mosquitoes that can spread dengue and other tropical diseases.

To Fight Deadly Dengue Fever in Humans, Create Dengue-Resistant Mosquitoes

How manipulating the immune systems of mosquitoes can halt the spread of dengue virus

Manu Prakesh spins his Paperfuge

How a Children's Toy Could Help Fight Malaria

A 20-cent whirligig-like centrifuge could help doctors in remote regions diagnose disease

If only the three blind mice had enjoyed access to 21st century retinal transplant technology.

These Blind Mice Just Got a Vision Boost Thanks to a New Transplant Technique. Could Blind Humans Be Next?

Transplanting an entire piece of retinal tissue into the eyes of blind mice appears to work better than just transplanting cells

According to one group, animals consume eight times more antibiotics than human beings each year.

It Just Got Harder to Give Antibiotics to Farm Animals

New regulations take aim at antibiotic resistance

President Franklin D. Roosevelt exits a car during a campaign stop in California. Roosevelt was the first U.S. president with a visible disability, caused by polio.

People Mailed Dimes 'By The Truck Load' to FDR's White House to Cure Polio

He was America’s first and only president with a visible—and known—disability

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