Diseases

Groundbreaking research on COVID-19, cancer, diabetes, and other health concerns.

Latest in Diseases

Smallpox virus seen under microscope

Chilean mummies prove Europeans brought smallpox to the Americas

Digital generated dissolving human heart, symbolizing heart health.

Why is heart cancer so rare?

By Andrew Coletti

two women in big dresses pose wth the oranges and grapefruit in the shape of a heart.

Radiation fruit: How 1950s ‘gamma gardens’ created today’s grapefruit

By Anna Goldfield

Cochliomyia hominivorax, the New World screw worm fly, or screw-worm for short, is a species of parasitic fly that is well known for the way in which its larvae (maggots) eat the living tissue.

Smell of death could help trap invasive, cow-killing screwworms

Aerial photo of passenger cruise ship at blue sea.

No, cruise ships aren’t floating petri dishes

By Clarissa Brincat

a koala holding on to a tree

Koala nicknamed ‘teddy bear’ receives first chlamydia vaccine implant

By Margherita Bassi

Sugar free candies coming out of the bag on white background.

Can you eat too much sugar free candy? Short answer: Yes.

By Cat Rainsford

a microscope image of a parasite. it is round and red

What to know about the rise in cyclosporiasis cases

By Brandon Brown, Iqbal Pittalwala

Japanese man dressed in soccer swag cries in close up after team loses.

4 ways being a soccer fan messes with your body

By Clarissa Brincat

MADRID, SPAIN - 2023/04/14: A Barbary sheep (Ammotragus lervia), also known as aoudad, pictured in its enclosure at Madrid Zoo. (Photo by Marcos del Mazo/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Invasive sheep brought to US after WWII are making Texas bighorns sick

The tick is removed with tweezers from the baby's skin.

The dos and don’ts of removing a tick

A head shot of a pretty Feral Pigeon (Columba livia) on a blurred green background.

Pigeons are surprisingly good at detecting cancer

By Clarissa Brincat

a vet examines a lion on a surgery table

Lion undergoes double cataract surgery

By Margherita Bassi

an illustration of a sunscreen bottle shaped like a smartphone drips sunscreen into the palm of a person's hand, with the sun blazing down

Lies about sunscreen do really well on social media

By Mack DeGeurin

a painting of a young woman standing in a clamshell with angels around her

The real woman behind Botticelli’s ‘Birth of Venus’ died at only 23

By Laura Baisas

a black and white photograph of two skeletons in a grave

Oldest traces of plague discovered in prehistoric teens buried in Russia

By Margherita Bassi

a tick in a toilet with a red circle with a line through it

Don’t flush ticks down the toilet

By Laura Baisas

A Raccoon walking along the edge of water fishing for food

Raccoons might be spreading diarrhea-causing bacteria in Japan

a brown tick on a blade of grass

Fact or myth? Ticks can drop out of trees like paratroopers.

By Margherita Bassi

a mosquito biting human skin

Mosquitoes can learn that DEET means dinner is served

By Laura Baisas