Diseases

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V0015163ER Two hooded figures and a King grieve over a dead person whil Credit: Wellcome Library, London. Wellcome Images images@wellcome.ac.uk http://wellcomeimages.org Two hooded figures and a King grieve over a dead person while another masked figure comes to cleanse the room of the plague. Woodcut by V. Solis. Published: - Copyrighted work available under Creative Commons Attribution only licence CC BY 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Centuries of Black Death misinformation started with a poem

A vintage photo collage featuring an oval cut-out image of seven people—three men and four women, who appear to be young college students—dressed in 1920s-era clothing. They are standing close together and looking at the camera. The background is a texture of yellowed, old newsprint with blurred text about a sleep experiment.

In 1925, seven students went 60 hours without sleep—for science

By Bill Gourgey

Side-by-side of a coiled green mamba and a white llama

The secret ingredient in a snake antivenom? Llamas.

a dolphin blowing bubbles under water

Dolphins may be getting an Alzheimer’s-like disease due to this neurotoxin

By Margherita Bassi

Skull of a soldier from the Napoleon army next to a button from a soldier's uniform.

The real killer of Napoleon’s army revealed by DNA testing

pinworm under microscope

Ancient poop from Mexico’s ‘Cave of the Dead Children’ teems with parasites

By Laura Baisas

Close up of bearded dragon against black background

Reptile ‘pee crystals’ might help treat kidney stones and gout

Kidney transplant in container

Donor organ’s blood type altered for the first time

several large black antsDeposit Photos

Ants ‘social distance’ during a pandemic

By Margherita Bassi

bat hanging upside down from tree branch at night

Why do bats spread so many diseases? They’re evolutionary marvels.

a woman using nail clippers to cut her big toe nail

Scientists need your toenails

By Laura Baisas

Smelt fish under ice. Fish spawning in river. Pacific smelt

Fake fish blood may save your ice cream from freezer burn

A vintage photo collage featuring a man in a shirt and tie, intensely focused while looking into the eyepiece of a microscope. The image is overlaid on yellowed old text, likely a magazine or newspaper clipping, with blurred headlines visible in the background.

How a hatter and railroad clerk kickstarted cancer research

By Bill Gourgey

A colorized vintage photo shows a smiling blonde woman in a salmon-colored dress waving her hand while seated at a dark wooden counter or bar. Two men in white staff uniforms and hats are leaning over the counter, laughing with her, one of whom is holding a cigar. The other offers her a drink in a tall glass. Several other men in hats are visible in the background.

The radioactive ‘miracle water’ that killed its believers

a border collie in a park gives a human a high five with its paw

Pandemic life left its mark on dogs

By Laura Baisas

Close up of mosquito biting a person's skin

Mosquitos seem to like beer drinkers who recently had sex

Golden retriever in park with frisbee in its mouth

Golden retrievers help scientists pinpoint a deadly heart mutation

a young man using his smartphone in the toilet while sitting with a roll of toilet paper placed in a toilet paper holder in the foreground

Bathroom doomscrolling may increase your risk of hemorrhoids

Illustration of the Great Fear of 1789

Rumors spread like viruses. The French Revolution proved it.

a wearable robot vest, with long grey sleeves and sensors in a lab

Balloon-equipped ‘wearable robot’ could help stroke survivors

By Mack DeGeurin