Hernán Cortés owed his conquest of the Aztecs to his expedition’s unknown, unseen secret weapon: the smallpox virus. Disease epidemics can set the course of human history.
In January, measles returned to the Pacific Northwest, while Ebola resurged in the Congo. It would take a lot more research for scientists to be able to stop threats like these in their tracks.
Scientists still rely on a set of 19th century postulates to identify disease-causing organisms but more than 100 years of research shows why we need to move on.
Laura Sumrall, Max Planck Institute for the History of Science
Reports of demonic possession are once again on the rise. But during the devil’s last apogee in early modern Europe, demonic afflictions were taken seriously by both priests and physicians.
Did you ever consider that human beings might have a breeding season? Birth seasonality exists – and has interesting implications for childhood disease outbreaks.
Forecasts of designer babies followed the announcement of the gene-edited twins, just as they have for any reproductive technology since 1978. This signals the public must learn more about genetics.
What contributes most to being at high risk of diabetes – diet, genes or something else? Big research questions need robust research approaches, so let’s break it down.
Fungi perform a vital role in the biological cycle, but pose an increasing danger to human health – invasive fungal infections kill three times more people than malaria.
The obesity epidemic, the flu epidemic, the opioid epidemic… in the 21st century, everything seems to be an “epidemic”. But what does the term actually mean?
A stomach-churning viral video of an Oregon woman who describes removing cattle eyeworms from her eye has renewed interest in parasites that jump from animals to humans. Here’s all you need to know.