Health | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/health/RSS feed for HealthenThu, 24 Jul 2025 18:38:08 +0000Cancer DNA Can Be Detected in the Bloodstream Up to Three Years Before Diagnosis, Study Suggestshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/cancer-dna-can-be-detected-in-the-bloodstream-up-to-three-years-before-diagnosis-study-suggests-180986862/For a few individuals, scientists found genetic material from cancerous tumors in blood samples taken years before they were diagnosed through traditional methodsThu, 24 Jul 2025 18:38:08 +0000Edvard Munch Was Haunted by Physical and Mental Illnesses—but He Was Also Fascinated by Themhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/edvard-munch-was-haunted-by-physical-and-mental-illnesses-but-he-was-also-fascinated-by-them-180987001/Known as the painter of "The Scream," the Norwegian artist and his loved ones spent many years suffering from health conditions. A new exhibition explores how the world of medicine influenced his artFri, 18 Jul 2025 14:22:41 +0000How Cancer Research for Dogs Is Helping Improve Treatment for Pets and Humans Alikehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-research-on-dogs-is-helping-to-improve-cancer-treatment-180986949/Canine and human cancers bear many similarities, and studies on dogs are helping advance care for our furry friends and for usWed, 16 Jul 2025 12:00:00 +0000Meet the First Barbie With Type 1 Diabetes. Her Colorful Accessories Showcase the Tools People Use to Treat the Chronic Diseasehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/meet-the-first-barbie-with-type-1-diabetes-her-colorful-accessories-showcase-the-tools-people-use-to-treat-the-chronic-disease-180986986/The new doll boasts a pink continuous glucose monitor to track blood sugar levels and a pink insulin pumpTue, 15 Jul 2025 18:58:40 +0000An Arizona Resident Died From the Plague. Here's What to Know About the Rare Diseasehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/an-arizona-resident-died-from-the-plague-heres-what-to-know-about-the-rare-disease-180986982/The patient had the pneumonic plague, the rarest and deadliest form of the disease. Human cases remain very uncommon in the United States, though plague is endemic to the western part of the countryMon, 14 Jul 2025 20:03:27 +0000Why Are So Many More Women Being Diagnosed With ADHD?https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/why-are-so-many-more-women-being-diagnosed-with-adhd-180986909/Experts once thought ADHD was something only boys experienced. The research is finally starting to catch up with realityWed, 09 Jul 2025 12:00:00 +0000U.S. Measles Cases Reach a Record High Since the Disease Was Declared Eliminated 25 Years Agohttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/us-measles-cases-reach-a-record-high-since-the-disease-was-declared-eliminated-25-years-ago-180986938/With nearly six months left in the year, the total number of cases so far in 2025 has surpassed every year since 1992Tue, 08 Jul 2025 16:21:03 +0000Can a Medical Device Restore Your Balance?https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/can-medical-device-restore-your-balance-180986804/Nearly two million people worldwide have lost the simple ability to feel steady. Now researchers have developed an experimental medical implant that promises to restore the sensory machinery responsible for balanceWed, 02 Jul 2025 11:00:00 +0000A Sinkhole Opened Up on a Busy Street in England, Revealing the Remains of a Massive Medieval Hospitalhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-sinkhole-opened-up-on-a-street-in-england-revealing-the-remains-of-a-massive-medieval-hospital-180986890/Centuries ago, the site was home to St. Leonard's Hospital, a sprawling monastic facility that provided care to sick individuals and supplied meals for prisoners at nearby York CastleFri, 27 Jun 2025 15:47:43 +0000Doctors Detected a Mysterious Antibody in a French Woman's Body. It Turned Out to Be a Brand New Blood Typehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/doctors-detected-a-mysterious-antibody-in-a-french-womans-body-it-turned-out-to-be-a-brand-new-blood-type-180986866/Called "Gwada negative," it marks the discovery of the 48th known blood group system in humansTue, 24 Jun 2025 21:00:03 +0000Scavenger Animals Are in Trouble, and That Could Spell Bad News for Human Healthhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scavenger-animals-are-in-trouble-and-that-could-spell-bad-news-for-human-health-180986845/More than one-third of species that eat some amount of carrion are threatened or declining, a new analysis finds, and that could lead to a rise in zoonotic diseasesWed, 18 Jun 2025 19:57:40 +0000The Way You Breathe Is Unique to You, Like a Fingerprint, New Study Suggestshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-way-you-breathe-is-unique-to-you-like-a-fingerprint-suggests-new-study-180986797/Researchers could identify people with almost 97 percent accuracy based on 24 hours of their recorded breathing patterns, and they also found links to a person’s mental and physical conditionMon, 16 Jun 2025 12:12:43 +0000How Sweden's Vätternrundan Became One of the Biggest Recreational Bike Rides on the Planethttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/how-swedens-vatternrundan-became-the-biggest-recreational-bike-ride-on-the-planet-180986794/For 60 years, cyclists have descended on the city of Motala in June to ride 196 miles around Lake Vättern and promote healthy livingFri, 13 Jun 2025 18:52:26 +0000Axolotls May Hold the Key to Regrowing Limbs, and Scientists Are Unraveling Their Secrets to Help Humans Do the Samehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/axolotls-may-hold-the-key-to-regrowing-limbs-and-scientists-are-unraveling-their-secrets-to-help-humans-do-the-same-180986781/With the help of gene-edited axolotls, researchers have gotten one step closer to enabling human limb regenerationThu, 12 Jun 2025 16:55:03 +0000How Worm-Inspired Treatments Are Inching Their Way Toward the Clinichttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-worm-inspired-treatments-are-inching-their-way-toward-the-clinic-180986744/Infection by certain wrigglers may reduce inflammation and fight obesity and diabetes. Scientists are working to turn the findings into therapiesThu, 12 Jun 2025 12:00:00 +0000Lab-Grown Salmon Hits the Menu at an Oregon Restaurant as the FDA Greenlights the Cell-Cultured Producthttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/lab-grown-salmon-hits-the-menu-at-an-oregon-restaurant-as-the-fda-greenlights-the-cell-cultured-product-180986769/The decision clears the way for the first cultured fish to join the small but growing alternative protein marketWed, 11 Jun 2025 17:02:43 +0000Watch Out for These Invasive, Stinging Ants That May Cause Life-Threatening Allergic Reactionshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/watch-out-for-these-invasive-stinging-ants-that-may-cause-life-threatening-allergic-reactions-180986770/First introduced in the 1930s, carnivorous Asian needle ants appear to be spreading across the United StatesTue, 10 Jun 2025 20:59:53 +0000What's Up With These Slithering Snake Sculptures That Appeared in Switzerland?https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/whats-up-with-these-slithering-snake-sculptures-that-appeared-in-switzerland-180986736/Millions get bitten by snakes each year, and tens of thousands of those victims die. Now, global health experts are trying to get those numbers downTue, 10 Jun 2025 18:52:03 +0000Tens of Thousands Were Treated for a Deadly Disease While Confined to Psychiatric Hospitals on These Two Venetian Islandshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/tens-thousands-were-treated-for-deadly-disease-while-confined-psychiatric-hospitals-these-two-venetian-islands-180986734/In the 19th and 20th centuries, San Servolo and San Clemente housed patients suffering from pellagrous insanity, a condition caused by a vitamin deficiencyFri, 06 Jun 2025 10:00:00 +0000A Deadly Disease Is Eating Away at Caribbean Corals and Wreaking Havoc on Reefs. Could Probiotics Be the Solution?https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-deadly-disease-is-eating-away-at-caribbean-corals-and-wreaking-havoc-on-reefs-could-probiotics-be-the-solution-180986743/New research suggests the probiotic McH1-7 could help stop the spread of stony coral tissue loss disease among wild corals near Fort Lauderdale, FloridaThu, 05 Jun 2025 06:01:00 +0000This 14-Year-Old Built an App That Detects Heart Diseases in Secondshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/this-14-year-old-built-an-app-that-detects-heart-diseases-in-seconds-180986700/Siddarth Nandyala wants to put his tool in the hands of medical professionals so that they can catch cardiovascular abnormalities in their early stagesFri, 30 May 2025 12:13:27 +0000