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Opinion: Manuscripts and Art Support Archaeological Evidence that Syphilis Was in Europe Long Before Explorers Could Have Brought It Home from the Americas
Multiple lines of evidence contradict the idea that the disease came to Europe via trans-Atlantic exchange.
Opinion: Manuscripts and Art Support Archaeological Evidence that Syphilis Was in Europe Long Before Explorers Could Have Brought It Home from the Americas
Opinion: Manuscripts and Art Support Archaeological Evidence that Syphilis Was in Europe Long Before Explorers Could Have Brought It Home from the Americas

Multiple lines of evidence contradict the idea that the disease came to Europe via trans-Atlantic exchange.

Multiple lines of evidence contradict the idea that the disease came to Europe via trans-Atlantic exchange.

history, disease & medicine

In one of the only known photos of Abraham Lincoln taken on the day of the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln can be seen seated, hatless, just below and to the right of the flag. Lincoln began developing symptoms of smallpox on the train home to Washington, DC.
Presidential Pox, 1863
Annie Melchor | Dec 1, 2021 | 3 min read
Researchers continue to debate whether US President Abraham Lincoln was coming down with smallpox as he delivered his famous Gettysburg Address, and if he had been immunized.
Human blood in a plastic Intravenous drip bag, the tube running out of the image. Square crop. Horizontal with copy space.
Opinion: What the History of Blood Transfusion Reveals About Risk
Paul A. Offit | Sep 1, 2021 | 5 min read
Every medical intervention—even one with a centuries-long history—brings dangers, some of which become clear only later.
Bile and Potatoes, 1921
Jef Akst | Apr 1, 2021 | 3 min read
One hundred years after its invention, BCG has stood the test of time as a vaccine against tuberculosis.
Respected Medical Geneticist Sir Peter Harper Dies at 81
Catherine Offord | Feb 2, 2021 | 4 min read
The Cardiff University researcher was famous both for his work on genetic disorders and for his documentation of the history of his field.
Introducing Inoculation, 1721
Max Kozlov | Jan 1, 2021 | 4 min read
As a deadly smallpox outbreak ravaged Boston, one of the city’s leaders advocated for a preventive measure he’d learned about from Onesimus, an enslaved man.
New Genome Sequences Reveal Undescribed African Migration
Max Kozlov | Oct 29, 2020 | 5 min read
An analysis of the genomes of people from 50 ethnolinguistic groups in Africa spots 62 genes under positive selection and 3 million more genetic variants than previously documented.
Coronavirus Closeup, 1964
Ashley Yeager | Sep 1, 2020 | 3 min read
Electron microscopy revealed that a deadly disease of birds was not a form of flu, but a different type of virus entirely.
Looking Back, Looking Ahead
Bob Grant | Aug 10, 2020 | 4 min read
Although modern society seems to be unwilling or unable to learn from the past, doing so just might hold the key to envisioning a brighter future.
Jean Macnamara’s Multiple Causes, 1931
Catherine Offord | Jul 13, 2020 | 3 min read
The medical scientist made important contributions to polio treatment and Australian environmental policy—despite substantial resistance.
Human coronavirus discoveries
Timeline: Human Coronavirus Discoveries
Shawna Williams | Jun 4, 2020 | 1 min read
Download our poster of the biggest milestones, from the discovery of the viral family in humans in the 1960s to the identification of SARS-CoV-2.
gold spots on a blue background
A Brief History of Human Coronaviruses
Shawna Williams | Jun 2, 2020 | 5 min read
Milder, cold-causing members of this pathogenic viral family long remained under the radar, although they aren’t entirely harmless.
a drawing of one of Ruysch's creations, featuring fetal skeletons
Deathly Displays, circa 1662–1731
Sukanya Charuchandra | Dec 1, 2019 | 3 min read
Frederik Ruysch’s collections blended specimens for scientific discovery with macabre art.
Wine Therapy, Middle Ages
Kerry Grens | Oct 1, 2019 | 3 min read
The beverage was a popular tonic and antiseptic.
From Chemical Weapon to Chemotherapy, 1917–1946
Carolyn Wilke | Apr 1, 2019 | 3 min read
Mustard gas blistered men’s bodies on the battlefield, but paved the way for cancer-fighting drugs.
anesthesia 2019 march editorial
Drugs, Developed
Bob Grant | Mar 1, 2019 | 3 min read
In an era of instant communication, we must be careful how word of new and untested treatments is shared.
Rethinking Raw Milk, 1918
Ashley Yeager | Dec 1, 2018 | 3 min read
Bacteriologist Alice Evans identified the pathogen that causes undulant fever, leading her to push for the pasteurization of milk.
Charting Crescents, 1910
Sukanya Charuchandra | Oct 1, 2018 | 3 min read
James Herrick, a Chicago doctor, was the first to describe sickled red blood cells in a patient of African descent.
Alfred Alberts, Lovastatin Discoverer, Dies
Kerry Grens | Jul 5, 2018 | 1 min read
The Merck biochemist found the compound that led to a popular cholesterol-lowering drug.
black and white photo of two men working at a lab bench
The Discovery of Streptomycin
Terry Sharrer | Aug 1, 2007 | 2 min read
The mass manufacture of penicillin during World War II stimulated urgent interest in other medicinally important soil microorganisms.
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