Viruses, Infections & Disease, features and articles | Educational Science

Feb 28, 2007

Types of Eye Disease

Nature has many ways of making it hard for people to see. Here are eye disease prevalence numbers in adults 40 years and older in the United States, based on data from 2000: Cataract (20.5 million)—a clouding of the eye’s usually clear lens and is the leading cause of blindness...

Jan 31, 2007

Study: Hospitals Should Open Windows to Curb Disease

Simply opening windows and doors could help prevent the airborne spread of germs inside hospitals, medical researchers now report. Airborne contagions can prove deadly, with tuberculosis alone killing 1.8 million people worldwide annually. The greatest risk for outbreaks of airborne contagions perhaps lies in hospitals, which concentrate infected patients and...

Dec 31, 2006

Herpes Might Cause Alzheimer's

Updated 3:01 p.m. ET New research supports growing concerns that herpes plays a role in the development of Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia. The latest work, announced today, shows a link between a gene and herpes simplex 1, or HSV. The form of the ApoE gene called...

Nov 30, 2008

Happiness: Contagious as the Flu

In a good mood? Your neighbor, her friends and even her friends' friends should thank you – you're likely infecting them with your cheer. Happiness spreads through social networks about as easily as the flu, according to a new study. The researchers analyzed data compiled from nearly 5,000 interconnected people...

Aug 31, 2008

Even Viruses Catch Viruses

Among pathogens, viruses are unique in their collective ability to infect all types of organisms. There are plant viruses, insect viruses, fungal viruses, and even viruses that infect only amoeba and bacteria. Now a group of researchers at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique in France has made the...

Jun 30, 2008

Ulcers Discovered in Mummies

Two Mexican mummies had ulcers when they were alive. Remnants of the bacterium Helicobacter pylori were discovered in gastric tissue from the mummies, human remains believed to predate Columbus' discovery of the New World. It is only through the use of the stomach tissue of these incredible mummies that we...

May 31, 2008

Pigs Pack Human Pathogens

Here's mud in your eye: Pigs raised without antibiotics in an effort to placate consumer fears over those chemicals carry more bacteria and parasites, which of course consumers fear in the wake of the tomato scare and beef, chicken and spinach contaminations of days gone by. At least this is...

May 31, 2008

Warming May Make 'Perfect Storm' of Disease

A perfect storm of diseases can get unleashed by the kind of extreme swings in weather expected with global warming, triggering mass die-offs of wildlife or livestock, research now reveals. Now the first clear example of such a perfect storm of diseases has been discovered by an international team of...

Apr 30, 2008

Myanmar Aid Deliveries Now 'Race Against Time'

Updated at 10:30 a.m. ET Saturday, May 10 Editor's Note: Newswires and aid organizations have continued to update estimates of the death toll from the Myanmar cyclone, with most of the reports stating the current number to be more than 23,000 dead, with up to twice as many missing. The...

Mar 31, 2008

How the Black Death Changed the World

Each Monday, this column turns a page in history to explore the discoveries, events and people that continue to affect the history being made today. Seven thousand people died per day in Cairo. Three-quarters of Florence's residents were buried in makeshift graves in just one macabre year. One third of...

Feb 29, 2008

Robots Tapped For Colonoscopy Work

As if the idea of colonoscopies didn't sound uncomfortable enough, now researchers are developing self-propelling probes that crawl inside the colon and grip its sides with the aid of sticky films. Still, these slithery devices could lead to better, safer, more comfortable colonoscopies to help uncover cancerous polyps. Cancer of...

Sep 30, 2009

3 Detroit Marathon Deaths Likely a Fluke

The deaths of three runners at Sunday's Detroit Marathon were tragic, but probably not representative of any increasing danger inherent in the sport. In fact, the deaths are likely to be a statistical fluke, doctors say. A 26-year-old half-marathon runner, and two other runners — a 36-year-old and 65-year-old —...

Aug 31, 2009

Ancient Chinese Remedy May Work for Flu

Scientists at the Kaohsiung Medial University in Taiwan have discovered that the roots of a plant used in 1918 to fight the Spanish influenza pandemic produces natural antiviral compounds that kill the swine flu virus, H1N1. Ferula asafetida is commonly known as Dung of the Devil because of its foul-smelling...

Aug 31, 2009

What Seniors Need to Know about the Flu

Flu season in the northern hemisphere can range from as early as November to as late as May. The peak month usually is February. However, this coming season is expected to be unpredictable because of the emergence of the H1N1 influenza virus or swine flu. The H1N1 has caused the...

Jul 31, 2009

Pneumonic Plague: Should We Worry?

An outbreak of pneumonic plague in Ziketan, China has killed three people, leading officials to seal off the town, according to news reports that are getting a lot of play this week. But what is the pneumonic plague, and how is it different from other types of plague? Plague is...