COVID-19 may leave behind more than the memory of an infection. A large new study suggests that when the illness becomes severe, it can disturb viruses that have been quietly living in the body for years. These viruses are not necessarily new infections. Some, including Epstein-Barr virus, cytomegalovirus (CMV), and herpes simplex virus, can remain …
A deadly fungus has revealed a disturbing survival trick. Researchers say Candida auris can disappear from the skin’s surface and settle inside hair follicles, where it may remain for more than a month. The discovery could help explain why this drug-resistant superbug is so difficult to eliminate. It also comes as reported U.S. cases continue …
What if fighting cancer didn’t mean months of grueling hospital visits, weeks of waiting for lab results, and treatments that can cost more than a home? What if the body could be taught to heal itself not over time, but within hours? For decades, scientists have dreamed of turning the immune system into a precision …
Imagine breathing in tiny, invisible particles every day without even knowing it. For most of us, these microscopic spores pass through our lungs unnoticed, doing no harm. But for some, these same spores are a silent killer, capable of attacking the body from the inside out, slowly rotting tissue and causing organ failure. This is …
A woman who was once so sick she could barely leave her bed is now back to living a normal life after doctors used a powerful experimental therapy to shut down three separate autoimmune diseases at the same time. Researchers in Germany say the 47-year-old patient had reached a terrifying stage before receiving the treatment. …
Tattoos have become so widespread that they are often treated as a routine cosmetic choice rather than a biological event. From minimalist wrist designs to full sleeves, body art now spans generations and lifestyles, rarely raising concern beyond aesthetics or personal meaning. Yet while the symbolism of a tattoo is usually clear to the person …
For decades, cancer treatment has followed a familiar pattern. First comes diagnosis, then a combination of surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, or targeted drugs, often customized to the molecular signature of a patient’s tumor. While this approach has saved many lives, it has also revealed a hard truth. Cancer, especially solid tumors like breast cancer, is remarkably …
Professor Dennis McGonagle sat in his office at the University of Leeds, staring at medical charts that made no sense. Patients were arriving with a rare autoimmune disease he had studied for years, but something was different. Alarmingly different. MDA5-positive dermatomyositis has always been a condition of Asian populations, particularly among Japanese and Chinese patients. …