Read the original 1907 paper on the first known Alzheimer's patient

The first identification of Alzheimer's was made in 1906

The first case of Alzheimer's disease dates to the early 20th century when Dr. Alois Alzheimer had 51-year-old Auguste Deter as a patient. Deter struggled with sudden memory issues and aggressive, irrational behavior. After Deter's death, Alzheimer examined her brain and found strange collections of molecular pileups.

Alzheimer's brain changes may begin years before symptoms appear

The debilitating disorder degrades cognitive abilities. Its symptoms may start with subtle memory issues, but by the time patients notice any changes, neural changes may already be progressing, such as the accumulation of beta-amyloid plaques between neurons and tau protein tangles within them.

1440: Everything you need to know about Alzheimer's

What is Alzheimer's, and is it different from dementia? In short, yes—Alzheimer's is a specific brain disease that falls under the umbrella of dementia. However it is the most prevalent form of the condition, accounting for 60 to 80% of reported dementia cases.

A top Alzheimer's researcher was accused of faking results

In 2021, an investigation revealed photo manipulation in images from a seminal 2006 paper by researcher Sylvain Lesné on the role of amyloid plaques in progressive Alzheimer's disease. The revelation rocked the field, leaving many wondering whether they had tried to build on fabricated results. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

Analysis finds dementia was rare in ancient Greece

Ancient medical texts seldom mention severe cognitive decline, suggesting that such conditions were uncommon. This scarcity is attributed to factors like shorter lifespans and active lifestyles, implying that modern environmental and lifestyle changes—along with longer life expectancy—contribute to the current prevalence of dementia.

A first-person account of receiving an Alzheimer's diagnosis

Having Alzheimer's is a bit like having a part of your brain sliced away each day, according to author Greg O'Brien. This 34-minute podcast episode introduces O'Brien and his co-host, author David Shenk, as the two embark on a multi-season conversation on Alzheimer's disease and O'Brien's diagnosis.

Smell is a robust memory cue for individuals with Alzheimer's disease

Odor is more effective than both visual and verbal cues for triggering autobiographical recall in Alzheimer's disease, according to 2021 research.

Alzheimer's can lead to brain shrinkage, with an average of around 2% of volume reduction per year

Researchers are exploring neural links between Alzheimer's and autism

Recent DNA sequencing and molecular biology studies suggest that similarities in genes, neural circuitry and patterns of disease warrant further exploration to potentially better understand both conditions and how to treat them. (Some users may encounter a paywall.)

The virus was officially described for the first time in 1789

Michael Underwood, an English physician and surgeon, was the first to describe the disorder, noting it caused disability in the lower extremities in children. Large-scale outbreaks of the disease were not observed until the late 19th century.

Patient H.M. revealed that the hippocampus was responsible for memory formation

Henry Molaison became a landmark case in psychology after surgery removed large portions of his hippocampus, leaving him unable to form new memories. Upon his death, Molaison's brain was sliced into 2,401 sections and digitized for research.

Alkaptonuria was the first identified genetic disorder

In 1902, a rare recessive mutation was determined to cause alkaptonuria—a disease that induces dark pigmentation of connective tissue. The responsible gene was not isolated until the 1990s.

The oldest medical report of a near-death experience dates to around 1740

In 2014, Dr. Philippe Charlier, a medical doctor and archeologist, found a French medical book from 1740 that described the near-death experience of a pharmacist. Using the Greyson Scale, Charlier found that the incident would have rated at least 12/32, more than high enough to scientifically classify as an NDE by today’s standards.

Evidence of cancer has been found in a 1.7-million-year-old fossil

Cancer has existed as long as humans have, with some of the earliest evidence found among fossilized bone tumors, human mummies in ancient Egypt, and ancient manuscripts. The oldest example was uncovered in a toe—millions of years old—from an ancestor of modern-day humans.

The first printed Advent calendars were from Germany in the early 1900s

Printed Advent calendars originated in early-20th-century Germany, where printer Gerhard Lang created the first commercially produced versions. Inspired by his mother’s homemade countdowns, Lang added small doors in the 1920s, establishing the format that spread worldwide.

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to a health condition

Gehrig's diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a disease that now bears his name, forced him to retire early. Weeks later, he spoke with gratitude and stated, "For the past two weeks, you have been reading about a bad break. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth." Gehrig died at the age of 37, about two years later.

Penicillin was discovered by accident

In 1928, Alexander Fleming returned from vacation to find mold contaminating a petri dish of bacteria. Around the mold, the microbes had died—an accidental observation that led to the discovery of penicillin.

How the placebo effect became mainstream

Contemporary patients and medical students take the placebo effect for granted, as its a standard element in most drug trials. But the concept was only first debated and standardized in the 1950s after a ground-breaking 1955 paper by medical...

Wilhelm Wundt, the forgotten father of modern psychology

He was the first psychologist to call himself one, and he influenced a whole generation of early psychologists. Learn about the life and works of Wilhelm Wundt with this thorough entry from a philosophy encyclopedia.

Against his wishes, Albert Einstein's brain was removed before his cremation, and the pathologist responsible stored it for decades in mason jars within a beer cooler.

Leonard Thompson was the first human to receive an insulin injection for diabetes

In January 1922, the 14-year-old was the first person to receive an insulin injection to treat diabetes, just months after insulin was isolated in dogs and used to treat their induced diabetes. Thompson had an allergic response to an apparent impurity in the injection, but his second dose, 12 days later, was a success.

Autoimmune diseases affect between 5% and 10% of people worldwide, but their causes remain unknown

Autoantibodies—which attack the body—may be detectable in the body years before a patient develops symptoms, but some people may have detectable levels yet never go on to develop an autoimmune disease. This video discusses this and other unsolved mysteries with autoimmune disease.

Rune Elmqvist forwent practicing medicine to invent the first inkjet printer

The Mingograph recorded real-time physiological signals from a patient's electrocardiogram, helping doctors diagnose heart and brain conditions. Eight years later, in 1958, Elmqvist worked with cardiac surgeon Åke Senning to develop the first fully implantable pacemaker.

Browse the original 'Walden' manuscripts

Henry David Thoreau began writing the book about his time living at Walden Pond in 1846, but it went through seven iterations before being published in 1854. You can look through scans of early proofs, including some of Thoreau's handwritten corrections, through the Huntington Digital Library.

Who was the world's first author?

This article details the effort to define the world's first author, as supported by current archaeological evidence. Clay disks found in an ancient Sumerian city point to Enheduanna, a high priestess and daughter of Akkadian King Sargon, as the...

Read Norman Rosenthal’s original 1984 paper describing SAD

The study helped formalize research and diagnosis of seasonal affective disorder, catalyzing the development of therapies (like bright light) and leading to broader adoption of effective treatments. It also helped connect the influence of light and seasons on biological mechanisms in the human body, spurring exploration of circadian rhythms.

During his 'miraculous year,' Einstein published four groundbreaking papers

The 1905 "annus mirabilis" papers explained the photoelectric effect, Brownian motion, the absolutism of the speed of light, and mass-energy equivalence, revolutionizing scientists' understandings of space, time, mass, and energy. For the discovery of the photoelectric effect, Einstein won the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics.

The concept of phantom limbs, the perception that amputated limbs are still present, dates back to a French military surgeon in the 16th century.

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his inspirational 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to the health condition that now bears his name.

English mathematician Ada Lovelace wrote the first computer algorithm a century before computers existed and hypothesized that computing devices would one day be able to compose music—foreseeing the generative AI systems of today.

Clever Hans was a 1900s horse that was believed to be able to solve math equations, tell time, and read and comprehend German, until a psychology student discovered how he got his answers.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

The first line of 'immortal' human cells, which can divide indefinitely and are used in scientific research, was nonconsensually taken from a Black woman.

Learn more about the history of fireworks, which dates back to an accidental invention during an alchemist's quest for information about immortality.

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

A researcher recently discovered an interview from 1967 between groundbreaking journalist Joan Didion and the Grateful Dead, years before the band became an institution.

The first robot in literature may have been a 'mechanical man' in 1907's 'Ozma of Oz,' a book in L Frank Baum's 'Wizard of Oz' series.

Walt Disney's early film 'Alice's Wonderland' was a groundbreaking innovation in the silent film era

The Dracula character, now seen as the vampire archetype, was inspired by a seafood-induced nightmare its creator experienced.

Salvador Dalí believed he was his own dead brother, who had died nine months before he was born

Poison ivy was sent to Europe in the 1600s as an exotic, ornamental oddity, where it was purposefully grown in the English royal gardens at Kew, the Faculty of Medicine in Paris, and a few other locations.

This real-time tracking of the hantavirus cruise ship outbreak in May 2026 offers a unique glimpse into the global reach of the outbreak and whether the virus sickened passengers and their communities around the world.

Graffiti dates back to at least ancient Pompeii, where citizens scrawled messages to one another on public walls

The American cockroach is actually from Africa, an apparent hitchhiker aboard ships carrying enslaved people, with evidence suggesting the bug may have arrived in the New World as early as the 1600s.

The hormonal disorder PCOS was renamed PMOS in 2026, a move designed to improve care and research by shifting the focus to the hormonal causes of this condition that affects 1 in 8 women.

20,000 letters to the advice columnist 'Dear Abby' provide insight into prevailing sex, religion, and LGBTQ fears, anxieties, and concerns from the 1950s onward.

Before writing 'Walden,' transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau nearly burned down his hometown with a campfire that grew out of control.

Trace how the Bill of Rights, inspired by centuries of political theory, took shape between 1774 and 1789.

Apeirophobia is an overwhelming fear of living forever, perhaps stemming from the brain's inability to conceptualize an infinite life.

The first image of a black hole was captured by creating an Earth-sized virtual observatory from a network of eight radio telescopes.