New research has rewritten the history of leprosy in the Americas. Scientists have discovered genetic evidence that a rare strain of the disease, known as Mycobacterium lepromatosis, existed in South ...

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By analyzing ancient DNA, scientists determined when, where and how our ancestors got sick from infectious diseases.

A collaborative research team led by Kirsten Bos at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, in conjunction ...

In the dry, windswept valleys of Northern Chile, two ancient skeletons are changing how scientists understand the history of ...

Roughly 4,000-year-old bones from Chile contain genetic evidence of leprosy, suggesting that a rare form of the bacteria that causes the disease may have been circulating in the Americas and long ...

Is leprosy still a threat today? Though the disease has been curable for decades, over 200,000 people still suffer from it worldwide. How did leprosy go from a feared curse to a treatable illness? The ...

Leprosy causes nerve damage that can result in nerve function impairment and disability. Corticosteroids are commonly used for treating nerve damage, although their long-term effect is uncertain. This ...

A groundbreaking study reveals that leprosy was present in the Americas thousands of years ago, challenging the belief that the disease was introduced during European colonization.