Diseases and Conditions — Health

Editorial package on the Health page of nationalgeographic.com

Stories: How Food Poisoning Can Cause Symptoms That Last for Years — A single bout of food poisoning can trigger a condition that can last long after the illness—and scientists are looking for answers in both the gut microbiome and the brain.; How Heart Disease Can Start as Early as Your 20s — A major new study found plaque in some adults under 30, suggesting that protecting the heart may need to begin decades before symptoms appear.; Why Do POTS and Long COVID Look So Much Like Autoimmune Disorders? — Researchers are studying the curious connection between autoimmune diseases and conditions like POTS and long COVID—in the hopes it might lead to more targeted treatments.; Why Scientists Say This Personalized Cancer Vaccine Could Be a Game-Changer — The experimental mRNA vaccine successfully cleared phase 3 clinical trials, the last step necessary before it can be approved by the FDA.; Why Some People Are Born With Devastating Gene Mutations—And Never Get Sick — Scientists have long believed that disease-causing genetic variants inevitably lead to disease. But a sea change of research is turning that assumption on its head.; Doctors are finally starting to agree on when obesity is a disease — It might seem like semantics. But whether a health condition qualifies as a disease can have a huge impact on patient experiences and treatment options.