Magnetism Meets Malaria

Malaria is among the oldest infectious diseases to burden the health of humans and animals. Diseases like tuberculosis and syphilis leave tell-tale markings on the skeleton, which allow archaeologists to diagnose ancient infections in archaeological remains. Malaria, however, is much trickier to identify by observing bone. To investigate the presence of malaria in the tropical Americas before 1500 CE, Mallory Cox and her colleagues use archaeological techniques involving high-powered magnets to examine long bones of human skeletons to look for trace evidence of malaria.