Reference Terms
from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Transmission (medicine)
In medicine, transmission is the passing of a disease from an infected individual or group to a previously uninfected individual or group. In order to survive, microorganisms that require human hosts must have a way to be transmitted from one host to another. Infectious agents are generally specialised for a particular method of transmission. Taking an example from the respiratory route, from an evolutionary perspective a virus or bacteria that causes its host to develop coughing and sneezing symptoms has a great survival advantage - it is much more likely to be ejected from one host and carried to another. This is also the reason that many microorganisms cause diarrhea. Microorganisms vary widely in the length of time that they can survive outside the human body, and so vary in how they are transmitted.
Related Stories
1
2
Health & Medicine News
March 14, 2026
Mar. 13, 2026 Researchers have identified two gut bacteria that can produce serotonin, a key chemical that regulates bowel movements. In experiments with mice lacking serotonin, the microbes boosted serotonin levels, increased nerve cells in the colon, and ...
Mar. 13, 2026 Tiny plastic particles may be quietly threatening brain health. New research suggests microplastics—now widely found in food, water, and even household dust—could trigger inflammation and damage ...
Mar. 13, 2026 Researchers studying over 8,400 colonoscopies discovered that having both adenomas and serrated polyps in the bowel can raise the risk of serious precancerous changes by up to five times. These two polyp types may represent separate cancer pathways ...
Mar. 13, 2026 A severe case of COVID-19 or influenza could increase the risk of lung cancer later on, according to new research. Scientists discovered that serious viral infections can alter immune cells in the lungs, leaving behind chronic inflammation that may ...
Mar. 13, 2026 In medieval Denmark, people could pay for more prestigious graves closer to the church — a sign of wealth and status. But when researchers examined hundreds of skeletons, they discovered something unexpected: even people with stigmatized diseases ...
Mar. 12, 2026 Scientists have discovered that a rare “mirror-image” version of the amino acid cysteine can dramatically slow the growth of certain cancers while leaving healthy cells largely untouched. Unlike ...
Mar. 12, 2026 Researchers have discovered a surprising change in how cells produce energy in people with depression. Brain and blood cells in young adults with major depressive disorder produced more energy molecules at rest but had trouble increasing energy ...
Mar. 12, 2026 A new study suggests Alzheimer’s disease may be detectable through subtle shape changes in proteins found in the blood. Researchers discovered that structural differences in three blood proteins closely track the progression of the disease. By ...
Mar. 11, 2026 A newly developed antibiotic called EVG7 could offer a powerful new way to stop Clostridioides difficile, a dangerous gut bacterium that often returns after treatment. In mouse studies, researchers ...
Mar. 11, 2026 Coenzyme A, a molecule derived from vitamin B5, is vital for metabolism throughout the body. Scientists discovered that most of it resides inside mitochondria, yet how it reached these cellular ...
Mar. 11, 2026 Scientists have developed a promising new approach to treating Alzheimer’s disease by turning ordinary brain cells into powerful plaque-clearing machines. Instead of requiring frequent antibody infusions like current therapies, the experimental ...
Mar. 11, 2026 A European clinical trial found that the drug sulthiame significantly reduced breathing interruptions in people with moderate to severe sleep apnea. Patients taking higher doses experienced up to 47% fewer pauses in breathing and improved oxygen ...
Latest Headlines
updated 12:56 pm ET
Mar. 14, 2026 Hair may grow in a completely different way than scientists once believed. Instead of being pushed out from the root, new research shows that moving ...
Mar. 14, 2026 Cambridge scientists have discovered a light-powered chemical reaction that lets researchers modify complex drug molecules at the final stages of ...
Mar. 11, 2026 THC doesn’t just blur memories—it can create new ones that never happened. In a controlled experiment, cannabis users were much more likely to recall words that were never shown and struggled ...
Mar. 10, 2026 A major international trial has found that daily fish oil supplements significantly reduced life-threatening cardiovascular events in dialysis ...
Mar. 10, 2026 Cancer often begins when the genetic instructions that guide our cells become scrambled, allowing cells to grow uncontrollably. Now, scientists at EMBL have developed an AI-powered system called ...
Mar. 10, 2026 Scientists at Oregon Health & Science University have developed a new molecule that could open the door to treating triple-negative breast cancer, ...
Mar. 10, 2026 Colorblindness may be doing more than making traffic lights confusing — it could also be hiding a life-threatening warning sign. Researchers ...
Mar. 10, 2026 A new analysis of more than 422,000 patients reveals a stark Alzheimer’s care gap between Maryland’s urban and rural communities. Rural regions often lack hospitals and dementia specialists, ...
Mar. 9, 2026 Researchers have found hundreds of metabolic enzymes attached to human DNA inside the cell nucleus. Different tissues and cancers show unique patterns of these enzymes, forming a “nuclear metabolic ...
Mar. 9, 2026 Exercise normally boosts the body’s ability to use oxygen, a key marker of health and longevity — but high blood sugar can block that benefit. Researchers found that a ketogenic diet helped mice ...