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What can't science explain?
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
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Science and medicine have reached incredible heights in recent decades, but there are still some diseases that scientists cannot explain.
The first on the list of the most mysterious and inexplicable diseases was the Marburg virus, discovered in the late 60s in Africa. The virus is carried by primates, it is transmitted through body fluids (blood, saliva, vomit, etc.). When infected, a person experiences fever, muscle pain, headaches, and over time a rash and bleeding (including external bleeding) appear. The mortality rate from the Marburg virus is 50%.
In second place is "Sudden Infant Death Syndrome" - the death of a child under 1 year of age from a sudden cessation of breathing in a dream, while the child is outwardly completely healthy and even after an autopsy it is not possible to establish the exact cause of death. Research into this pathology has been conducted since the 50s of the last century, but scientists still cannot answer the question of what causes a child to die in a dream.
In third place is lethargical encephalitis, another disease that scientists have not been able to explain to this day. The disease is an atypical form of encephalitis and was first described in 1917. Lethargical encephalitis is caused by damage to the brain, which causes a stasis-like state, i.e. a person cannot speak or move. In Western Europe, from the beginning of the First World War until 1926, there was an epidemic of lethargical encephalitis; today, the disease is almost never encountered.
In fourth place is the nodding syndrome, discovered only 6 years ago in East Africa. The disease is quite rare, which has only been encountered in certain regions (northern Uganda, eastern Africa, South Sudan, southern Tanzania), and mainly affects children aged 5 to 15. During an attack, the patient makes frequent nodding movements of the head, while the gaze remains motionless. On average, an attack lasts several minutes, and most often occurs during meals or in the cold. The disease affects the brain and children significantly lag behind in development, both mentally and physically.
In fifth place is the "English sweat" - an infectious disease whose origin remains unclear. The disease was identified in the 15th century and broke out several times in Europe, after which it did not appear anywhere. The disease begins with severe chills, headaches, dizziness, pain in the limbs, after a few hours there is profuse sweating, increased pulse, thirst, heart pain, delirious states.
In sixth place is Stiff-Man Syndrome (or "Stiff Man") - a rather rare neurological disease characterized by increased muscle tone and painful spasms. Severe spasms can lead to joint deformation, muscle rupture, fractures, and ultimately the person is completely paralyzed, with difficulty eating.
Experts also noted some diseases that have affected humanity at least once – dancing plague, Peruvian meteorite disease, Hutchinson-Gilford syndrome, porphyria.