Abracadabra

What does this ancient incantation have to do with malaria?

These days, “abracadabra” is mostly just an incantation used in stage magic. But, historically, the word was believed to have healing powers when inscribed on an amulet in a very specific way.

The first known mention of the word was in the 2nd century CE in a book called Liber Medicinalis by the Roman physician Serenus Sammonicus, who believed in the pow…