How Will a Coronavirus Vaccine Work?
Four different ways researchers use the virus's own structure to train our immune systems to exterminate it.
The Surgeons Who Said No to Gloves
In the late 1800s, doctors in German-speaking countries were having trouble agreeing on one simple thing: whether to wear gloves during surgery.
Before Vaccines, Variolation Was Seriously Trendy
Lady Mary Wortley Montagu is credited with popularizing variolation among the aristocracy in England.
The Trouble with Nursing Homes
From the almshouse to the nursing home, has long-term care for seniors been destined to fail?
Herd Immunity Won’t Solve Our COVID-19 Problem
Without a vaccine, the only route to "herd immunity" to SARS-CoV-2 is through infection.
A Deadly Virus is Lurking in East Coast Mosquitoes
Eastern Equine Encephalitis may be brewing in the bog near you. Should you worry?
Will the Saharan Dust Cloud Damage Our Lungs?
The airborne particles carry microbes and fungi, and can react with human lung tissue.
How Children Took the Smallpox Vaccine around the World
In 1803, nearly two dozen orphan boys endured long voyages and physical discomfort to transport the smallpox vaccine to Spain's colonies.
Blaming People for Getting Sick Has a Long History
Four major theories of disease transmission dominated scientific discourse in the nineteenth century. As one scholar writes, all were political.