A couple dancing the Jitterbug circa 1938

How People in the Depression Managed to Laugh

American popular culture flourished in the 1930s, despite the Great Depression. One thing that helped: artists being included in the New Deal.
An image representing mutating virus

Viral Mutation for the Perplexed

We all know viruses mutate. But how does that happen, and what does it mean for how we can treat diseases caused by viruses?
A tunnel of carious speckles and colors

How to See the Invisible Universe

Telescopes that detect long-wavelength signals offer clues about the Big Bang, the centers of black holes, and the origins of life.
Members of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union receive the flu shot in 1957

How America Brought the 1957 Influenza Pandemic to a Halt

Microbiologist Maurice Hilleman saw it coming, so the country made 40 million doses of the vaccine within months.
A gloved hand holding a roll of toilet paper

Toilet Paper, Handwashing, and Labor Unrest

Well-researched stories from Marker, FiveThirtyEight, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.
A Red Cross nurse wearing a face mask, c. 1918

Teaching Pandemics Syllabus

Readings on the history of quarantine, contagious disease, viruses, infections, and epidemics offer important context for the current coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Jennifer Nuzzo

Jennifer Nuzzo: “We’re Definitely Not Overreacting” to COVID-19

Johns Hopkins epidemiologist and infectious disease expert Jennifer Nuzzo on why vaccines aren’t the answer, how COVID-19 is unique, and how to stay safe.
Quaran, the official quarantine mascot of Japan

There’s a Mascot for That? Cute COVID-19 Education

How to get people to stay healthy during a quarantine? Some countries have taken to a new communications strategy, and it's super cute.
A golden retriever on the beach

Dogs and Cancer

Because we share many of the same cell types with our pets, they develop some of the same cancers. Comparative oncologists study these parallels.
Squirrel Hoarding

Your Brain Evolved to Hoard Supplies and Shame Others for Doing the Same

Have people gone mad? How can one individual be overfilling their own cart, while shaming others who are doing the same?