An electron microscopic image depicting a monkeypox virion

The Monkeypox 411

Although it’s less fatal and less transmissible than the related smallpox, there’s still serious cause for concern with the most recent outbreak.
Dr. Schreiber of San Augustine giving a typhoid innoculation at a rural school

Do Schools Make Good Vaccination Sites?

The influenza virus is a problem student, but vaccinations get extra credit.
A physician wearing a seventeenth century plague preventive costume

How the Plague Reshaped the World

The bacterium that causes the plague emerged relatively recently, as bacterium go. And yet the pandemics it's created have altered the world.
A bowl of kimchi, which contains probiotics

The Pros (And Cons) of Probiotics

Probiotics are a hot topic--and big business--these days. But do they really work?
A pair of tweezers removing a tick

A Brief History of Lyme Disease

Lyme disease is seeing an upswing. But the-now widespread condition was not formally described until 1977, based on a case in Old Lyme, Connecticut.
Mid adult man lying in bed looking at thermometer reading

The Science of Fevers

Trying to bring down that fever? Studies show that most fevers are actually integral to effective immune responses.
Bacteriophage, illustration

Fighting Bacterial Infection With…Viruses?

As bacteria develop resistance to widely-used antibiotics, some researchers are turning to bacteria’s natural enemy: a very special virus called a bacteriophage.
Atacama Desert Solar Panels

China Denounces Coal, Chile Goes Solar, and Guinea Tackles Sleeping Sickness

Chile turned the Atacama Desert into a giant solar farm, China denounced coal power, and Guinea has been plagued by sleeping sickness.
Science of ticks

The Science of Ticks

A mild winter and abundant mice have led to a bumper crop of ticks this year, and with them tick-transmitted diseases including Lyme disease.
Cupped hands holing soil

Scientists Have Isolated a New Antibiotic from Soil

Scientists have isolated a new antibiotic from soil.