Toxic chemicals float on the surface of Leslie Run creek on February 25, 2023 in East Palestine, Ohio.

Vinyl Chloride, Revisited

In the wake of the derailment of a train in Ohio come renewed concerns about vinyl chloride and its use in industrial products.
A hand holding coarse dry ice pellets

Dry Ice Will Help Keep COVID-19 Vaccines Cold

A brief history of dry ice, aka solid carbon dioxide, shows why some coronavirus vaccines will benefit from its use.
An illustration of a Culiseta melanura mosquito.

A Deadly Virus is Lurking in East Coast Mosquitoes

Eastern Equine Encephalitis may be brewing in the bog near you. Should you worry?
Women administer two drops to a child in India

Two Drops of Life: India’s Path to End Polio

On the eve of its 6th polio-free anniversary, India immunizes over 170 million children, despite a lack of roads, reinfection threats, and a periodic mistrust of vaccines.
Sweeper machine in a greenhouse of fruit trees

Do We Really Need Robot Farmers?

As weather heats up and climate change progresses, fieldwork will grow more hazardous.
Sad tiger

Homeless Tigers, Suicidal Farmers, and Fish that Feed on Booze Waste

Meet fish that eat booze waste, learn about the homelessness crisis among Sumatra's tigers, and find out why American farmers are committing suicide.
tattoo artist

Why Doesn’t the FDA Regulate Tattoo Ink?

Are there serious adverse effects to injecting industrial paint under your skin? Nobody really knows. The inks used are not FDA-approved.
Death Cap Mushroom

California’s Plague of Poisonous Mushrooms

In the last couple of months, fourteen Californians have learned the hard way when they accidentally ate highly poisonous “Death Cap” mushrooms.
By DFID - UK Department for International Development (Flickr: Bracing for a short, sharp jab) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Should Vaccination Be Compulsory?

While science is clear that vaccines are safe and effective, it is silent on whether or not mandating compulsory vaccination is the right thing to do.
A woman clutches at a tissue and her sinuses

The Mystery of Super-Spreaders

It’s estimated that roughly 20% of the population are so-called "super-spreaders" who cause 80% of infectious disease cases.