CDC layoffs strike deeply at its ability to respond to the current flu, norovirus and measles outbreaks and other public health emergencies

The CDC was instrumental in eradicating smallpox, identifying the causes of HIV and encouraging Americans to get the COVID-19 shot.

Jordan Miller, Teaching Professor of Public Health, Arizona State University • conversation
Feb. 19, 2025 • ~10 min

Marburg virus outbreaks are increasing in frequency and geographic spread – three virologists explain

The Marburg virus, a close cousin of Ebola, currently has no approved treatments or vaccines to protect against it.

Judith Olejnik, Senior Research Scientist, Boston University • conversation
March 13, 2023 • ~9 min

The Ebola virus can 'hide out' in the brain after treatment and cause recurrent infections

Although treatments for Ebola have helped many people overcome this deadly disease, the virus can persist in the brain and cause a lethal relapse.

Kevin Zeng, Principal Investigator of Infectious Diseases, U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases • conversation
March 15, 2022 • ~5 min

How do pandemics end? History suggests diseases fade but are almost never truly gone

As ready as you are to be done with COVID-19, it's not going anywhere soon. A historian of disease describes how once a pathogen emerges, it's usually here to stay.

Nükhet Varlik, Associate Professor of History, University of South Carolina • conversation
Oct. 14, 2020 • ~9 min

Antibodies in the blood of COVID-19 survivors know how to beat coronavirus – and researchers are already testing new treatments that harness them

Before a vaccine is available to teach your immune system to ward off the coronavirus, maybe you can directly use molecules that have already fought it in other people.

Ann Sheehy, Professor of Biology, College of the Holy Cross • conversation
April 1, 2020 • ~9 min

Calling COVID-19 a 'Chinese virus' is wrong and dangerous – the pandemic is global

Emphasizing foreign origins of a disease can have racist connotations and implications for how people understand their own risk of disease.

Mari Webel, Assistant Professor of History, University of Pittsburgh • conversation
March 25, 2020 • ~10 min

Naming the new coronavirus – why taking Wuhan out of the picture matters

While identifying a new disease by its place of origin seems intuitive, history shows that doing so can have serious consequences for the people that live there.

Mari Webel, Assistant Professor of History, University of Pittsburgh • conversation
Feb. 18, 2020 • ~9 min

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