How viruses blur the boundaries of life

The question of whether viruses are alive or dead is a controversial one in science.

Heshmat Borhani, Lecturer in Bioinformatics, University of Nottingham • conversation
March 31, 2025 ~7 min

How viruses blur the the boundaries of life

The question of whether viruses are alive or dead is a controversial one in science.

Heshmat Borhani, Lecturer in Bioinformatics, University of Nottingham • conversation
March 31, 2025 ~7 min


What is Alaskapox? A microbiologist explains the recently discovered virus that just claimed its first fatality

Alaskapox was discovered in 2015 and has generally only caused mild illness – until now.

Raúl Rivas González, Catedrático de Microbiología. Miembro de la Sociedad Española de Microbiología., Universidad de Salamanca • conversation
Feb. 21, 2024 ~7 min

COVID-19 vaccine mandates have come and mostly gone in the US – an ethicist explains why their messy rollout matters for trust in public health

Vaccine policies fall on a spectrum, from mandates to recommendations. Deciding what to use and when is not so much a science but a balancing act between personal autonomy and public good.

Rachel Gur-Arie, Assistant Professor of Nursing and Health Innovation, Arizona State University • conversation
Oct. 18, 2023 ~9 min

How folk remedies can fuel misinformation

Medical folk wisdom is the complex problem health professionals can’t afford to ignore.

Hassan Vally, Associate Professor, Epidemiology, Deakin University • conversation
Aug. 30, 2023 ~6 min

Asymptomatic COVID-19 is linked to a gene variant that boosts immune memory after exposure to prior seasonal cold viruses

Researchers found that people with a specific gene variant were two to eight times more likely to not have symptoms after infection.

Danillo Augusto, Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences, University of North Carolina – Charlotte • conversation
July 19, 2023 ~5 min

96.4% of Americans had COVID-19 antibodies in their blood by fall 2022

There’s pretty much no one left in the US who hasn’t been exposed to the coronavirus, whether by vaccination, infection or both.

Derek Cummings, Professor of Biology, the Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida • conversation
June 15, 2023 ~5 min

Rejecting science has a long history – the pandemic showed what happens when you ignore this

You’d be surprised how far back the roots of anti-vaccine arguments stretch.

Katrine K. Donois, PhD Candidate in Science Communication, Anglia Ruskin University • conversation
Feb. 23, 2023 ~7 min


Even bivalent updated COVID-19 boosters struggle to prevent omicron subvariant transmission – an immunologist discusses why new approaches are necessary

The new bivalent boosters against COVID-19 have failed to halt omicron infections. However, new technologies are being developed that pave a way forward.

Matthew Woodruff, Instructor of Human Immunology, Emory University • conversation
Jan. 25, 2023 ~10 min

Long COVID: How researchers are zeroing in on the self-targeted immune attacks that may lurk behind it

A new study finds that misdirected immune responses can persist for months in those who are suffering from long COVID-19.

Matthew Woodruff, Instructor of Human Immunology, Emory University • conversation
Aug. 31, 2022 ~9 min

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