Disease

The World Health Organization has identified four variants of concern, named Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta, and six variants of interest.

Talking About Coronavirus Variants Just Got Easier With New Greek Letter Naming System

The move aims to remove the stigmatization of location-based names and reduce the confusion of scientific names

A health worker preserves mucosal swab samples at a Covid-19 testing center in New Delhi, India.

Scientists Are Creating a Blood Test to Measure Covid-19 Immunity

Once researchers determine a 'correlate of protection,' they will be able to measure immunity and develop new vaccines more quickly

Iztuzu Beach in Turkey was closed during part of the pandemic. Around the world, lockdowns to combat Covid-19 forced people to stay home and halt activities—with mixed results for ecosystems and the living things within them.

The Positive and Negative Impacts of Covid on Nature

The absence of humans in some places led animals to increase, while the cancellation of conservation work in other places harmed species

A nurse gives a 16-year-old a Pfizer-BioNTech shot at a clinic in Florida.

Moderna Announces Its Covid-19 Vaccine Is Effective in Adolescents

The company completed a final phase trials in 3,732 adolescents between ages 12 and 17

In a lab experiment, a blind 58-year-old male volunteer was able to identify the position of two cups after receiving a new type of gene therapy.

New Gene Therapy Partially Restores Sight to Blind Man

Researchers inserted genes that code for light-sensitive proteins in algae into the man’s retina, and now he reports limited but much improved vision

Cardioids begin to pulse with a heartbeat after seven days of development.

This Lab-Grown Mini Heart Can Keep a Beat

The creation, called a cardioid, will help with the study of heart disease and the discovery of new medications

New research suggests the intrepid adventurer's persistent health problems stemmed from beriberi, a disease linked to vitamin B-1 deficiency.

What Mysterious Illness Plagued Polar Explorer Ernest Shackleton?

The Antarctic adventurer was initially diagnosed with scurvy, but new research suggests he actually suffered from beriberi

Oxitec placed six hexagonal boxes of mosquitoes on private properties in the Florida Keys.

Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Take Flight to Fight Invasive Species in Florida

Invasive Aedes aegypti mosquitoes can carry disease, so Oxitec’s modified strain is designed to reduce their numbers

At the end of April, the CDC released guidance that said fully vaccinated people could safely go outdoors without wearing masks; the new guidance expands on that to include most indoor activities.

New CDC Covid-19 Guidance Says Fully Vaccinated People Can Safely Go Maskless

In healthcare settings, mass transit, and where local laws require it, people should continue to wear masks

A 16-year-old gets her Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine from a nurse in Anaheim, California, after use for people 16 and older was approved in April.

First Covid-19 Vaccine Authorized for Kids Ages 12 to 15

Officials and parents hope to vaccinate young teens against the coronavirus in time for summer recreation and school in the fall

Remains of individuals unearthed at the site of the former Hospital of St. John the Evangelist in Cambridge

Medieval Britain's Cancer Rates Were Ten Times Higher Than Previously Thought

A new analysis of 143 skeletons suggests the disease was more common than previously estimated, though still much rarer than today

The Milwaukee Bucks offered the Covid-19 vaccine to any fans over the age of 16 at the game on May 2.

How Common Are Your Covid-19 Vaccine Side Effects?

New data from the CDC shows the rates of side effects after each dose of Moderna and Pfizer’s vaccines

The majority of documented Covid-19 transmission has taken place indoors, with less than ten percent occurring outdoors, per the Associated Press.

CDC Eases Outdoor Mask-Wearing Guidelines for Small Groups

More than 90 percent of documented Covid-19 cases are sparked by transmission indoors

The Anopheles stephensi mosquito is a carrier of the malaria parasite, and can infect people with the parasite when it bites them

New Malaria Vaccine Trial Reports 77 Percent Efficacy Rate

The promising results were announced following a second phase vaccine trial that included 450 children between five and 17 months old

Grasses and coastal scrub photographed at Salt Point State Park in Northern California. This park is one of several coastal areas researchers surveyed as part of a new study of disease-carrying ticks.

California Study Finds Lyme Disease-Carrying Ticks by the Beach

Researchers found as many ticks carrying the bacterium that causes Lyme disease in coastal areas as they did in woodlands

Countries all over the world have made wastewater analysis a standard public health measure, and the U.S. lags behind many of them.

Sewage Has Stories to Tell. Why Won't the U.S. Listen?

Sewage epidemiology has been used in other countries for decades, but not here. Will Covid change that?

Surgeon Ala Stanford takes a pause from testing while standing near one of her group's signs in North Philadelphia.

Meet the Black Physicians Bringing Covid Vaccines to Hard-Hit Philadelphia Communities

The Black Doctors Covid-19 Consortium is leveraging their medical expertise and connections to provide testing and vaccines where measures are most needed

Some designers promote fashion lines based on kente cloth from Ghana.

When Is Kente Cloth Worn and More Questions From Our Readers

You've got questions. We've got experts

An illustration of antibodies responding to an infection by SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19

The Next Step in Covid-19 Vaccines May Be Through the Nose

Intranasal vaccines may help prevent transmission and hinder the evolution of new viral variants

Microscope image of an isolate from the first U.S. case of Covid-19. Viral particles are visible in blue.

WHO Releases Results of First Investigation Into the Origin of Covid-19

The virus was most likely first spread from a wild animal, possibly bats, to an unknown intermediate animal, possibly farm animals, and then to humans

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