Disease

This transmission electron microscopic image shows the pandemic coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.

Over 20,000 Years Ago, a Coronavirus Epidemic Left Marks in Human DNA

The oldest modern coronavirus is about 820 years old, but humanity has been fighting similar viruses for millennia

CRISPR allows scientists to cut and insert small slices of DNA with precision, illustrated here.

Early Study Shows Promise of CRISPR Injection to Treat Rare Disease

Three people who received a high dose of the gene editing tool in a clinical study saw significant improvement in their condition

Officials at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention anticipate that Delta will become the dominant variant in the United States within the next few months.

Covid-19 Delta Variant Emerges as Primary Threat Around the World

A surge of cases in the United Kingdom suggests that Delta is the most transmissible variant yet identified

Scholars used a newly developed technique to test skeletons' teeth for the presence of Yersinia pestis, the pathogen responsible for the plague.

Why Weren't These Black Death Victims Buried in Mass Graves?

New research suggests some Europeans who died of the bubonic plague were individually interred with care

A Covid-19 restrictions sign hangs outside a supermarket in Austin, Texas. Lauren Ancel Meyers at the University of Texas at Austin has shared her team’s modeling results with city officials who make decisions about Covid-19 measures.

What Data Scientists Learned by Modeling the Spread of Covid-19

Models of the disease have become more complex, but are still only as good as the assumptions at their core and the data that feed them

Part of a clinical study called Project S, a small town in Brazil set out to vaccinate its entire adult population. With 95% of adults vaccinated, the city has seen a steep decline in Covid-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths.

Mass Vaccination Success in This Small Brazil City Shows Promise of Low-Efficacy Vaccines

In Serrana, 95 percent of adults received the CoronaVac vaccine, which has a 50% efficacy rate. Now, the city is ready to reopen

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

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