Epidemiology
What Does the Future of Monkeypox Look Like?
With cases declining in the U.S. and Europe, here are some scenarios of how the outbreak might play out
Stories by Sara Reardon
Vaccines
First U.S. Polio Case in Nearly a Decade Highlights the Importance of Vaccination
An unvaccinated person in New York State’s Rockland County developed paralysis from a polio infection, emphasizing the need to target vaccination efforts to vulnerable communities
Epidemiology
Why is Monkeypox Evolving So Fast?
The virus circulating in the current outbreak has mutated 50 times in the past four years
Epidemiology
This AI Tool Could Predict the Next Coronavirus Variant
The model, which uses machine learning to track the fitness of different viral strains, accurately predicted the rise of Omicron’s BA.2 subvariant and the Alpha variant
Reproduction
New Abortion Laws Could Make Prenatal Genetic Screening Harder to Do
States that outlaw abortions after a certain number of weeks could make it difficult or impossible to terminate a pregnancy because of a serious genetic disorder
Epidemiology
Long COVID Risk Falls Only Slightly after Vaccination
Results from a large study suggest that vaccines offer less protection against lingering symptoms than expected
Medicine
A Simple Solution Would Make COVID Antivirals More Accessible, Pharmacists Say
The Biden administration’s Test to Treat program aims to make the treatments available at pharmacies, yet it requires a medical provider to prescribe the drugs
Epidemiology
Wastewater Monitoring Offers Powerful Tool for Tracking COVID and Other Diseases
A CDC database of sewage data from communities around the nation could provide earlier warning of outbreaks and new viral variants
Cognition
Can Lab-Grown Brains Become Conscious?
A handful of experiments are raising questions about whether clumps of cells and disembodied brains could be sentient and how scientists would know if they were
Health Care
When Should You Get a COVID Test?
It depends, but vaccinated people should generally wait five days after exposure before taking an antigen test. Here’s why
Ethics
Will Giving COVID Booster Shots Make It Harder to Vaccinate the Rest of the World?
Wealthy countries have bought up most of the available vaccine doses for booster shots but still have far more than they need
Reproduction
A Timeline of How Abortion Laws Could Affect Pregnancy Decisions
If the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade in a Mississippi abortion case, numerous state laws will interfere with key biological and social decisions during pregnancy
Medicine
Do Monoclonal Antibodies Help COVID Patients?
Experts explain what this treatment involves, who needs it and how to get it
Natural Disasters
The True Haiti Earthquake Death Toll Is Much Worse Than Early Official Counts
A tool built by the U.S. Geological Survey suggests that the number of fatalities may range from 10,000 to 100,000 or more
Epidemiology
Why Do Variants Such as Delta Become Dominant?
Mutations that make a virus more transmissible are only part of the equation
Public Health
How the Delta Variant Spreads So Quickly
Viral load is roughly 1,000 times higher in people infected with the Delta variant than those infected with the original coronavirus strain, according to a study in China
Public Health
COVAX Effort to Vaccinate the World Is Faltering
The international collaboration does not have enough COVID vaccine doses to meet its goals, so wealthy countries must step up to fill the gap
Neuroscience
Injection of Light-Sensitive Proteins Restores Blind Man’s Vision
The first successful clinical test of optogenetics lets a person see for the first time in decades, with help from image-enhancing goggles
Policy
New Arkansas Law—and Similar Bills—Endanger Transgender Youth, Research Shows
The legislation runs counter to evidence that puberty blockers and hormone treatments are safe and save lives
Public Health
A Visual Guide to the New Coronavirus Variants
The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus seems to be suddenly acquiring mutations at a rapid rate. The most worrying variants, first discovered in South Africa and Brazil, increase the virus’s contagiousness and may even help it evade the human immune system...
