Public Health
The U.S. Just Lost 26 Years’ Worth of Progress on Life Expectancy
COVID and overdose deaths have sharply cut U.S. life expectancy, with Indigenous peoples experiencing the biggest decline
Stories by Tanya Lewis
Epidemiology
How the Pandemic Shortened Life Expectancy and New Drugs on the Horizon: COVID, Quickly, Episode 40
In this episode of the COVID, Quickly podcast, we talk about why we’ve had years shaved off our average collective life since 2020. Also, we talk about “mabs” and why you might want to know what they are...
Nutrition
New System Ranks Evidence for Health Risks of Eating Red Meat, Smoking, and More—But Critics Say It’s Overly Simplistic
Researchers developed a five-star rating system for the risks of smoking, eating unprocessed red meat and other factors. Some scientists say the findings aren’t surprising—and could be used to cast doubt on decades of health advice...
Anthropology
Discoveries about Ancient Human Evolution Win 2022 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Svante Pääbo’s work on sequencing the DNA of Neandertals and Denisovans, which won the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, revealed surprising interbreeding among human species...
Public Health
What the Disease Feels Like, and Presidents Can’t End Pandemics: COVID, Quickly, Episode 39
On this episode of the COVID, Quickly podcast, Josh Fischman gets COVID, and President Joe Biden says the pandemic is over.
Vaccines
Unvaxxed Kids and 8 Days a Week (of Isolation): COVID, Quickly, Episode 38
This is our second back-to-school special episode of COVID. Quickly . Today we talk about two big issues: the low vaccination rates among the littlest kids and how long you should quarantine after being sick (actually)...
Public Health
Why So Few Young Kids Are Vaccinated against COVID—And How to Change That
A small fraction of young children in the U.S. are vaccinated against COVID. Pediatricians can help
Public Health
Back-to-School Special: Kids, Tests and Long COVID Reassurance: COVID, Quickly, Episode 37
This is our back-to-school special episode of COVID, Quickly . We’ll talk about why COVID testing is about to become a school problem—and about whether or not kids are at risk for long COVID...
Public Health
How to Improve Indoor Air Quality
Why do we pay attention to the quality of our drinking water but not to our indoor air? Scientific American senior health editor Tanya Lewis explains how and why this matters...
Public Health
Monkeypox Explained: Transmission, Symptoms, Vaccines and Treatment
Frequently asked questions about how monkeypox spreads, who’s most at risk, and what vaccines and treatments are available
Vaccines
Monkeypox Update and Homing in on Long COVID: COVID, Quickly, Episode 36
On this episode of the COVID, Quickly podcast, we take a few minutes to talk about the other virus making headlines—and then return to long COVID.
Physiology
How Scientists Revived Dead Pigs’ Organs, and What the Feat Means for Transplants
A whole-body perfusion system restored cellular activity in pigs an hour postmortem
Physiology
Scientists Revive Human Retinas after Death
Restoring eye tissue postmortem could pave the way for reviving other types of brain tissue
Vaccines
How Common Are Reinfections? And How Trust Can Beat the Virus: COVID, Quickly, Episode 35
On this episode of the COVID, Quickly podcast, we talk about getting reinfected with the coronavirus just a month or two after an earlier bout—and the difference that trusting others can make in a pandemic...
Medicine
There Is an Effective Treatment for Monkeypox, but It’s Hard to Get
A smallpox antiviral that’s effective against monkeypox is tied up in red tape, and gay-health advocates are pushing to make it easier to access
Vaccines
5 Things to Know about Monkeypox
From symptoms to vaccines and treatment, here are some fast facts about monkeypox.
Epidemiology
U.S. Monkeypox Response Has Been Woefully Inadequate, Experts Say
Testing bottlenecks and vaccine rollout problems have let the monkeypox virus spread unchecked, echoing the mistakes of the U.S. COVID response
Vaccines
Omicron’s Nasty New Variants and Better Boosters to Battle Them: COVID, Quickly, Episode 34
On this episode of the COVID, Quickly podcast, we talk about the increase in new Omicron subvariants. Should fall vaccine boosters contain standard Omicron or some of those new subvariants instead?...
Reproduction
How Abortion Medications Differ from Plan B and Other Emergency Contraceptives
Drugs such as mifepristone and misoprostol end a pregnancy, whereas the “morning-after pill” works by preventing one
Vaccines
Kids’ Vaccines at Last and Challenges in Making New Drugs: COVID, Quickly, Episode 33
On this episode of the COVID, Quickly podcast, we discuss some parents breathing a collective sigh of relief and the paradox of how effective vaccines can make it harder to create new drugs to treat patients who get the coronavirus...
