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public health

Ancient DNA reveals plague wreaked havoc 5,500 years before Black Death

Ancient DNA reveals plague wreaked havoc 5,500 years before Black Death

By Stephen Beech The "highly lethal" oldest strains of plague were killing people thousands of years before the Black Death, according to new research. Plague is usually associated with rats, crowded medieval cities, and the epidemics that swept across Europe during the Middle Ages. The Black Death, which

Rural areas lag behind in cancer treatment and prevention – even as rich, urban areas increasingly leave dying from cancer in the rearview

Rural areas lag behind in cancer treatment and prevention – even as rich, urban areas increasingly leave dying from cancer in the rearview

(STARKVILLE, MISS.) Cancer in the United States experienced a dramatic turnaround in 1991. Prior to that year, cancer deaths had been increasing for decades, peaking at 215 deaths per 100,000 people, meaning about 1 in 4 deaths were attributed to cancer. Then it began to consistently decline, decreasing by

US immigration policies interfere with prenatal care and parenting choices, hurting people and communities

US immigration policies interfere with prenatal care and parenting choices, hurting people and communities

(AMHERST, MASS.) Late in her pregnancy in the fall of 2025, Jacqueline, a Guatemalan immigrant living in North Florida, began planning for labor alone. After her husband was detained and deported by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, she stopped leaving her home except when absolutely necessary. Even routine prenatal visits felt

'The roulette wheel is spinning': Quammen on the future of pandemics and politics

'The roulette wheel is spinning': Quammen on the future of pandemics and politics

Science journalist David Quammen predicted the pandemic era eight years before COVID-19. Now, in a year of multiple viral outbreaks worldwide, he warns that the next pandemic scares him less than the paranoid and politicized American public that would have to survive it. “My prediction is that there will

How cuts to CDC are dismantling its capacity to protect Americans’ health

Since the Trump administration took office in January 2025, the workforce at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has weathered uncertainty and change. Mass firings, communication freezes, political interference in the CDC’s scientific mission and a revolving door of leaders have created a challenging work environment for the

Two NIH scientists in Montana charged with ‘smuggling’ virus

Two scientists with a federal infectious disease research institute in Hamilton are accused of smuggling samples of monkeypox, or “Mpox,” into the United States and lying to law enforcement. Vincent Munster, chief of the Virus Ecology unit in the Laboratory of Virology at the Rocky Mountain Laboratory in Hamilton, and

How germy is the public pool? An infectious disease expert weighs in on poop, pee and perspiration – and the deceptive smell of chlorine

How germy is the public pool? An infectious disease expert weighs in on poop, pee and perspiration – and the deceptive smell of chlorine

On hot summer days, few things are more refreshing than a dip in the pool. But have you ever wondered if the pool is as clean as that crystal blue water appears? As an immunologist and infectious disease specialist, I study how germs spread in public spaces and how to