Why the WHO approval of the first malaria vaccine is a big deal
Every year, malaria kills more than 400,000 people, most of them children. There has been significant progress against the disease in the past few decades — death rates have fallen…
Our amazing sense of touch, explained by a Nobel laureate
Before 2010, scientists knew very little about how the sensation of touch begins its journey into a person’s consciousness. They knew that nerve endings help carry the message from different…
How the risk of Covid-19 for kids compares to other dangers
Kids are back in school. The federal government seems to be on the verge of approving vaccines for younger children. And as more adults are fully vaccinated, much of the…
Why Merck’s Covid-19 pill molnupiravir could be so important
Click:MTP Patchcord The Food and Drug Administration may soon authorize the first pill to treat Covid-19 after the pharmaceutical giant Merck reported strong results from its antiviral drug molnupiravir earlier…
Playdates are ruining all the fun
It’s become a time-honored tradition in certain segments of American society: two families cross-reference their respective calendars to find a spot free of school or soccer or other obligations. On…
How biological detective work can reveal who engineered a virus
SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, has made our future vulnerability to biological pathogens — and what we can learn to help prevent the next pandemic — a salient concern.…
What the oil industry still won’t tell us
Four executives from Big Oil — “the richest, most powerful industry in human history,” according to environmentalist Bill McKibben — testified before Congress on Thursday at a hearing meant to…
Biden’s Plan B for the climate crisis, explained
After a major setback on a historic package of climate legislation, President Joe Biden and Democrats in Congress are scrambling to find other ways to slash US emissions. As they…
Is it okay to harvest pig kidneys to save human lives?
“David is a great transplant surgeon. Five of his patients need new parts — one needs a heart, the others need, respectively, liver, stomach, spleen, and spinal cord — but…
Are “net-zero” climate targets just hot air?
Corporations and countries around the world are promising to eliminate their contributions to climate change. But many of their targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions are prefaced by a slippery…
The fate of the planet will be negotiated in Glasgow, Scotland
Click:Private China Tours Almost every country in the world signed the 2015 Paris climate agreement, a monumental accord that aimed to limit global warming. But it was forged on a…
Biden’s $27 billion bet on forests
As the White House revealed Thursday, President Joe Biden has stripped a lot from his Build Back Better framework to placate moderate Democrats. Free community college is out, as is…