Africa battles out-of-control polio outbreaks | Science

On 17 February, Malawi’s Ministry of Health announced a nasty surprise: A 3-year-old girl who was paralyzed in November 2021 was infected with the wild poliovirus, which Africa officially vanquished in 2020. The sequence of the virus showed it had somehow made the leap from Pakistan, one of the last two holdouts of the wild … Read more

Tracking Outbreaks Through Sewers, and Kids’ Vaccines on Hold Again | COVID Quickly, Episode 24

Tanya Lewis: Hi, and welcome to COVID, Quickly, a Scientific American podcast series. Josh Fischman: This is your fast-track update on the COVID pandemic. We bring you up to speed on the science behind the most urgent questions about the virus and the disease. We demystify the research and help you understand what it really … Read more

Mysterious Syndrome Turning Sea Stars Into Goo Reveals Another Strange Twist

As we battle against our own pandemic, sea stars are being killed in the millions by a horrible condition that melts them into a sickly goo. Sadly, there’s no straightforward way to help these animals, such as protecting them with a vaccine, so conservation biologists have been desperately trying to find another way.   In … Read more

A Common Sugar Additive Could Be Driving The Rise of One of The Most Aggressive Superbugs

A sugar additive used in several foods could have helped spread a seriously dangerous superbug around the US, according to a 2018 study. The finger of blame is pointed squarely at the sugar trehalose, found in foods such as nutrition bars and chewing gum.   If the findings are confirmed, it’s a stark warning that … Read more