Book Review: The Pandemic May Be the Least of It
In “The Precipice,” Toby Ord sees humanity at a crossroads, and examines the daunting existential risks to our survival, and how we might confront them. Will we address anthropogenic threats head-on?...
View ArticleAs Covid-19 Vaccine Race Heats Up, Other Interventions Flounder
On Wednesday, pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and a German partner, BioNTech, announced that they had reached a $1.95 billion deal with the U.S. government for 50 million courses of a Covid-19 vaccine —...
View ArticleArtificial Intelligence, Health Disparities, and Covid-19
Artificial intelligence has transformed health care, using large datasets to improve diagnostics and treatment. But some AI-powered medical tools replicate racial bias — raising questions about whether...
View ArticleCovid-19 Isn’t the Only Humanitarian Crisis Inside U.S. Prisons
State prisons today are severely underfunded, understaffed, overcrowded, and deteriorating — a system described by one Florida legislator as “bare and naked incarceration.” While Covid-19 outbreaks...
View ArticleIn India’s Chennai, River Restoration Lands Hardest on the Poor
The problem, critics say, is that the implementation of these otherwise well-intentioned river clean-up programs weighs heavily on — and with little regard for — the thousands of low-income inhabitants...
View ArticleThe Dangers of an Unwitnessed Pandemic
The aloneness experienced by Covid-19 patients is one of the most heartbreaking aspects of the pandemic. Health care workers aside, few will witness firsthand the intense suffering and death that the...
View ArticleBook Review: A Hopeful Vision of Our Planet’s Future
In “The Future Earth,” Eric Holthaus outlines an ambitious path toward mitigating climate change through advances in technology and the creation of a “stewardship” economy. By focusing on the bright...
View ArticleFalse Hydroxychloroquine Claims Go Viral Again
At a press conference on Monday, a group of doctors and right-wing political activists highlighted the drug hydroxychloroquine as part of “a cure” for Covid-19, despite a lack of supporting scientific...
View ArticleWhen a Contagion Comes, Women Bear a Heavy Burden
Women are disproportionately represented on the front lines of health care delivery for millions of coronavirus cases globally. They have also been more likely to lose work, to experience child care...
View ArticleWill Covid-19 Vaccine Trials Reflect America’s Diversity?
Advocates say that studying a diverse population is vital to the science of vaccines and other treatments, even if recruiting patients is more difficult. But pressure to rapidly produce an effective...
View ArticleBiotechnology Could Change the Cattle Industry. Will it Succeed?
Scientists are turning to gene editing to bypass conventional breeding practices and create cows that are healthier, meatier, and less harmful to the environment. But in the wake of several...
View ArticleA Rift Over Carl Linnaeus Shows We Shouldn’t Idolize Scientists
After a two-year fight, a leading entomology society has renamed a quiz competition named after Carl Linnaeus, a father of modern taxonomy who also helped lay a foundation for racist pseudoscience. The...
View ArticleBook Review: Why You Should Think Twice About Showering
In “Clean: The New Science of Skin,” James Hamblin explores our obsession with cleansers and skin-potions and seeks to upend some popular wisdom about personal hygiene. Sketching the outlines of a map...
View ArticleCovid-19 Testing Delays Continue to Plague U.S.
For months, public health experts have said that widespread, rapid Covid-19 testing is essential for controlling the pandemic, which has now killed an estimated 160,100 people in the U.S., with around...
View ArticleIn Afghanistan, a Drug Sparks Hope — and Charges of Quackery
In a June 9 press conference, the Afghan Ministry of Public Health issued a warning about a popular herbal drug for Covid-19 purveyed by one clinic: It doesn’t work and may be addictive. In a country...
View ArticleHigher Covid-19 Rates Seen in Health Care Workers of Color
A new study on Covid-19 in health care workers contains stark findings: People of color are twice as likely to get the virus than White counterparts, more likely to report inadequate PPE, and more...
View ArticleShould You Risk Covid-19 to Get Routine Health Screenings?
Many health facilities are beckoning patients back, telling them it’s safe and prudent to schedule appointments for routine screening tests. But some critics are pushing back, suggesting that patients...
View ArticleAbsent Federal Rules, Farmworkers Face Covid-19 Risks
Farms have already reported outbreaks among hundreds of workers in California, Washington, Florida, and Michigan. But the federal government has not established any enforceable rules to protect...
View ArticleIn Bolivia, a Model for Indigenous Groups Grappling With Covid-19
Since March, a team of anthropologists, physicians, and members of Bolivia’s Indigenous Tsimane community have been crafting a plan to help the Tsimane weather the Covid-19 pandemic. The takeaway...
View ArticleRussia’s Rushed Covid-19 Vaccine Worries Health Experts
On Tuesday, Russian president Vladimir Putin announced that his country had become the first to approve a Covid-19 vaccine. There’s one major catch: The vaccine has not gone through the full,...
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