For almost a decade, scientists chased the source of a deadly new virus through China’s tallest mountains and most isolated caverns. They finally found it in the bats of Shitou Cave. The virus in question was a coronavirus that caused an...

Scientists have learned more about the UK and South American variant of the COVID-19 virus, and how they might be affected by vaccines. The news isn't good, but behind the scary headlines is important research that can help us be better...

Viruses are wildly successful organisms. There are about 100 million times as many virus particles on Earth as there are stars in the observable universe. Even so, viruses can and do go extinct. So, what is the possibility of the virus...

Two new versions of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, the UK and South African variants, were announced in December. They've spread quickly in their countries of origin, and have begun popping up around the world. Join us to find out...

Some countries are planning to wait up to 12 weeks to administer second doses of COVID-19 vaccines. Will this slow the virus?

Masks do wonders to stop the spread of infection and inhalation of harmful particles, and some new technology can make them both more effective and easier to clean.

On April 3rd, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention started recommending that people wear a mask over their face when they go out in public. Except, for many of us, this isn’t the message we’ve gotten for the last couple of...

Thanks to strontium, oxygen, and rings in a tusk, scientists now have evidence that extinct mastodons may have participated in yearly migrations.

History has shown us that in moments of crisis, society can truly transform, says environmental educator Severn Cullis-Suzuki. Nearly 30 years ago, at just 12 years old, she spoke at the UN's Earth Summit in hopes of reversing the...

What does it mean when a virus is airborne? It turns out it's more than just what comes out when you sneeze

Our food systems have not been designed to adapt to major disruptions like climate change, says environmental journalist Amanda Little. In this eye-opening talk, she shows how the climate crisis could devastate our food supply -- and...

COVID isn’t the only virus to cause long-lasting symptoms. Other viruses - including the flu - can have similar enduring effects on our tissues and immune systems.

In which John looks at what it even means to live in a global age, as we've been talking about Europe's role in the gobal community for 47 episodes now. But, pedantry aside, the world is more connected than ever, and that has had effects...

Researchers believe you can get reinfected with COVID-19, but we're not quite sure if that's a bad thing yet.

Some people who get sick with COVID-19 don't feel any symptoms of the disease, but what does an asymptomatic COVID-19 infection look like?

Alcohol-based hand sanitizers are an effective way to kill a myriad of potentially harmful microbes. But is there a risk of germs becoming resistant to this ubiquitous liquid?

What if we treated the risk of pandemics the same way we treat the risk of fires? In this eye-opening talk, infectious disease epidemiologist Jennifer B. Nuzzo unpacks how the Great Baltimore Fire of 1904 sparked a cultural shift in how...

Wearing a mask is a cheap and easy way to help stop the spread of airborne infections like COVID-19. It’s also a sign that you want to help protect other people and have them protect you… that we’re all in this together. Here’s some...

If you've received a vaccine that's 95% effective, that does not mean you have a 5% chance of getting sick. That’s just not how the numbers are calculated. So let’s take a closer look at how it does work, why we can’t compare these...

In the 20th century, most vaccines took over a decade to research, test, and produce. But the vaccines for COVID-19 were cleared for emergency use in less than 11 months. The secret behind this speed is a medical technology that's been...

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has destroyed so much -- including hundreds of schools, where the country's children were forging their futures -- but it has not stopped Ukrainians from pursuing knowledge and curiosity. In a deeply...

Some experts feared we were in for a "twindemic" during the 2020-2021 flu season. That didn't happen, which might mean that there will be more people susceptible to getting sick this year.

What if tiny microparticles could help us solve the world's biggest problems in a matter of minutes? That's the promise -- and magic -- of quantum computers, says Matt Langione. Speaking next to an actual IBM quantum computer, he...

Want to help map the world? Community builder Rebecca Firth explains how the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT) is using open-source software powered by volunteers to put one billion people on the map in the next five years. (This...