public health

11.21.09

Instant Expert: the Return of Swine Flu

The Big Question: How many people will it infect this year?

By Melinda Wenner Posted 10.15.2009 at 11:21 am 2 Comments

Flu season in the Southern Hemisphere is almost over—and now it’s heading back our way. At the time this issue went to press, there were more than 162,000 confirmed cases and 1,154 deaths worldwide from “novel H1N1,” a.k.a. swine flu, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believes this figure is a gross underestimate, especially since only a fraction of people who have the flu go to the hospital.

[ Read Full Story ]

Science Confirms the Obvious: People Wash Their Hands More When They're Watched

By Laura Allen Posted 10.15.2009 at 7:39 am 5 Comments

A new public health study released just in time for Global Handwashing Day (today!) offers not one but two gems of Science-Confirms-the-Obvious wisdom. Firstly: the gee-whizzer that men have poorer personal hygiene than women. Secondly, that people are more likely to wash their hands when others are watching.

[ Read Full Story ]

READ MORE ABOUT > habits, hands, handwashing, health, hygiene, observation, public health, Science Confirms the Obvious

Scientists Create First Map of Hotspots of Emerging Infectious Disease

New research shows where deadly pathogens are cropping up the fastest. Unfortunately, the hottest hot zones often have the least funding to monitor for emerging diseases

By Martha Harbison Posted 02.21.2008 at 6:06 pm 1 Comment

As if I'm not paranoid enough about contracting some germ-based doom from riding the subway everyday, now scientists have presented, in this week's issue of Nature, the first map of emerging infectious disease hotspots throughout the world. And, yep, New York City seems to be in the red.

[ Read Full Story ]

READ MORE ABOUT > drug-resistant pathogen, ebola, emerging diseases, epidemiology, multi-drug resistance, pathogens, public health

Like a cup of arsenic? Oh, you've already got some.

Arsenic levels vary widely, but they are dangerously high in much of the country.

By Trevor Thieme Posted 01.18.2002 at 8:03 pm 0 Comments

Arsenic is one of history's most infamous poisons. The Roman Emperor Nero used it to murder his rival to the throne, and some theorists hold that the deposed Napoleon Bonaparte was betrayed with a dose from trusted deputies. Yet, many Americans unwittingly drink toxic quantities of the stuff right from their taps.

[ Read Full Story ]

READ MORE ABOUT > arsenic, chemistry, newsfront, public health