National Geographic3 days agoOne of the best tools for predicting COVID-19 outbreaks? Sewage.verified_publisherNational Geographic - Priyanka RunwalThe pandemic brought renewed attention to the value of wastewater monitoring for tracking pathogens and mitigating disease. CICERO, ILLINOISA noxious odor hits me as soon as I step in the Westside fine screening building at the Stickney Water Reclamation Plant—one of the world’s largest wastewater …
National Geographic3 days agoWhy Omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5 are causing fresh U.S. outbreaksverified_publisherNational Geographic - Sanjay MishraMore infectious than past strains, these subvariants can also more easily escape antibodies from vaccines and previous infections. Two Omicron subvariants are now causing more than half of new coronavirus infections in the United States—and both are very good at dodging antibodies in people who have …
National GeographicYoung adults are volunteering to get COVID-19—for scienceverified_publisherNational Geographic - Priyanka RunwalSARS-CoV-2 "challenge trials" can help scientists better understand the immune system's response to the virus, which could yield improved vaccines and treatments. Paul Zimmer-Harwood enjoys taking on extreme challenges. In 2016, when he was 24 years old, he swam 18 hours to complete a 26-mile …
National GeographicWhy a placebo can work—even when you know it's fakeverified_publisherNational Geographic - Meryl Davids LandauA placebo can trigger pain relief and other benefits even when patients are told the pills they are taking lack therapeutically active ingredients. When Betty Durkin stepped onto her deck last June, she slipped on a loose board and fell on the floor. Durkin broke her neck, seriously bruised her …
National GeographicBiggest bacterium ever discovered shakes our view of the single-celled worldverified_publisherNational Geographic - Sanjay MishraFor scientists, finding the huge, bizarrely complex microbe is like "encountering a human being ... as tall as Mount Everest.” We usually think of bacteria as organisms so small they can be seen only through a microscope. But scientists discovered a giant white bacterium lurking on rotting leaves in …
National GeographicFossil-finding ants amass huge haul of ancient creaturesverified_publisherNational Geographic - Michael GreshkoPaleontologists have just discovered 10 new species of ancient mammal thanks to the tiny mound-building insects. Across the western United States, the industrious insects known as harvester ants are often cast as pests. These ants gather seeds and live in large sediment mounds, and they can deliver …
Fossil-finding ants amass haul of ancient creatures—and 4 more captivating talesBy National Geographic
