The COVID-19 pandemic is an unfolding story told in numbers. While news reports focus on the number of tests, cases, hospitalizations, and…
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post COVID Genomes Paint Portrait of an Evolving PathogenRead more
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post Can Past Coronavirus Infection Protect Against COVID-19? Hints from Smallpox VaccineRead more
In ordinary times, a new report describing experiments on bits of smallpox scabs nestled in Civil War museum artifacts would have been…
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post A Tale of Two Clinical Trials: Gene Therapy for a Rare Disease and a Vaccine for COVID-19Read more
Encouraging preliminary findings in a phase I clinical trial for a COVID-19 vaccine were widely reported as soon as the paper appeared…
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post Gastruloids Stand In for Early Human EmbryosRead more
Remember human embryonic stem (hES) cells? We don’t hear much about them anymore. And so I was surprised to see an application…
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post Two Views of Leeches, A Century ApartRead more
Two genome sequences of the European medicinal leech Hirudo medicinalis have just been revealed in a pair of papers, and the unexpected…
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post How an Antibody Cocktail Against COVID-19 Channels the 3 Stooges – But is a Great IdeaRead more
“You imbecile!” bellowed Moe Howard as he stuck a finger up the nose of Curly. Moe the bully would often flick his…
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post Protests and the Pandemic: Will COVID-19 Resurge?Read more
Events have collided in a way that even the most imaginative fiction writer couldn’t have conjured up: a global assault by an…
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post Dr. Fauci Optimistic About COVID-19 Vaccine ProgressRead more
On June 2, JAMA (the Journal of the American Medical Association) held a Q+A for the media with Dr. Anthony Fauci, director…
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post The Fallacy of the “Make It So” Mentality to Rush a COVID-19 VaccineRead more
Taking a meatloaf out of the oven too soon is an inconvenience, easily corrected by shoving it back in until it’s ready…
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post Microbiome Analysis of Ancient FecesRead more
Sometimes it can be difficult to distinguish who left a pile of poop. Humans who live in multi-cat or multi-canine households might…
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post Will the COVID-19 Pandemic End Like War of the Worlds or Logan’s Run?Read more
In moments when I am not obsessively reading technical reports on COVID-19, my mind drifts to science fiction plots involving invaders. Do…
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post Meet the Cammalleri Sisters: How Did They Live to Be 106 and 113?Read more
Recently in my endless email about COVID-19 popped up a new paper analyzing the health of two Italian sisters who lived to…