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Of all the nasty things floating around out there just waiting around to kill us, viruses are the nastiest. You've all heard of smallpox, rabies, Spanish flu, polio, AIDS and Ebola. But emerging viral infections are seriously scary. 

We ve written several times about the Disneyland measles outbreak that occurred earlier this year. A total of 147 people were sickened in the US, and infections also spread to Mexico and Canada. The outbreak once again sparked the debate about vaccinations. With

Pfizer's vaccine is based on RNA, which is a very unstable molecule that is prone to breaking down. Storing it at -94° F prevents this, but it creates the logistical difficulty of transporting the vaccine.

You never know when you're going to find yourself 2,067 feet underwater off the coast of the Bahamas, looking for a sponge that doesn't exist yet. It's just another day at the office for antibiotic research scientists.

While the COVID crisis rages on across America, this massive epidemic and the coverage surrounding it -- while vitally important -- has effectively pushed another epidemic out of the media spotlight. Dr. Josh Bloom, ACSH's Director of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Science, and Dr. Jeffrey Singer, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, co-authored an Op-Ed in the Philadelphia Inquirer on the current state of the opioid crisis, to remind us that, among other things, pain patients are hurting and they must not be forgotten.

The activist group GM has attacked gene-edited crops by alleging that they're designed to increase pesticide use. Is there any truth to this allegation? With millions of COVID vaccine doses administered since December 2020, what have we learned about the risks associated with the shots?

Nabriva, an antibiotic biotech, recently announced that they were winding down its operations. While this is sad, it may not be so much a market failure problem in this particular case.

The world anxiously awaits while clinical trials of remdesivir are in progress. The drug failed to stop Ebola. Does this mean it will also fail to stop coronavirus? No. According to a new study in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, the drug should work better. Here's why.

The FDA has just rejected two petitions to ban a long list of antibiotics used in food animal production. The petitions, which date from 1995 and 2005, were filed by a number of consumer and sustainable agriculture advocates who are concerned that the use of these antibiotics in livestock to promote growth and prevent disease contributes to the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

We need new coronavirus variants like a duodenal ulcer, but they're here – something any virologist would have said was inevitable. Here's a lesson on how mutation works. Plus an explanation of what those crazy letters and numbers mean that you see in the news.

Studies investigating serious side effects associated with the COVID-19 vaccines are beginning to give us a better sense of how safe the shots are. Despite what you may see on Twitter, the evidence continues to show that vaccination poses minimal risk to the vast majority of people.

As of today, people who are immunocompromised are allowed to receive a booster shot. Sounds simple, right? That is, until the madness becomes evident.

The messaging on vaccination, now entering its booster phase, has been mismanaged. That said, was the decision by the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee “based” on science? Is it reasonable policy?

Natural immunity comes from being exposed to a microbe that causes a disease. Vaccination-mediated immunity comes from being exposed to a vaccine that is similar to but not the same as the microbe. If we understand a bit more about our immune system and its memory, it will help us navigate the information and misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines, the COVID variants, and the length of our immunologic memory.

Nearly a century ago, Lord Carnavon, who attended the opening of King Tut’s Tomb, died shortly afterwards, in April 1923. At the time, the sensational media linked his death to supernatural causes activated by the curse of the mummy’s tomb. More recently, this tale was rationalized by suggesting that his death was due to ancient disease causing microbes, lurking in the tomb, rather than supernatural influences.

Almost every week there is another scientific/medical advance made using the CRISPR-Cas9 system. Of course, we will continue to bring you news about all of the great ways in which CRISPR-Cas9 can be used in the future. But before we talk about medical advances, we first need to understand how the CRISPR-Cas9 system works.

Nearly a year into the pandemic, can we begin to make some definitive statements about the transmission of COVID-19 between individuals, based on a patient’s symptoms or testing? A meta-analysis provides some answers. (Or at least it gets us into the ballpark.)

Antiviral drugs will be a necessary addition to vaccines to tamp down COVID. Both Pfizer and Merck have drugs in the clinic and they both look good. Roche also has a candidate but things are looking pretty grim. How grim? Better read this.

It's intuitive that a robust immune response to COVID-19 will result in a less severe, even asymptomatic infection. A new study puts some numbers to the term "robust."

A new paper reports that Paxlovid-resistant Covid has been isolated, calling into question the utility of the drug as well as how it should be used. Is this cause for alarm? Not yet, but it could become just that. A look at viral resistance to drugs.

When combined, science and religion can be a powerful force for good. Let's use it to vanquish COVID.

Big news in the NFL! Superstar Aaron Rodgers, who claimed that he was "immunized" was playing the hidden ball trick with the public. He was nothing of the sort. Rodgers got homeopathic "treatment" instead of a vaccine and caught COVID. Perhaps he has taken too many shots to the head and not enough in the arm.

University of Montana researchers discovered that when grown in co-culture, two different species of the fungus Penicillium – the same genus that produces the antibiotic penicillin – cooperate to synthesize an antibiotic that neither species produces when grown alone.

Consumer Reports says conventional meat is causing more antibiotic resistance. Here is why they should stick to reviewing toasters.

Hospital-acquired infections are a major public health concern the risk of getting an infection while in the hospital is roughly 1 in 20. They are also an especially substantial burden because they are often difficult to treat due to their antibiotic resistance (therefore being dubbed superbugs). Just a few of these bacteria include MRSA, VRE, and CRE, which the CDC refers to as nightmare bacteria.