Public Health
Are we scratching the surface of what an old vaccination method can do?
Smallpox vaccine was administered by scratching the skin. Mice suggest this old-school method may work better against other respiratory viruses as well.
Predicting which birds can cause Lyme disease spread
Lyme disease spreads via infected ticks, some of whom pick it up from birds. But which birds may carry the disease to new places?
New discovery could stop dengue’s “breakbone” fever
Making a dengue vaccine is difficult. It’s early, but a new antibody that targets a protein the virus makes instead of the virus itself may be a solution.
Vaccines and recovery both provide strong COVID-19 immunity
Natural COVID-19 immunity — the kind coronavirus survivors have — is about as robust as the immunity prompted by vaccines.
These are the medical breakthroughs that inspired us in 2020
2020 has put medicine to the forefront like never before. Freethink’s B. David Zarley looked back on the year and chose three medical developments that inspired him.
The new coronavirus mutation: What we know & what we need to figure out
A new coronavirus mutation is spreading quickly in the U.K. Here’s what we know about the coronavirus strain and what we need to figure out.
Tobacco-based COVID-19 vaccine moves to human trials
British American Tobacco has FDA approval to begin human trials on a tobacco-based COVID-19 vaccine that could potentially be stored at room temperature.
Your questions about the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine answered
If you have questions about the COVID-19 vaccine approved for use in the U.S., this is your place to find answers.
A universal flu vaccine has aced phase 1 trials
Influenza’s constant genetic shifting means flu vaccines aim at a moving target. But a universal flu vaccine just passed its phase 1 trials.
HIV can hide inside human cells for years. Can CRISPR cut it out?
Using CRISPR to stop the replication of SIV, a primate virus closely related to HIV, researchers may have taken a step to wiping the virus out in the body.