What we're reading
Every day, we share what we're reading, listening to, and watching in the world of global health — from well-reported news articles and in-depth studies to timely podcast episodes and features
Latest
‘The disruption is enormous.’ Coronavirus epidemic snarls science worldwide
Universities across the country remain closed; access to labs is restricted, projects mothballed, fieldwork interrupted, and travel severely curtailed
The Epidemic of Despair / Will America’s Mortality Crisis Spread to the Rest of the World?
Since the mid-1990s, the U.S. has been suffering from an epidemic of “deaths of despair”—caused by drug overdose, alcoholic liver disease, or suicide
Sugary Drink Consumption Plunges in Chile After New Food Law
Four years after Chile embraced the world’s most sweeping measures to combat mounting obesity, a partial verdict on their effectiveness is in…
Why Does the Indian State Both Fail and Succeed?
The most striking fact about the Indian state is how varied its performance has been... from woefully inadequate to surprisingly impressive
Understanding pandemics: What they mean, don’t mean, and what comes next with the coronavirus
... But what is a pandemic? And if efforts like the quarantining of returning travelers cannot stop spread of the virus, what will?
The Proximal Origin of SARS-CoV-2
SARS-CoV-2 is the 7th Coronavirus known to infect people. Now genetic analyses reveal it is optimized for binding to ACE2 receptors in the human lung.
‘Against all odds’: The inside story of how scientists across three continents produced an Ebola vaccine
The story of the Ebola vaccine began, as scientific advances often do, with a good idea and a lucky break.
How to Fix American Health Care
Deep dysfunction: about 30% of U.S. health care spending—~$1 trillion/year—is wasted on inefficiencies, undue expenses, duplications, fraud, and abuse
FDA Finalizes Enforcement Policy on Unauthorized Flavored Cartridge-Based E-Cigarettes That Appeal to Children, Including Fruit and Mint
Companies that do not cease manufacture, distribution and sale of unauthorized flavored e-cigarettes... within 30 days risk FDA enforcement.
Why Experts Are Worried About a New Virus in China
The virus appears to be less dangerous than SARS, but there are still concerns of a wider outbreak in Asia
How Poverty Ends
The Many Paths to Progress—and Why They Might Not Continue
The World Knows an Apocalyptic Pandemic Is Coming
Ominous independent report to UN by Global Preparedness Monitoring Board warns of “very real threat”—a future pandemic killing up to 80 million people