Jul 30, 2023
The pandemic is over Excess deaths, US, January 2020 to July 2023. Source: Our World in Data. The COVID-19 pandemic is over A lifetime ago–April 2020–I wrote the first of four blog posts on the coronavirus “Endgame.” As we floundered through...
Jun 22, 2023
Lab leak vs spillover: Origin of COVID-19 Electron micrograph of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Public Health Images library, CDC, public domain. Where did SARS-CoV-2 come from? SARS-CoV-2 is the formal name of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. A key...
Feb 4, 2023
Before COVID, There Was Flu Photo by Alan Emery on Unsplash Will bird flu be the source of the next global pandemic? As a microbiology professor and a science thriller novelist, I’ve been fascinated by deadly plagues for a long time. My interest began when I...
Sep 25, 2021
Vaccines and Bacon Photo by Michelle @New Layer Photography on Unsplash This morning I visited my local farmers’ market, a favorite activity of mine. Here in California’s Central Valley we have access to a world-class assortment of the best fresh local produce. Today...
Sep 4, 2019
Tardigrades crash-landed on the moon! According to these reports in Wired and Popular Mechanics, the freakishly resilient microscopic creatures tardigrades (also known as “water bears”) have landed on the moon. In April of this year (2019), a private...
