Michaeleen Doucleff appears in the following:
QUIZ: Test your knowledge of spillover viruses, starting with ... what are they?
Monday, January 30, 2023
As we launch a series about spillover viruses — like SARS-CoV-2, which triggered a global pandemic, you may have a lot of questions. So do we — 7, to be exact, in the quiz below.
Three years after COVID-19 started, scientists have learned valuable lessons
Saturday, January 28, 2023
Three years after the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a "public health emergency," scientists have learned several lessons about how pandemics begin and how to stop them.
Encore: Do China's COVID vaccines do the job?
Monday, January 02, 2023
As COVID spreads rapidly through China, rumors circulate about the effectiveness and safety of the Chinese-manufactured vaccines. But what does the scientific data actually say about these shots?
China's COVID vaccines: Do the jabs do the job?
Friday, December 30, 2022
As case counts surge in China, rumors circulate about the effectiveness and safety of the made-in-China vaccines in use there. Here's what we know about CoronaVac and Sinopharm.
Can dogs smell time? Just ask Donut the dog
Thursday, December 22, 2022
After decades of wondering, an NPR reporter finally figures out how her husband's family dog knew when the school bus would arrive everyday. She did some digging — and now it all makes scents.
China is facing what could be the world's biggest COVID surge yet
Friday, December 16, 2022
China is facing possibly the world's biggest coronavirus surge yet. At the high end of estimates, 800 million people in China could become infected. What does this mean for China and other countries?
COVID spreading faster than ever in China. 800 million could be infected this winter
Thursday, December 15, 2022
Scientists predict China will see the largest COVID surge of the pandemic this winter, with hundreds of millions of people infected. But some experts say that it could have been even worse.
Protests raise questions about why China is still relying on COVID restrictions
Wednesday, November 30, 2022
Protests in China have cast a spotlight on the country's "zero COVID" policy. But why is China still relying on restrictions when the rest of the world has mostly moved on?
Is China's 'zero COVID' policy even possible with omicron and its subvariants?
Wednesday, November 30, 2022
For nearly three years, China has enforced incredibly strict rules to keep coronavirus transmission in check. Can they continue those policies as they face an omicron surge. And will they still work?
Black Death survivors gave descendants a genetic advantage — but with a cost
Tuesday, November 15, 2022
A study shows that survivors of the bubonic plague, which lasted from 1346 to 1353, may have passed on the ability to survive other pandemics. (Aired on All Things Considered on Oct. 19. 2022.)
How Black Death survivors gave their descendants an edge during pandemics
Wednesday, October 19, 2022
Up to 50% of Europeans died from the plague. Now a new study shows that those who lived had a protective gene mutation they passed on to bolster immunity — but it comes at a cost.
Monkeypox cases in the U.S. are way down — can the virus be eliminated?
Monday, October 17, 2022
Early fears of an escalating outbreak have not come to pass. Scientists are finding that the virus needs a very particular set of circumstances to spread effectively.
Monkeypox cases in the U.S. have been falling since a peak in early August
Tuesday, October 11, 2022
New daily monkeypox cases have been falling, and the CDC says cases are probably going to plateau or decline over the next few weeks.
What science has to say about so-called COVID superdodgers
Wednesday, September 28, 2022
Throughout the pandemic, some people have avoided catching COVID — despite multiple exposures. Do their immune systems have some type of protection that others are missing?
What are your chances of catching monkeypox?
Friday, September 16, 2022
We crunch the current numbers for high-risk and low-risk groups. We also look at how the risk of monkeypox compares with chances of catching COVID, of being in a fatal car crash and of a shark attack.
So you haven't caught COVID yet. Does that mean you're a superdodger?
Monday, September 12, 2022
A new study suggests that. yes, there are superdodgers. But explaining why they've been able to avoid the virus is a bit complicated.
Why stinky sweat is good for you
Thursday, August 25, 2022
So sweat doesn't really smell bad at all. But when bacteria eat the sweat — nostrils, look out! Only it turns out that these sweat-eating critters are responsible for a big health benefit.
Facing a monkeypox vaccines shortage, the U.S. is pursuing a new dosing strategy
Thursday, August 18, 2022
The U.S. is facing a shortage of the monkeypox vaccine as the outbreak grows rapidly. The White House is pursuing a controversial strategy where each person only gets a fraction of the full dose.
There's a bit of good news about monkeypox. Is it because of the vaccine?
Thursday, August 18, 2022
It's basically the same vaccine used against smallpox. Here's how it works — and whether researchers think it's playing a role in the fact that the current outbreak is starting to slow down.