In the News

COVID-19 and monkeypox are pretty different diseases. But the parallels between the nation’s yearslong, languishing response to the coronavirus pandemic and the emerging monkeypox outbreak are many – and potentially agonizing.
 

The CDC is relaxing some of its COVID-19 guidance now that millions of Americans have greater immunity against the virus due to vaccinations and prior infections.
 

The new guidance places an emphasis on personal responsibility and protection, in an effort to begin learning to live with the virus.
 

No longer do schools and other institutions need to screen apparently healthy students and employees as a matter of course. The CDC is putting less emphasis on social distancing — and the new guidance has dropped the “six foot” standard.
 

The spread prompted many to rush for the vaccine, and others, such as universities, were urged to prepare for potential outbreaks as they brace for the academic year to begin this month. Now, concerns are rising over whether monkeypox could impact thrift stores as more people become scared of transmission.
 

One manufacturer believes it has a solution to the gun violence plaguing the United States - a personalized smart gun that uses fingerprint technology to make firearms safer.
 

As global temperatures have risen in recent decades, so have the number of outbreaks of infectious diseases. SARS, MERS, Zika, West Nile, COVID-19, and now clusters of monkeypox and polio have all recently threatened public health.
 

Scientists discovered a new virus in eastern China that may be able to jump from animals to humans. But health experts say it isn't cause for panic.
 

The attack at the Jefferson Avenue Tops left several Buffalo neighborhoods without a convenient source of fresh food. It made the city a national emblem for the plight of urban "food deserts." The term generally describes the nation's thousands of low-income census tracts where an estimated 53.6 million people live outside an easy walk or drive to a full-service supermarket.
 

After a two-year hiatus, the flu may be back this season – and with a vengeance. Data from the Southern Hemisphere, which is in its flu season, show cases surpassing pre-pandemic levels, prompting health experts to worry about what’s in store for Americans this year.
 

U.S. health officials on Tuesday authorized a plan to stretch the nation’s limited supply of monkeypox vaccine by giving people just one-fifth the usual dose, citing research suggesting that the reduced amount is about as effective.
 

Scientists and economists look at what learning loss and disruption could bring for a generation of students—and what can be done about it.