Russian scientists study prehistoric animal viruses from the permafrost

Researchers analyze prehistoric viruses in animals dug out from the Siberian permafrost.

Credit: Nina Sleptsova/NEFU
  • Scientists in a Siberian laboratory in Russia began studying ancient viruses.
  • The viruses come from prehistoric animals dug out from the melting permafrost.
  • The research lab used to be a center for the development of biological weapons.
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Study warns of delayed flu outbreaks after pandemic ends

The positive steps we are taking to prevent disease might have a negative side effect.

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  • A new study out of Princeton suggests that measures to prevent COVID-19 are also preventing certain other diseases.
  • The nature of seasonal diseases means that people who avoid them this year may just be putting it off, leading to a large wave later.
  • These estimates don't mean we should be less preventive now, only that we must be sure to take care in the future.
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England rolls out 'Test and Trace' program to combat COVID-19

The program aims to notify people after they've come in close contact with someone who tested positive.

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  • The program currently involves 25,000 contract tracers who are capable of tracing 10,000 contacts per day.
  • Participation in the program is voluntary, though officials said it may become mandatory if necessary.
  • The program will eventually include a smartphone app that records who you've come in close proximity to.
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Where citizen science meets the coronavirus—and how you can help

Creators of the popular protein-folding game, Foldit, are seeking help to design a treatment for COVID-19.

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  • Since being founded in 2008, the crowdsourced protein-folding game, Foldit, has helped solve many novel problems.
  • In recent months, the Foldit team has presented its community with problems relating to COVID-19.
  • Foldit founder, David Baker, says over 20,000 different designs for potential COVID-19 antiviral proteins have been submitted.
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What Are the Biggest Global Threats to Public Health?

Dr. Larry Brilliant played a key role in eradicating smallpox from the world – so what are the biggest dangers humanity faces now? Brilliant rates politics as on-par with infectious disease.

The greatest global threats to health can be divided into two categories, explains epidemiologist and former head of philanthropy at Google, Dr. Larry Brilliant: there is the biological, and the socio-political. In the last 30 years, there have been at least 30 heretofore unknown viruses that have jumped from animals to humans, for worrying reasons Brilliant attributes to modernity and our increase in animal protein consumption. Still, the socio-political threats are the more immediately dangerous. There are centrifugal forces at play that are pushing society to two extreme camps. The domestic and global division caused President Trump’s ‘America First’ mentality and disregard for public health leaves us vulnerable to new viruses that, if they aren’t detected early enough, could be the next pandemic. "Right now because of the re-organization and nationalism… and dislike for the United Nations and its agencies, I think we're in a period of grave vulnerability," says Brilliant. Larry Brilliant is the author of Sometimes Brilliant: The Impossible Adventure of a Spiritual Seeker and Visionary Physician Who Helped Conquer the Worst Disease in History.

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