Science & Medicine

Ebola hysteria dominated popular news in 2014. However, since the outbreak began to draw attention in March earlier this year, only two people have been infected in the United States. Did this really warrant non-stop media coverage? Much of this attention may have been attributed in part to the worry that Ebola may “mutate to become airborne,” but is this even something we need to worry about?

In national politics these days it sometimes seems as if we re-litigate battles won decades ago, and at times I wonder whether those 20 or 30 years younger than I even know what happened back in the day. So here are some snippets. Although specific to my time at Brown University, similar things happened in the same time frame at institutions of higher education all over the country. So, dear reader, yes, DO generalize.

In November 2014, 14 women boarded the Sea Dragon to depart on an eXXpedition: a sailing trip across the Atlantic Ocean to explore how the health of our environment impacts human health. The all-female crew...

In November 2014, Aquatic Toxicologist Diana Papoulias boarded a ship with thirteen other women to travel on the eXXpedition: a trip across the Atlantic Ocean to explore how the health of our environment impacts human health. Dr. Papoulias spoke with our science editor, Wudan Yan, about her experience on the trip, and why we should be more cognizant of our day-to-day activities.

Hippo contributor Grace Segran sat down with Dr. Michael Quah to understand the challenges impact organizations face in dispelling myths about clean energy.

The California drought, one of the worst ever, has been ongoing for three years and counting. It presents several complex, important issues, from assessing California’s reliance on snowpack to understanding climate change. But as always, a crisis is also an opportunity.

You may have read the recent media stories that a cure for Type I Diabetes is “imminent” and wondered what the buzz was about—is a cure indeed imminent and, if so, what does this mean for modern medicine? Hippo Reads’s Science Correspondent Wudan Yan spoke with Felicia Pagliuca, a postdoc in Melton’s lab, about the work that went into this landmark Harvard study, the importance of collaboration, and where diabetes research will go from here.