Science

Decades before 'Zoom fatigue' broke our spirits, the so-called computer revolution brought with it a world of pain previously unknown to humankind.

Three hundred years ago, Cotton Mather starred in a debate about treating smallpox that tore Boston apart.

Free blacks cared for those infected with yellow fever even as their own lives were imperiled.

The front lines of a terrible epidemic, through the eyes of a young doctor profoundly touched by tragedy.

An activist, writer, doctor and intellectual, James McCune Smith, born enslaved, directed his talents to the eradication of slavery.

The founding father of American birding soared on the wings of white privilege. How should the birding community grapple with this racist legacy?

Distributing them equally is key to defeating the coronavirus.

When it comes to education technology, school leaders have often leaped before they looked.

“Green” public relations work has flown below the radar but made a huge impact.

Notes toward a history of isolation.

A century ago, few Americans had any idea how much they weighed. Here’s why that changed so dramatically.

Since World War I we’ve been solving problems with dangerous chemicals that introduce new problems.

“Pseudoscience,” race, and American politics.

In the 1800s, they helped lay the groundwork for the anti-vaccine movement.

It used to be okay to admit that the world had simply become too much.

The device was part of an elaborate plan on behalf of Union Pacific to boost passenger rail travel in the American West.

Scientists explain how viruses, like Covid-19, spill over from animals to people, and what we must do to stop the next pandemic.

Even so, many diseases have been tamed. Will Covid-19 be next?

Unlike our car dashboards, covid-19 dashboards do not give individuals actionable information.

A new biography of the pioneering doctors shows why “first” can be a tricky designation.

Self-help guru Louise Hay’s “Hayrides” drew in thousands during the hopelessness and government neglect of the AIDS crisis.

As the country scrambles to distribute COVID-19 vaccines, the process has been hindered by many of the same issues that impeded other mass vaccination rollouts.

Following backlash to the construction of a statue for Mary Seacole, Knight describes the connection between nursing and slavery in the US South.

In Stanley Milgram's studies of obedience, people believed they were giving shocks to others. But did their compliance say much about the Nazis?

In ACT UP, belonging was not conferred by blood. Care was offered when you joined others on the street with the intent to bring the AIDS crisis to an end.

Reckoning with our past is crucial to getting buy-in for the vaccine.

You can’t understand the history of American energy use without them. A new visual history puts them in context.

Enslaved children were used in medical trials for early smallpox vaccines. They have been forgotten.

US monuments and memorials have overlooked frontline workers and people of color affected by past epidemics. Will we repeat history?

Many Americans were living under quarantines, and officials warned people to stay home for the holiday.