Global Health

Safe and small: The credit-card-sized test for anthrax destroys the deadly bacteria after the test completes.

Safer Anthrax Test Aims To Keep The Bioweapon From Terrorists

3:48pm April 02, 2015

by Joe Palca

Current tests require growing anthrax in the lab, which isn't the best option for labs in Afghanistan. So engineers have come up with a credit-card-size test that could make the world a safer place.

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A Virus In Your Mouth Helps Fight The Flu

6:07pm April 01, 2015

by Michaeleen Doucleff

It's related to herpes. And it infects most of the world — about half of Americans, nearly all the developing world. But don't go out and get infected. The virus has a dark side, too.

Say cheese and solve a global health problem: 140 students took part in Emory University's challenge.

The Challenge: Curb Violence In Most Violent City. Hint: Nuns Can Help

2:50pm March 31, 2015

by Jim Burress

This year, at Emory University's global health challenge, students had to come up with clever solutions for a pressing problem. Only it wasn't a superbug. It was the extreme violence in Honduras.

Maternity And Paternity Leave By Country

New Dads In Togo Are Guaranteed Something That U.S. Dads Aren't

11:24am March 31, 2015

by Diane Cole

It's paid paternity leave, which is the law in an increasing number of low- and middle-income countries, but not in the U.S. Research shows that time off for pops can provide lasting benefits.

Health workers suit up for Ebola duty in Monrovia, Liberia.

Bill Gates Tells The World: Get Ready For The Next Epidemic

6:29pm March 30, 2015

by Marc Silver

In a strongly worded essay in The New England Journal of Medicine, the philanthropist calls for a global system to respond to future medical emergencies. We ask experienced Ebola hands to weigh in.

Two drops of polio vaccine are administered to a child in a Nigerian health clinic.

What's Up With Parents Who Don't Vaccinate Their Children?

2:10pm March 27, 2015

by Susan Brink

It could be a lack of confidence in the medicine. Maybe they don't think the risk of infection is that high. Or the clinic may be far from home. A new report looks at reasons in five countries.

In November, the Ebola virus found in Mali was surprisingly similar to strains circulating in Sierra Leone six months earlier.

Ebola Is Not Mutating As Fast As Scientists Feared

5:31pm March 26, 2015

by Michaeleen Doucleff

Many people have worried that Ebola could evolve into a more deadly virus — or start spreading through the air. A study published Thursday alleviates these concerns.

Mosquitoes Can Smell Inside Your Blood

5:10pm March 25, 2015

by Poncie Rutsch

When malaria parasites infect blood, they manufacture odor molecules that smell sweet to mosquitoes, scientists report. So how do these odors get from the bloodstream to the insects?

Light shines through the chlorine-stained windows in the blood-testing area at Redemption Hospital in New Kru Town, Monrovia, Liberia.

As Ebola Crisis Ebbs, Aid Agencies Turn To Building Up Health Systems

3:31pm March 25, 2015

by Nurith Aizenman

The virus is largely contained in Liberia. But an already-fragile health care system has been devastated. Crucially important workers have died. Will the world pay attention — and pitch in?

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Kpetermeni Siakor (left), a Liberian who is studying in Ghana, used crowdsourcing software to help out during the Ebola epidemic.

How Did Ebola Volunteers Know Where To Go In Liberia? Crowdsourcing!

11:32am March 25, 2015

by Poncie Rutsch

Kpetermeni Siakor was 900 miles from home when Ebola struck. But with special software, he helped direct volunteers and supplies to the right spots.