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The Scientist spoke with Rachel Zeig-Owens, the director of epidemiology for the World Trade Center Health Program, about what scientists have learned after two decades of studying illness and disease among survivors.

The SARS-CoV-2 variant was first detected in January, but its rising prevalence and potential resistance to vaccines has garnered it special attention from the World Health Organization.

A study suggests that mutations in the gene that encodes the T1R1/T1R3 taste receptor allowed primates that relied on insects for protein to transition to eating leaves and fruit.

Leiden University’s Carel ten Cate tracked down 34-year-old duck recordings—and the man who made them—to verify that musk ducks are capable of vocal learning, an ability that hadn’t been thought to exist in waterfowl.

The FDA granted the drug, called Aduhelm, accelerated approval earlier this summer in a process that’s since drawn scrutiny.

The dynamic behavior of a transcriptional activator can be used to specify the activity level of its target gene, a study suggests.

Different variants of the virus behind the COVID-19 pandemic are swapping chunks of genetic material, but it’s not yet clear what implications that may have for public health.

So far, more than 50 people have died of a febrile illness, though the cause isn’t clear.

Researchers studying rats claim to have found a novel connection between damage on one side of the brain and problems with the posture or movement of limbs on the opposite side of the body.

Dozens of researchers, including myself, worked for years to uncover that swine flu had leapt to humans from a pig in Mexico in 2009. We learned a lot about influenza evolution, pig farming, and outbreak risk along the way.

Patients in a small trial said their chronic pain improved an average of 90 percent over the course of 15 days, but returned shortly after the electrical stimulation sessions ended.

An analysis of scientists’ networks finds discrepancies in the diffusion of novel ideas through communities.