Melvin Sanicas: What makes TB the world's most infectious killer?
In 2008, two 9,000-year old skeletons were found with their bones infected by an all too familiar bacterium. The ancient Greeks knew its effects as phthisis; the Incans called it chaky oncay; and today we call it tuberculosis, or TB. TB is still one of the world's most infectious killers, causing more deaths than malaria or even HIV. How has it ...
Melvin Sanicas: Why is meningitis so dangerous?
In 1987, thousands of people gathered in Saudi Arabia for the annual Hajj pilgrimage. But what started out as a celebration led to a worldwide health crisis: more than 2,000 cases of meningitis broke out, spreading across Saudi Arabia and the rest of the world. How did it spread so quickly and what makes meningitis so dangerous? Melvin Sanicas e...