It's no secret that yet another nasty COVID variant has emerged; omicron is spreading even faster than delta and there will be consequences. And other variants will surely emerge. Where? Impossible to say, but its name will be pi. Should this happen in the US, we might get stuck with a catchy, but unwanted name.
contagious disease
Sixteen people walk into a bar... Sounds like an old joke, right? Except it isn't funny. Florida allowed some bars to open on June 5. One day later the 16 met in a packed Jacksonville Beach bar. All 16 came down with Covid-19. Perhaps someone ought to rethink that decision.
It's only early December, but already there's been some nasty norovirus outbreaks in the U.S. One was bad enough to close an entire school. Another hit 400 people at the U.S. Air Force Academy. In response, some bits of wisdom (and humor) about this dreaded stomach bug.
The flu reminds us that as social animals, pathogens can kill both individuals and large segments of our population. A study sheds some light on how ants, social insects, cope with infections that endanger their colony.