An epidemic is a phenomenon characterized by the occurrence of cases of a specific disease, infection, or health-related event in a population, community, or region at levels significantly exceeding the expected baseline during a defined time period. It reflects a dynamic imbalance between pathogen transmission, host susceptibility, and environmental or social determinants. Epidemics are described mathematically using measures such as the basic and effective reproduction numbers (R₀, Rₑ), incidence rates, and epidemic curves, and are driven by mechanisms including person-to-person transmission, vector-borne spread, or common-source exposure, often necessitating targeted public health interventions for containment and mitigation.
Human history is littered with expired civilizations, and scholars and archaeologists have made a determined effort to understand why and how civilizations collapse. They've found that symptoms like a growing wealth gap and ...
Astrobiology
Apr 22, 2026
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Marburg virus disease (MVD) is a severe and often fatal hemorrhagic disease in humans caused by the Marburg virus. It is carried by Egyptian fruit bats and can spread to people after exposure in caves or mines where they ...
African swine fever (ASF) is one of the most devastating diseases affecting domestic pigs and wild boars worldwide. Since its introduction into Europe, this deadly virus has spread widely, threatening pig production and causing ...
Plants & Animals
Apr 9, 2026
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A fungus that can wipe out up to 50% of a sugar beet crop may soon meet its match in a new generation of smart disease forecasting. A new study published in Phytopathology shows how combining drone imagery, weather data, ...
Agriculture
Apr 7, 2026
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Cholera-causing bacteria are locked in an evolutionary arms race with a viral nemesis, according to a new genomic study. Researchers have found that, in the Ganges Delta, cholera bacteria rapidly gain and lose special armor ...
Cell & Microbiology
Apr 1, 2026
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Sudden drop in milk production, thickened milk, and cows under movement restrictions. Since 2024, American farmers have had bitter experiences with the feared bird flu (H5N1), which in several cases has been introduced to ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 19, 2026
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An interdisciplinary team of authors from Canada, Austria, the U.S. and Germany has outlined how immuno-epidemiology and individual decision-making on non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) can be understood jointly in the ...
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 17, 2026
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Diseases historically absent from the United States have been showing up in Florida, Texas, California and other U.S. states in recent years. To understand why, look to Peru. That's where researchers from Stanford and other ...
Environment
Mar 17, 2026
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Scientists have created a genomic blueprint for Aeromonas bacteria, which can cause antibiotic-resistant diarrheal disease—with symptoms often misidentified as cholera—in humans and animals.
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 11, 2026
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Between 1347 and 1353, Europe was gripped by the most catastrophic pandemic in its history: the Black Death. Killing many millions, the plague wiped out between one-third and a half of Europe's population.
Ecology
Mar 5, 2026
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