“This Is Very Strange”: Ancient Smallpox May Have Been Less Deadly

Posted on by Lori Jia

The New York Times, July 30, 2026

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Perhaps no disease has inspired more terror than smallpox. Edward Jenner, who invented the smallpox vaccine in 1796, called it “the most dreadful scourge of the human species.” In the 20th century alone, smallpox is estimated to have killed 300 million people. The eradication of the virus in the 1970s stands as one of the great triumphs of medicine. And yet, five decades later, smallpox still haunts us, as the world worries about its resurrection as a biological weapon.

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Deep in This Lake, a Contagious Cancer Is Spreading

Posted on by Lori Jia

The New York Times, July 22, 2026

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For over a decade, something strange has been happening in a lake straddling the border of Vermont and Quebec.

Lake Memphremagog is home to brown bullhead catfish, and in 2012, anglers began noticing that some of them were covered in velvety black growths. Wildlife biologists eventually determined that the fish had skin cancer.

So-called melanomas are exceedingly rare in catfish, but more than a third of the bullheads carried them. Now, researchers think they know why: A contagious form of cancer is spreading through the lake, they reported on Wednesday.

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This Cell Feeds, Grows and Reproduces. And It’s Manmade.

Posted on by Lori Jia

The New York Times, July 1, 2026 (with Marco Hernandez)

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Scientists have long dreamed of discovering the alchemy by which chemicals can be turned into life. On Wednesday, a team at the University of Minnesota announced that it had taken a major step toward that vision.

Blending together dozens of ingredients, the researchers have synthesized simple cells that feed, grow, reproduce and compete with one another for food. If these cells are not yet fully alive, they have most of the hallmarks of life.

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Trump Administration Moves to Preserve Cells and DNA of Imperiled Species

Posted on by Lori Jia

The New York Times, June 25, 2026 (with Catrin Einhorn)

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The Trump administration and a company that is promising to bring long-gone animals back from extinction announced a partnership on Thursday to preserve cells, tissue and DNA from threatened and endangered species.

The company, Colossal Biosciences, said its goal was to store samples from every animal and plant protected under the Endangered Species Act, which includes more than 2,300 listings worldwide.

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The Ebola Outbreak’s Central Mystery: Where Did This Virus Come From?

Posted on by Lori Jia

The New York Times, June 24, 2026

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Since April, an outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo has ballooned to 1,114 confirmed cases and 279 deaths, already the third-largest such epidemic since the disease was identified 50 years ago.

Despite its worrying size, this outbreak is threaded with mystery — particularly regarding its origins.

The cause is a little-known pathogen called Bundibugyo virus, one of three viral species known to cause Ebola disease. Scientists favor the idea that the virus normally dwells in animals, jumping the species barrier every now and then to cause an outbreak among people.

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