Home
TS Digest
January 2022, Issue 1

January 2022, Issue 1 Table of Contents

This Issue

January 2022, Issue 1

The Hunt For A Pandemic's Origins

Researchers uncover how the 2009 swine flu leapt to humans from a pig in Mexico

Feature

Illustration of a targeted virus over a world map

The Hunt for a Pandemic’s Origins

Martha Nelson | Jan 4, 2022 | 10+ min read

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.

Speaking of Science

Ten Minute Sabbatical

Take a break from the bench to puzzle and peruse

Critic at Large

Opinion: Dismantling Anti-vaccine Rhetoric on Social Media

Can requiring users of Facebook and other platforms to pass critical thinking tests stem the tide of widely disseminated misinformation?

Notebook

Even the Tiniest of Birds Use Smell in Some Situations

Once considered anosmic, birds are now widely recognized as using olfactory cues to aid in a wide range of behaviors.

Researchers Resurrect Coffee-Destroying Fungus—to Study It

Comparing the genomes of modern pathogens with those of cryopreserved strains from several decades ago shed light on the evolution of coffee wilt disease outbreaks in Africa.

Infographics

An illustration with a world map, pigs, and viruses

Timeline: Investigating the Origins of the 2009 Pandemic

Seven years of surveillance and research revealed the complex history of the H1N1 virus that leapt from pigs to humans and sparked the global swine flu outbreak.