Tracking measles
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has developed a tool to track cases of measles in the U.S. In addition to the total case count, viewers can look at a map to quickly see whether cases are imported or local as well as how large the outbreak is based on the size of the pin on the map.
Science books for and about girls
Do you have a young girl in your life who loves science? If so, you may want to check out this list of 60 children’s books about female scientists and girls doing science. The list offers books at a variety of reading levels, making it a good place to look for gifts.
U.S. child dies from rare measles complication
Measles is a dangerous infection that can cause various complications, but one rare, and relatively unknown, complication may be the most heartbreaking of all. It’s called subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, or SSPE. This complication appears years after the original infection. People think they have recovered, but unbeknownst to them, their families or their healthcare providers, the virus continues reproducing in their nervous system. Between two and 10 years after the original infection, the person develops neurologic symptoms that increase in severity. The condition is always fatal. In September 2025, a school-aged child in Los Angeles died from SSPE following a measles infection in infancy.
Children infected with measles before 1 year of age are more likely to develop SSPE. While the overall risk is about 1 in 10,000 people with measles that will develop SSPE, studies have suggested for infants infected before their first birthday, the risk is about 1 in 600. Given that most infants do not get the measles vaccine before their first birthday, outbreaks are particularly risky for this group.
- Find out more about the case of SSPE in Los Angeles.
- Read personal experiences from a couple of families who lost their children to this heinous complication of measles.
- Find out more about measles: webpage | video | podcast
How Do Cells Defend Against Foreign DNA?
Recent discussions have suggested that COVID-19 mRNA vaccines are not safe because they have fragments of DNA in them. We are exposed to foreign DNA all the time, so our cells have to be good at protecting our DNA.
Tracking measles
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has developed a tool to track cases of measles in the U.S. In addition to the total case count, viewers can look at a map to quickly see whether cases are imported or local as well as how large the outbreak is based on the size of the pin on the map.
Science books for and about girls
Do you have a young girl in your life who loves science? If so, you may want to check out this list of 60 children’s books about female scientists and girls doing science. The list offers books at a variety of reading levels, making it a good place to look for gifts.
U.S. child dies from rare measles complication
Measles is a dangerous infection that can cause various complications, but one rare, and relatively unknown, complication may be the most heartbreaking of all. It’s called subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, or SSPE. This complication appears years after the original infection. People think they have recovered, but unbeknownst to them, their families or their healthcare providers, the virus continues reproducing in their nervous system. Between two and 10 years after the original infection, the person develops neurologic symptoms that increase in severity. The condition is always fatal. In September 2025, a school-aged child in Los Angeles died from SSPE following a measles infection in infancy.
Children infected with measles before 1 year of age are more likely to develop SSPE. While the overall risk is about 1 in 10,000 people with measles that will develop SSPE, studies have suggested for infants infected before their first birthday, the risk is about 1 in 600. Given that most infants do not get the measles vaccine before their first birthday, outbreaks are particularly risky for this group.
- Find out more about the case of SSPE in Los Angeles.
- Read personal experiences from a couple of families who lost their children to this heinous complication of measles.
- Find out more about measles: webpage | video | podcast
How Do Cells Defend Against Foreign DNA?
Recent discussions have suggested that COVID-19 mRNA vaccines are not safe because they have fragments of DNA in them. We are exposed to foreign DNA all the time, so our cells have to be good at protecting our DNA.