Smallpox

The U.S. government is trying "to create a database of every phone call ever made." That's how one informed person described the National Security Agency's effort to USA Today. That newspaper also confirmed that not only is the government collecting...

The U.S. government is trying "to create a database of every [phone] call ever made." That's how one informed person described the National Security Agency's effort to USA Today. That newspaper also confirmed that not only is the government collecting...

If you are among those who believe in ghosts, you've got it made. According to various surveys and studies, something in the neighborhood of 45 percent of adults in this country believe in ghosts. That number is almost certainly higher here, since we have...

Zombies. Giant super-storms. Runaway climate change. Alien invasions. Sneak attacks by invading enemy nations. Thrilling stuff of end-of-life-as-we-know-it science fiction books and movies. But as recent news coverage reminds us — Superstorm...

History is for old fogeys, right? Well, then, what are all these young people doing volunteering at the Washington County Historical Society? And, why are high and middle school students engaged with in-depth historical research projects? Interns and...

Although polio has been reduced to its lowest level in history, three countries still have polio transmission — Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Last year 223 polio cases were reported. So far in 2013 there have been 19 cases, according to the...

Old City Cemetery is more than a graveyard.  It's a landmark that tells a story about Lynchburg's past, but for more than a century the tale has been incomplete. "It's always been a mystery," said Ted Delaney, assistant director of the cemetery. The...

As op-ed commentator Richard E. Chaisson wrote recently, "despite the devastation that TB wreaks, it still is not a global health priority" ("Tuberculosis, the forgotten killer," March 24). Just as it was necessary to eradicate smallpox and combat polio...

The pessimist might be tempted to look at mankind's most turbulent history since history began and be discouraged about the future. Many evils have been perpetrated by humans, including wars, genocide and massacres. Despite the sometimes tragic nature...

WASHINGTON -- Leaders of a House committee probing BioWatch, the nation's troubled system for detecting biological attacks, complained Thursday that administration officials had blocked them from seeing documents held by two senior federal scientists...

WASHINGTON -- Year after year, health officials meeting at invitation-only government conferences leveled with one another about BioWatch, the nation's system for detecting deadly pathogens that might be unleashed into the air by terrorists. They...

With the possible exception of that football team in Minnesota, the vikings have seen some fairly serious brand slippage over the years. Once the scourge of Europe, vikings have increasingly lost their mojo — the Wagnerian soprano in the horned...