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AI is among 17 potentially ‘catastrophic threats’ that researchers say require targeted action

By Deidre McPhillips, CNN (CNN) — More than a dozen “interconnected catastrophic threats” pose significant risk to global health and wellbeing through the remainder of the 21st century, researchers say – including the potential for extinction. But targeted action from world leaders can help avoid worst-case scenarios. Using data from the Institute for Health Metrics

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Three of the world’s deadliest pandemics have been blamed on Yersinia pestis

Pneumonic plague, by the numbers

By Jen Christensen, CNN (CNN) — The World Health Organization said Wednesday that it had few clear answers about the recent death of a worker at a Russian institute that researched plague. The death, the subsequent isolation of hundreds of co-workers and close contacts, and reports that another worker may have pneumonia have fueled global

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The bacteria Yersinia pestis causes plague

What is pneumonic plague and how dangerous is it?

By Jen Christensen, CNN (CNN) — A 28-year-old lab researcher at a Russian institute dedicated to studying plague and dangerous pathogens died of pneumonia of an “unknown” origin. The Irkutsk Research Anti-Plague Institute operates in Siberia, where several other people are quarantined. Rospotrebnadzor, the Russian agency that oversees infectious disease, has downplayed the link between

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Kratom leaves have more than 40 psychoactive compounds

What’s the difference between kratom and drugs like 7-OH? Explaining the products found near dead Ole Miss students

By Kristen Rogers, CNN (CNN) — The drug products found near two University of Mississippi students who died on September 21 contained three kratom-related compounds, according to court documents reviewed by CNN and law enforcement. The substances aren’t natural kratom — as was suspected due to earlier law enforcement reports — which is an herb

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