Over the past two centuries, vaccines have been critical for preventing infectious diseases. The World Health Organization estimates that vaccination prevents between 3 million and 5 million deaths annually^[1] from diseases like diphtheria, tetanus, influenza, measles and, more recently, COVID-19.

While there has long been broad scientific consensus^[2] that vaccines prevent or mitigate the spread of infections, there is new research...

Enjoying the outdoors carries the danger of running into nature’s less-friendly side: toxic plants and animals.

As toxicologists at the University of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Poison Center, we see many patients each year suffering from itchy rashes from poison ivy and stings from wasps or bees.

Plants and animals deploy toxins^[1] most often in order to defend themselves^[2]. Learning how they do that and what happens when the...