As a scientist, you don’t get much time in the spotlight. It’s late nights and weekends, and you are often alone when you make your discoveries most of which go unnoticed by anyone outside of the niche of other scientists working on similar ideas. The pandemic brought a rare opportunity for a captive audience for... Continue Reading →
Does life-threatening COVID-19 have anything to do with your genes?
by Janice Nigro Early in the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, a non-scientist, the husband of a cousin of mine, asked, “Does life-threatening COVID-19 have anything to do with your genes?” At the time, he saw Italians and men dominating the list of persons worldwide succumbing to the pathogen. I didn’t know, and truth be told, as a molecular... Continue Reading →
What we know about the origin of SARS-CoV-2
by Janice Nigro Every mystery has a cast of characters that sidetracks you from the culprit. A good one keeps you guessing until the end. Then it surprises you. Is Covid-19 one of those stories? I didn’t think it was, and I may be overthinking the dump truck load of information out there on various... Continue Reading →
How Scientists Were Prepared for an Emerging Disease Pandemic
by Janice Nigro If you didn’t know what molecular biologists did before SARS-CoV-2, you might now know that what they do matters. While the rest of us are locked down in our basements, molecular biologists have come out of theirs, forcing people to bone up on their basic biology. “What is a virus?” or What... Continue Reading →