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Ah, summer. It’s the season of backyard barbecues under blistering sunshine. Crowded beaches perfumed with liberal sunscreen. Campsites alive with critters big and very, very small.
Frolicking along with you in the great outdoors? You guessed it − germs ready to cut into your summer fun.
Reading headlines about pathogen-driven infections – from flesh-eating bacteria to mosquito- and tick-riding viruses – can be scary as you consider going for a swim, hitting the trails or even just gathering with others in the backyard. Thankfully, there are a few things you can do to avoid seasoning your kebabs with an extra dash of Listeria.
Microbiologist Bill Sullivan of Indiana University offers some tips to keep you from getting sidelined over the summer by a wayward illness. “With these precautions in mind, you’re sure to have a terrific time, uninterrupted by the germs of summer,” he writes.
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Taking precautions against outdoor pathogens can keep you from getting sidelined over the summer.
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Bill Sullivan, Indiana University
Common summer activities can expose you to a host of infectious diseases. But there are simple steps you can take to protect yourself from pathogens ranging from E. coli to T. gondii.
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Economy + Business
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Jay L. Zagorsky, Boston University
Setting off fireworks at home was as much a pandemic trend as buying a Peloton.
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Politics + Society
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Katherine Kinzler, University of Chicago
The US and other countries have a legal definition of citizenship, yet human psychology and identity politics result in ingrained biases over who truly belongs.
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Woody Holton, University of South Carolina
A scholar of early US history celebrates the country’s birthday with six under-appreciated ideas about the founding document.
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Joshua Holzer, Westminster College
Nationalism and patriotism are sometimes treated as synonyms, but they have very different meanings.
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Joseph Jones, West Virginia University
The meaning of the Constitution’s preamble, which begins with the words ‘We the People,’ has evolved over time as voting rights have expanded.
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Science + Technology
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Woody Holton, University of South Carolina
In the summer of 1776, Boston offered smallpox inoculation to everyone and required those who declined to leave town or stay in their homes.
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Paul E. Smith, Purdue University
Hidden underneath the bright colors and celebratory nature of fireworks is a combination of ancient chemistry and modern pyrotechnical recipes.
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