Ever since the draft of the human genome became available in 2001, there has been a nagging question about the genome’s “dark matter”—the parts of the map that were missed the first time through, and what they contained. Now, thanks to Adam Phillippy, Karen Miga, Evan Eichler, Michael Schatz, and the entire Telomere-to-Telomere Consortium (T2T) of scientists that they led, we can see the full map of the human genomic landscape—and there’s much to explore.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended Thursday that children ages 5 to 11 get a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine to boost their immunity as cases and hospitalizations tick upward in many pockets of the United States. Beth Bell, clinical professor at the School of Public Health, was mentioned.

The United States hit the tragic milestone of 1 million COVID-19 deaths on Thursday, according to the White House, but researchers say the actual pandemic death toll -- including people who died from the pandemic's collateral damage -- is actually much higher.

Some 60% of virus spread starts with those who have no symptoms. A cough or sneeze in the checkout line at the grocery store may elicit fear of COVID-19, but that maskless person quietly sitting next to you on the subway could pose just as much of a threat, public health experts say. Dr. Helen Chu, infectious disease physician at the University of Washington School of Medicine, was featured.