An analysis of our historical relationship with viruses to understand the reactions to the present pandemic.

The threat of infectious diseases has been constant in the history of humankind. 75 % of new emerging human infectious diseases in the last thirty years have an animal origin, and 17 % are transmitted by a vector.

Technological advances, such as telescopes and microscopes, have enabled us to enlarge our world, up and down. Microbes are an example of the two scales, small and large.

Cancer, one of the greatest problems of modern medicine, is also one of the most profound biological mysteries. And there are more than just one type of cancer: cancer has many different origins, development processes, and anatomic and pathological consequences.

The main reason for the increase in measles outbreaks and other viral and bacterial diseases in Europe has been the result of the opposition to vaccination.

Light can be considered from many points of view. Light is essential for the development of life on Earth, has determined animal and plant evolution, and has also a role in many aspects of culture and art.

Our planet is a tiny blue dot lost in the vast space of the universe. And we humans have been its inhabitants for just a brief instant of time. All

«Even being born results in a loud cry», Raimon sings. There are two crucial moments that demarcate human existence: birth and death. Death comes in many forms, agonising or peaceful,

Microbes are a constant source of surprise. Their «invisibility» does nothing but increase our puzzlement when a microorganism, or its activity, become evident for the first time. Although microbes are

In the year of our Lord 1263, Father Peter of Prague doubted the transubstantiation of the body and blood of Christ in the Eucharist. So he went on a pilgrimage

According to the dictionary, vaccination is the administration of vaccines prepared with microbes (attenuated or dead), or parts of microbes, for prophylactic or therapeutic purposes. Vaccines provide specific and active

At the centre of Antarctica, under Russian Vostok Station (Vostok being Russian for East), and very close to the South Pole, there is an enormous, elongated lake of around 14,000

«I am myself plus my circumstance, and if I do not save it, I cannot save myself», wrote Ortega y Gasset in Meditations on Quixote. Our most immediate biological «circumstance»

Carles Puche The universe is full of gas clouds, dust and organic matter. Radiotelescopes have detected the presence of water and a great variety of organic molecules, essential pieces for the

«The time has come to close the book on infectious diseases. We have basically wiped out infection in the United States». These optimistic words were addressed to the United Nations General Assembly in 1966 by William H. Stewart, the Surgeon General of the United States (leading spokesperson on matters of public health).

The sun formed about 5,000 million years ago. Since then it has been rotating around the Milky Way, which takes around 226 million years. The Sun, like many other stars,

Nature’s complexity goes beyond human imagination. The discovery and exploitation of biodiversity has undoubtedly helped us to reach a certain level of understanding of the natural world. Even though all