Some students are better prepared than others — Recently, I was having a discussion about biostatistics with a student when she mentioned having a hard time “visualizing” the odds ratio. She confessed that her knowledge of number theory was limited, because she never had to understand numbers in the way that one does when trying to understand statistics…

Pay attention to the implications of your actions, but don’t drive yourself crazy — I don’t like soccer just because I was born and raised in Mexico. I like soccer because it’s a fun sport to watch. Even in low-scoring games, the skills and athletic ability professional soccer players display are admirable. …

Can you live a few days with a mild inconvenience if it means keeping everyone safe? — With the recent news that an unqualified judge struck down the requirement for masks on public transportation (airplanes, trains, buses, etc.), videos started surfacing of people celebrating the end of the masking requirement. Don’t get me wrong, please. I want to celebrate the end of the need for masks. …

A world without public health is a dystopian nightmare. — I first came into contact with public health the minute I was born. The doctors and nurses who helped perform the caesarean section on my mother wore gloves and practiced infection control in accordance with the public health recommendations of the time. The benefits of hand washing were first described…

Monkeypox is nothing to sneeze at. — In the April 8, 2022, edition of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), we are treated to an interesting story of an outbreak of monkeypox in Texas. …

An opinion piece from one hundred years ago might as well have been written today. — Between 1921 and 1925, over 200,000 children in the United States became ill with diphtheria. Diphtheria is a bacterial infection caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae. Today, diphtheria is easily treated with antibiotics. In the United States, there are only a handful of cases reported each year, with 2 cases reported in…

No way a science-denying surgeon general in Florida and a weak public health infrastructure in Texas can deal with what is to come. — First things first: If you or someone you know has thoughts of self-harm or suicide, please contact the National Suicide Hotline (800–273–8255) or visit https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org. They can help you. We need you around. Recent anti-LGBTQ+ legislative and executive actions in several states have been the result of an interesting-yet-disturbing phenomenon…

In response to anti-Semitism and Russian oppression, a vaccine pioneer gave us new vaccine technology in the 1800s. — It would take far too long to explain the historical context for what we are seeing happen in Ukraine today. That part of the world has been a flashpoint for many wars, because of its geographic location and the people fighting for it. It is true now, and it was…

My curiosity about a photograph of quarantined immigrants led me to discover a pioneer in LGBTQ+ history. — I recently did some research on historical photographs on the website for the US Library of Congress when I came upon this image: In the notes section of the photograph’s page, I saw that Elizabeth Alice Austen took the image. Ms. Austen had an interesting life. She was born in…