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National Geographic’s part-docu part-sci fi TV series “MARS” featured a contagion on a Martian colony in its fourth episode of season two–and interviews with a few experts on outbreaks, including Pardis Sabeti, Antonia Juhasz, Elon Musk, Neil Degrasse-Tyson, and me. Here’s a link to the show and a screen grab. Enjoy!

Top officials such as NIAID’s Anthony Fauci have warned that the mosquito-borne Zika virus spreading in Latin America is a “pandemic in progress.” I think he’s right, although it may not be the kind of pandemic that movies like Contagion bring to mind. Rather than rising death rates, this pandemic could cause falling birth rates. I talked about why that is with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, for his show “GPS.” Stay tuned for a link to the segment! How serious is the threat posed by the #ZikaVirus? I talked with @soniashah. Watch the full interview at 10a/1p ET this Sunday on CNN — Fareed Zakaria (@FareedZakaria) January 31, 2016

Al Jazeera published a fascinating in-depth story on India’s malaria epidemic–and its chronic underreporting–and invited a few people to talk about the story with one of the reporters, Ankita Rao, on its show “The Stream.” I Skyped in. Video of the show is below, as is the Twitter conversation that followed.     "I couldn't get any biologist to tell me who would suffer if mosquitoes were completely eradicated", says @soniashah. Should we try to? — The Stream (@AJStream) January 18, 2016 #malaria mosquitoes are different in different regions, you need "local adaptation" in combating approaches, says Dr. Oommen. — The Stream (@AJStream) January 18, 2016 "mosquito nets & spray inside the house have the largest impact" on #malaria prevention, says Ankita @anrao on The Stream. — The Stream (@AJStream) January 18, 2016 @AJStream ever since I started sleeping inside the mosquito treated net, I've not suffered any malaria attack again. Net is the best — ODOZIAKU NGOZICHUKWUAMAKA (@ngangelluv5) January 18, 2016 @AJStream WHO keep failing to defeat malaria so what is their next way of fighting it — Kichime . G. Gongur (@GolitGongur) January 18, 2016 Unlike HIV initiatives, there is "absolute lack of involvement" from ppl affected by #malaria in policymaking towards it, says Dr. Oommen. — The Stream (@AJStream) January 18, 2016 Poor people more likely to get #malaria, but malaria also makes people poor, "it becomes a cycle", says @soniashah on The Stream. — The Stream (@AJStream) January 18, 2016 "The people who need the information don't have it, the people who have the information don't get #malaria" — Dr. Johnny Oommen. — The Stream (@AJStream) January 18, 2016 Malaria triggers other complications, & death is often attributed to these complications instead of malaria, says Dr. Jain @jssbilaspur. — The Stream (@AJStream) January 18, 2016 @AJStream the problem with malaria in third world countries. Are numerous lack of data is a major confounding factor — Steeze Surgeon ???? (@abassajayi) January 18, 2016 @AJStream the problem with malaria in third world countries. Are numerous lack of data is a major confounding factor — Steeze Surgeon ???? (@abassajayi) January 18, 2016 @AJStream Malaria in Nigeria is now as common as a common cold. With resistant anti malaria drugs it now a single most killer. @MMbilal — Ibrahim Tudu 1 ???????? (@ZamfaraNewMedia) January 18, 2016 In certain regions, "small children can have several episodes of #malaria before they're 2 or 3 years old", says @soniashah. — The Stream (@AJStream) January 18, 2016 @AJStream poor Malaria data leads to poor planning and poor planning means poor intervention which is very dangerous especially in Africa — RASHEED OLANREWAJU (@RASHEEDOLANREW1) January 18, 2016 https://twitter.com/nafeezi/status/689168042308292609 https://twitter.com/vnemana/status/689159240921944064 https://twitter.com/vnemana/status/689157613896925184

What an amazing crowd at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students! I gave a plenary about how poverty and deforestation can lead to emerging diseases like Ebola and the politics and science of the troublesome endemic diseases they can become, such as malaria. The audience, of several thousand, was wonderfully receptive and enthusiastic. I wish I’d had more time to take questions afterward! Here’s some Twitter feedback from the crowd. @soniashah it was a true honor and privilege to hear you speak. I study placental malaria and I can appreciate everything you have done. — Young Bodhisattva (@viriyaakarunaa) November 16, 2014 @soniashah it was my pleasure to hear you in @ABRCMS Thanks!! — Carmen Reyes (@biolcarmenreyes) November 16, 2014 @soniashah thank you for your incredible talk today at #ABRCMS. I am completely inspired by your work and look forward to your new book. — Stephen Gamboa (@mrstephengamboa) November 15, 2014 @soniashah Thank you so much for visiting, speaking, and illuminating everyone’s understanding of such an important disease! #ABRCMS2014 — Carmen María Conroy (@CarMarConroy) November 14, 2014 Interesting talk from @soniashah about the socioeconomic and political aspects of epidemics and the spread of disease. #2014ABRCMS — GSK Graduate School (@GSKGradSchool) November 14, 2014 Listening to an excellent speaker @soniashah at @ABRCMS #2014ABRCMS — Carmen Reyes (@biolcarmenreyes) November 14, 2014 Thanks to all for a lovely experience.

Well I never. My talk on malaria, now streaming on Netflix.  

Very pleased to report that this September I’ll be speaking at the 2014 TEDMED conference. My talk, on the unexpected origins of new diseases, arises out of four years of research and reporting for my new book, forthcoming from Sarah Crichton Books/Farrar, Straus & Giroux in October 2015. I’ll be the opening speaker! Even better: two of my favorites, physician/novelists Abraham Verghese and comedian Tig Notaro, are also speaking at the conference. Best of all? My son Z is skipping school to come with me.

Over the past 14 weeks, I’ve been working with a group of talented young journalism students and writers at SUNY New Paltz, as the 2014 Ottaway Visiting Professor of Journalism. The New Paltz campus lies at the epicenter of the nation’s growing Lyme disease epidemic, which now afflicts 300,000 Americans every year, making it the country’s most common vector-borne disease. New York state accounts for nearly a third of the nation’s Lyme disease cases, and Ulster County, where New Paltz is located, is the eighth most Lyme-infested county in the nation. We’ve launched a website called Tick Talk that explores the scientific, political, economic, and cultural impact this cryptic disease has had. Check it out here! You can read my article, “Lyme Disease: a Harbinger of the World to Come?,” which gives an overview of our main findings here.