Heart disease, in its many forms, is one of the most prominent causes of death and suffering, especially in developed countries. One of the hallmarks of most heart diseases is fibrosis, characterized by excessive deposition of the extracellular matrix. Limited amounts of this matrix normally... click to read more

For most of our species existence, we humans wandered the earth barefoot, walking over a vast diversity of daunting and often dangerous terrains with no shoes to protect our feet. Instead, we relied in part on a natural line of defense: calluses that form in... click to read more

The Justinianic Plague (circa 541 to 750 CE), also known as the first plague pandemic, has recently featured prominently in scholarly and popular discussions. The existing consensus attributes to the Justinianic Plague millions of deaths. The pandemic's first outbreak in the Mediterranean (circa 541-544) is... click to read more

The world has come to a standstill as COVID-19 hits us like a wave. A wave that has been steadily growing ever since the first case was reported in Wuhan, China, at the end of last year. Since there are currently no efficient treatment options... click to read more

Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne disease in the Northern Hemisphere. It is spread through the bite of ticks and can cause a "bull's eye" rash, fever, joint pain, and sometimes nerve problems. The amount of Lyme disease in each country in Europe varies... click to read more