Nicole Wetsman

health reporter @ the verge

Pinned article

Health care’s huge cybersecurity problem

The patient lying on the emergency room table in front of Paul Pugsley was having a stroke. Time was running out. Pugsley, an emergency medicine resident at Maricopa Medical Center, knew he needed to send the patient for a CT scan. But when Pugsley…

May 26, 2020

Emergency COVID-19 vaccines will have to convince a skeptical public

Photo by Paul Chinn / The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images During the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, Sandra Quinn asked hundreds of Americans if they’d be willing to take a hypothetical vaccine that was authorized for emergency use but wasn’t formally…

May 25, 2020

How SpaceX and NASA are launching astronauts into space during a pandemic

Photo by Carla Cioffi/NASA via Getty Images Ahead of this week’s launch of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft, NASA is working to keep the enduring threat of COVID-19 at bay during the historic launch. To protect its astronauts, ground crew, and…

May 22, 2020

Unproven strategies lead the race for a COVID-19 vaccine

Last week, President Trump stood in the Rose Garden and told the assembled press corps that hundreds of millions of doses of a coronavirus vaccine would be available by the end of 2020, just seven months away. “It’s called Operation Warp Speed. That…

May 22, 2020

Popular Science

These skulls look purple and orange. They are both red.

We know you are bored at home right now—we are too. Here are some puzzles and brainteasers to challenge your family and friends with, either in person or over video chat. If a sign tells you to follow the purple skull to your destination, the answer…

May 20, 2020

Don’t worry about coronavirus mutations

Over the past few weeks, the occasional breathless news reports have warned that the novel coronavirus is mutating or that there are multiple strains of the virus circling around the globe. That sounds concerning. If the virus is changing, that could…

May 18, 2020

Donald Trump says he’s taking hydroxychloroquine to protect against COVID-19

Photo by Tasos Katopodis / Getty Images President Donald Trump said he’s taking antimalarial medication hydroxychloroquine and zinc because he believes the drugs could prevent COVID-19. “Here’s my evidence. I get a lot of positive calls about it,” he…

May 15, 2020

An HIV-fighting strategy might help against COVID-19

Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images Though many people are pinning their hopes on a COVID-19 vaccine, another option is available: preventive treatment. At a Senate hearing this week, Anthony Fauci noted that a vaccine — which is probably…

May 7, 2020

FDA authorizes CRISPR-based test for COVID-19

Photo by STR / AFP via Getty Images The Food and Drug Administration has authorized a COVID-19 test that uses the gene-editing technology CRISPR and returns results in around one hour. Though the test was only authorized for emergency use, this marks…

May 7, 2020

We’ve known how to make healthier buildings for decades

People in the United States spend upward of 90 percent of their time indoors — inside homes, apartment buildings, schools, and offices. With the threat of COVID-19 looming over every interaction, those indoor spaces (where the virus spreads more…

Apr 30, 2020

It’s impossible to count everyone with COVID-19

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Zack Moore, state epidemiologist in North Carolina, can’t say how many people in the state have COVID-19. He knows how many people test positive for the coronavirus each day, and how many people are in the…

Apr 29, 2020

FDA authorizes experimental drug remdesivir for emergency use in COVID-19 patients

Photo by Doug Mills/The New York Times/Pool/Getty Images The Food and Drug Administration just authorized the emergency use of remdesivir, an experimental antiviral drug, to treat COVID-19. Emergency authorization does not mean that the drug is…

Apr 27, 2020

The data the algorithms use isn’t reliable

Photo by Mikhail Japaridze / TASS via Getty Images Even during a pandemic, Walmart’s supply chain managers have to make sure stores and warehouses are stocked with the things customers want and need. COVID-19, though, has thrown off the digital…

Apr 27, 2020

Popular Science

This timeline shows just how insignificant humans are

Humans have gotten a lot done in 300,000 years: We invented agriculture, developed writing systems, built cities, created the internet, and shrugged off gravity to land on the moon. These innovations make our past seem long—and stuffed with…

Apr 24, 2020

Along with health and safety experts, we would like to remind you that Lysol is poison

Photo by Roberto Machado Noa/LightRocket via Getty Images The makers of Lysol, the Washington State Emergency Management Division, and the Environmental Protection Agency all scrambled to do damage control after President Trump appeared to suggest…

Apr 23, 2020

Apps aren’t a reliable way to measure blood oxygen levels

Photo by: Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Doctors say one of the best ways to monitor patients with COVID-19 is by tracking their blood oxygen levels, which can show when they have dangerous breathing problems — even if they…

Apr 22, 2020

US vaccine expert says he was forced out of position for resisting hydroxychloroquine hype

Photo by YURI CORTEZ/AFP via Getty Images Federal researcher and vaccine development expert Rick Bright says he was removed from his position in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) after objecting to the agency’s efforts to push the use…

Apr 21, 2020

Health departments are concerned about spikes in STIs while attention is on COVID-19

Photo by Fabian Sommer/picture alliance via Getty Images Across Idaho, the number of people getting tested for sexually transmitted infections and HIV has cratered. The Department of Health and Welfare is screening far fewer people than they did at…

Apr 21, 2020

First at-home COVID-19 testing kit authorized by the FDA

Photo by Sylvain Lefevre / Getty Images The US Food and Drug Administration has issued the first authorization for an at-home COVID-19 test kit. LabCorp, the diagnostics company producing the tests, says it will give first access to health care…

Apr 20, 2020

Sewer systems are a window into the coronavirus pandemic

Photo by Beata Zawrzel / NurPhoto via Getty Images With limitations on COVID-19 testing making it hard to know how many people actually have the disease, some public health experts are turning to the sewer systems for a clearer snapshot. “Sewage is a…

Apr 15, 2020

Google and Apple’s COVID-19 tracking system can’t save lives all on its own

During the 2014 Ebola outbreak in Guinea, global health researcher Anne Liu struggled to convince public health officials that apps and other technologies could help manage the spread of disease. To beat back the outbreak, officials had to locate…