See how cholera spreads in a community

Learn how cholera bacteria sicken humans

Once a person has ingested large amounts of the bacteria, typically through contaminated water, cholera bacteria begin producing and releasing a toxin inside their host. It attacks the mucosal lining of the intestine, making it hard to absorb liquids. This process leads to cholera's characteristic symptoms, like voluminous, watery diarrhea.

More than 4,000 people died from cholera in 2023

This global health threat sickened more than half a million people in 2023 and killed 4,007 people. That's a 71% increase in deaths as compared to a year earlier. (Report only offered in PDF format.)

Cholera went global thanks to global trade

The first cholera pandemic grew from an outbreak in India, in 1817. Scientists suggest it spread from there throughout the continent and onward to Africa, Russia and Europe through the poop of traders.

Extreme weather conditions heighten cholera risks in settings like refugee camps

Runoff from sewage—exacerbated by situations like flooding or extreme rains—heightens this threat. Increasing temperatures also create the ideal conditions for the bacteria to reproduce, increasing transmission risks.

Cholera vaccines can protect people from disease for months—or even years

There are three recommended cholera vaccines on the market. The number of required shots and the period of protection they provide vary, but each of them can be life-saving.

Climate change is influencing the spread of disease

Rising temperatures and water levels are forcing animals and pathogens beyond their typical boundaries. This article and its data visualizations explore the proliferation of climate-driven diseases.

Unprecedented imaging of the Vibrio bacteria, published in 2026, may highlight new treatment targets

Researchers have produced the most detailed image ever of a key part of the Vibrio bacteria—the cause of cholera—known as the sheathed flagellum, which helps it move.

Maryland required cholera researchers to fly a yellow warning flag—signifying quarantine dangers in the 1970s

University of Maryland Hospital researchers intentionally infected volunteers with the cholera bacterium in the late 1970s to further their understanding of the disease. They proceeded with this work following the recommendation of a US government panel. (Some users may encounter a paywall.)

Watch what the Ebola virus does inside our cells and organs in order to spread and survive.

Superbugs evolve defenses against medication, then share them with neighbors

One reason antibiotic resistance spreads so quickly is that bacteria have multiple mechanisms allowing them to share genetic material. This short video offers a concise explanation for each of these mechanisms, and animation that helps viewers understand how antimicrobial resistance can quickly spread from one organism to another.

How does cancer spread through the body?

Cancer usually begins with one tumor, but it can spread to other organs if not removed. This video breaks down how cancer moves to these new areas and why some organs are more likely to get infected than others.

Watch an animated, step-by-step reconstruction of the Chernobyl explosion

This video shows how a 1986 safety test at Chernobyl spiraled out of control—leading to a massive rise in temperatures, an explosion and reactor meltdown that produced the largest civilian nuclear disaster in history.

See the geographic spread and incidence of malaria

This graphic shows the estimated global burden of malaria in 2025 as new cases per 1000 people at risk.

The gut microbiome, explained

This video from 1440 takes a high-level look at what populates the gut microbiome, its purpose, how it affects our health, and much more.

This real-time tracking of the hantavirus cruise ship outbreak in May 2026 offers a unique glimpse into the global reach of the outbreak and whether the virus sickened passengers and their communities around the world.

Variola: the second-deadliest virus on Earth

Because it was declared eradicated in 1980, many forget smallpox is one of history's deadliest diseases—in its final century, it's estimated to have claimed 500 million lives. This 11-minute video from production studio Kurzgesagt takes a look at...

A simple infographic explaining how coral bleaching works

When corals are stressed by changes in conditions such as temperature, light, or nutrients, they expel the symbiotic algae living in their tissues, causing them to turn completely white.

Visualizing the spread of five major religions across the world

Every major religion has a story that started in a specific place before growing to reach millions. This quick video depicts an illustrated map over the last 5,000 years, showing how Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam grew from their humble beginnings.

Small ways to improve your health today: an animated guide

What are some ways that you could start making a positive impact on your health today? This animated gallery overviews several health topics, including sleep and hydration, and offers ways to improve that aspect of your life. Clicking on the...

Visualizing the world's food supply chains

The world's food supply chain is complex and lopsided, with much of the world's nutrient-rich food ending up in Europe and North America. This visualization illustrates the paths our food takes around the world, from starchy vegetables in...

A video showing how drug dealing really works

What motivates people to sell drugs? The “News on Drugs” series asks how people get drawn into the drug trade, unpacking the different goals and aims involved in dealing drugs. While there is a lot of focus on cartels, traffickers, and gangs...

Cultural norms about how to handle the bodies of loved ones have hampered Ebola responses in West Africa

Awareness of local burial and grieving traditions eventually helped healthcare workers fight the spread of the virus. As healthcare workers and burial teams altered their procedures during the 2014 West African Ebola outbreak, and as community leaders pressed people to adapt traditional ceremonies, the spread of Ebola began to slow.

There's a West Nile virus prevention rap—and it's amazing

This catchy rap from biologist MC Bugg-Z and the Fairfax County government in Virginia walks people through prevention steps and the dangers of the virus, telling listeners to "rock" insect repellant and talking about the history of the disease in the US.

National Geographic presents how to protect the oceans

What can we do to protect and preserve the world's oceans? Be inspired by spectacular wildlife footage from National Geographic while learning key strategies.

How tea gets made

Tea is one of the most consumed beverages in the world, and this video walks us through the process of supplying it from farms to our mugs. Workers handpick leaves, ferment them, and dry them as part of this involved operation. Follow along for a scientific understanding of the many steps it takes to produce tea and appreciate the detail and effort to create its flavor, aroma, and color.

See the differences between chickenpox and hand, foot, and mouth

This helpful explainer breaks down the differences between these two contagious, viral diseases, which both present with fevers and sores. It includes photos of the sores that are characteristic of both diseases, showing how they have appeared across different skin tones to better inform people looking for information about their own loved one's symptoms.

The most effective method of managing invasive species is prevention education

Controlling a spread after a species has become established in an area is much more costly and time-consuming than early detection and rapid response. Control methods include the purposeful introduction of predators, the use of pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides, and physical collection and removal.

Visualize how CRISPR-Cas9—a type of immune system used by single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses—targets and makes precise changes to a gene's DNA.

See how each of the more than two million known species relates to each other—and to common ancestors—in this zoomable tree of life.

This poison ivy knowledge quiz—accompanied by photos of the plant's varied forms—may help you identify this common rash-inducing growth.

Learn how your body is, scientifically, like a firework with its own slow, controlled burn.

Hookworm infection, though risky, may help fight certain autoimmune conditions by tamping down the immune system's inflammatory response.

Fast-casual restaurant Chili's is experiencing a resurgence, with its parent company recently reporting a nearly 32% increase in sales, thanks to passionate Gen Z fans on TikTok.

Listen to an in-depth conversation on the links between Parkinson's disease and herbicide exposure and the challenging pace of scientific investigation.

Coral reefs get their colors from zooxanthellae—microorganisms that line corals' digestive tracts and provide them with sugars in exchange for a home within this protective tissue.

Discover the catastrophic consequences of a failure of the US electrical grid—something that is more likely than many Americans think.

Take a 3D tour of the Hajj, Islam's annual pilgrimage to Mecca, undertaken by more than 1.5 million Muslims each year.

While El Niño moves warm Pacific Ocean waters east along the equator, La Niña moves them west, shifting where rainfall will become more common for months.

Visualize the path of every solar eclipse from 1900 to 2099 and see what each looks like when observed from different locations on Earth.

In 2018, 26-year-old missionary John Allen Chau was killed by tribesmen after attempting to reach and evangelize on India's isolated North Sentinel Island

The use of fungi to detoxify land and water—a process known as mycoremediation—has been used to clean up natural resources affected by the 2025 California wildfires.

Volcanoes 'die' when their supply of magma runs out, if they are shifted away from their underlying magma reservoir, or if they get clogged by collapsing or their magma cooling back into rock.

Watch how algorithms can be designed to train themselves and self-improve without human input, to the point where the optimized code is too complex for programmers to understand.

Louisiana's 'Cancer Alley' is infamous for having some of the highest industrial pollution, toxic air emissions, and cancer risks in the US.

Pure water does not conduct electricity because this flow of energy requires the movement of charged particles, and water is a neutral molecule.

Planarian flatworms are small, aquatic worms with exceptional regenerative capabilities. When cut, the worms can regenerate multiple bodies in a matter of weeks.

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.

Watch this video that uses Lego bricks to explain how venture capital works.

Watch a 1934 short film starring jazz legend Cab Calloway, a major figure in the Harlem Renaissance's music scene

The Russia-Ukraine conflict is the largest ground war in Europe since World War II in casualties, forces mobilized, and displacement of civilians.