by Rich Wandschneider | Dec 11, 2024 | George Washington, Indian population, Marcus Whitman, measles, mumps, smallpox, vaccination, vaccine, Whitman massacre
A friend texted me to say that she “got whooping cough for Christmas.” I’m 82 and don’t remember knowing anyone with whooping cough. Maybe it was around when I was young, but my own disease related memories are chicken pox—mom taking me to the neighbor’s house to...
by Rich Wandschneider | Mar 13, 2024 | Indian population, indigenous americans, Indigenous Continent, Indigenous population of America, infectious diseases, measles, Nex Perce history, Nez Perce, whitman
The recent upsurge in measles cases in Florida and the US in general has doctors and public health officials scratching heads. Apparently, there is a big difference in infection rates when the percentage of children who receive the MMR—Measles, Mumps,...
by Rich Wandschneider | Feb 11, 2022 | 1491, Alvin Josephy, American Indian languages, archeology, Bering Land Bridge, Charles Mann, Indian DNA, Indian population, indigenous americans, Indigenous population of America, Jennifer Raff, Kelp Highway
Several friends quickly sent me the NYTimes review of a new book on the old subject of human origins in the Americas. The book is ORIGIN: A Genetic History of the Americas, and the author is Jennifer Raff. According to the reviewer, Raff consulted the sciences of...
by Rich Wandschneider | May 1, 2020 | Charles Mann, COVID-19, Indian population, infectious diseases, nurture and nature, smallpox, virology
On Monday night, on NPR’s coronavirus question and answer show, a listener asked whether there might be something in African Americans’ unique vulnerability to sickle cell anemia that related to their high rates of infection—and death—with COVID-19. The medical person...
