The government rates the global outbreak of a deadly flu virus as a major threat to the UK. It could happen at any time. To predict the impact of the next pandemic more accurately than ever before, new data is needed - and lots of it. Dr Hannah Fry is on the case.

Half of the world’s pigs are in China. By Jason Gale, Hannah Dormido, Adrian Leung.

To vanquish a vampire, one generally employs a stake, a cross, a string of garlic, or a combination of all three. But there’s one highly effective anti-vampire weapon that few think to use: math. By Ella Morton. (Oct. 27, 2015)

A 70-year-old woman in Hong Kong has just become the second ever recorded case of rat-specific hepatitis E in humans, worrying Chinese researchers. By Michelle Starr.

Swine Flu, Naples Soldier, Ebola. Disease names express fear, create stigma and distract attention. Can they be improved? By Laura Spinney.