The world of diseases!

Hello! My name is Raia and I'm a Junior studying Biological Anthropology. I am taking this class because I recently changed my major from Biochemistry and I am so excited to delve into the study of diseases beyond simply the molecular, cellular and tissue levels. 

I found three particularly interesting blogs on three different platforms; PBS, Tumblr, and Wordpress. 

Why did some people survive outbreaks of germs and not others? Get the story of germs with Smallpox or Malaria

Childhood diseases return as parents refuse vaccines

• This was a bit aggravating to read because many diseases are preventable, and yet the parents would intentionally decline vaccines or skip a shot for their children while there are people in other parts of the world who wish these vaccines be available in their area. 

The Observer is a Wordpress blog that I've been following for a few years now and I remember reading a blog post soon after I graduated high school that deeply captivated me then and even til now: Bill Gates Funds Covert Vaccine Nanotechnology

• The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation awarded 78 grants, each totaling to $100,000, to 18 nations in the attempt to develop new methods and ideas to save lives and ultimately decrease the global health burden. The article specifically stated a couple of the recipients and they are the following: "The refinement of a cell phone-based microscope for the diagnosis of malaria, the study of insect eating plants as a counter measure to insect-borne disease, and development of nanotechnology applications for the administering of vaccines." Reading these efforts truly touched me because many parasitic diseases are underfunded and it's exciting to know that these health problems are being given some global attention. My interest in diseases began during high school when I came across a disease that many people have never heard of (including myself) called Schistosomiasis. I was shocked that a disease as frightening as this could be so unknown so that's when I began to be aware that not only are many diseases underfunded but they're neglected as well.