Childhood Illnesses Surge, Magnetic Poles Wandered, and a Colossal Squid Is Found
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Apr 21, 2025
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Rising Childhood Illnesses
Measles and whooping cough cases are rising significantly in the U.S., with measles cases more than doubling from 2024 to 2025 so far.
These increases highlight potential underreporting and underscore the importance of vaccination to prevent severe illness and deaths.
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Vaccination for Whooping Cough
Vaccination with DTaP and Tdap vaccines at recommended ages is the best way to prevent whooping cough and protect vulnerable infants.
Pregnant individuals should get a Tdap booster between 27 and 36 weeks to help confer immunity to their newborns.
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Autism Rate Increase Explained
The rise in autism spectrum disorder rates is likely due to improved early detection, especially in communities with previously less access to diagnostics.
This suggests that autism prevalence may not be increasing, but diagnoses are becoming more accurate and earlier.
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Measles cases are going up—and a federal scientist has warned that case counts have probably been underreported. Another vaccine-preventable illness, whooping cough, sees a troubling increase in cases. Ancient humans found sun-protection solutions when Earth’s magnetic poles wandered. A colossal squid has been captured on video in its natural habitat for the first time. Plus, we discuss evidence that Mars once had a carbon cycle and a planet that is orbiting a pair of brown dwarfs.
E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover!
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Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Kelso Harper, Naeem Amarsy and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was hosted by Rachel Feltman. Our show is edited by Alex Sugiura with fact-checking by Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck. The theme music was composed by Dominic Smith.
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