Michaeleen Doucleff
Michaeleen Doucleff, PhD, is a correspondent for NPR's Science Desk. For nearly a decade, she has been reporting for the radio and the web for NPR's global health outlet, Goats and Soda. Doucleff focuses on disease outbreaks, cross-cultural parenting, and women and children's health.
In 2014, Doucleff was part of the team that earned a George Foster Peabody award for its coverage of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. For the series, Doucleff reported on how the epidemic ravaged maternal health and how the virus spreads through the air. In 2019, Doucleff and Senior Producer Jane Greenhalgh produced a story about how Inuit parents teach children to control their anger. That story was the most popular one on NPR.org for the year; altogether readers have spent more than 16 years worth of time reading it.
In 2021, Doucleff published a book, called Hunt, Gather, Parent, stemming from her reporting at NPR. That book became a New York Times bestseller.
Before coming to NPR in 2012, Doucleff was an editor at the journal Cell, where she wrote about the science behind pop culture. Doucleff has a bachelor degree in biology from Caltech, a doctorate in physical chemistry from the University of Berkeley, California, and a master's degree in viticulture and enology from the University of California, Davis.
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Although monkeypox's recent spread has caused concern, its similarities to smallpox have given the public health world a head start on combating it. -
The cases point to possible sexual transmission of this cousin of smallpox — a previously unknown method of spread for monkeypox.
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The COVID-19 pandemic is having a surprising silver lining — it's breathing new life into the fight against HIV by accelerating the development of a new type of HIV vaccine.
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New versions of omicron are circulating in the United States and South Africa. Two new studies shed light on the potential for future surges — and the risk factor if you've already had omicron.
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A Japanese TV show now on Netflix, 'Old Enough!,' has sparked much debate about the wisdom of allowing very young kids to be very independent. Risky? Beneficial? Child development experts weigh in.
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The variants — BA.2.12 and BA.2.12.1 — have been detected in New York and other states as well as 5 other countries. One has a mutation that seems to give it an edge in evading the immune system.
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My 6-year-old has been exposed to SARS-CoV-2 at least four times and never tested positive. Many people fall into that category. Researchers have theories about why they've been able to ward it off.
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A new coronavirus variant is a bit like Frankenstein, with the head of omicron and the body of delta. Scientists are eager to learn more about the origins of hybrid variants like "deltacron."
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Scientists have solid, physical evidence indicating the COVID pandemic began at a seafood market in Wuhan, China. Data suggest the virus jumped from an animal at the market into people at least twice.
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Some countries are moving ahead with plans to offer a fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccine. But studies are raising questions about the potential advantages of this extra booster.
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Scientists now know that the potency of the booster shot wanes quickly after about three months. We look at the latest research on a fourth shot.
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Scientists are beginning to come up with answers to the question of how long antibodies from an infection can protect you — and what they'll protect you from.
