Stopping Pandemics | National Geographic

How devastating pandemics change us

A reflection on what we've failed to learn from past pandemics

His discovery about the dangers of filth saved countless lives

Centuries after spreading smallpox, the Spanish led a global campaign to fight it

How World War II put penicillin into every pharmacy

India’s daunting challenge: There’s water everywhere, and nowhere

A century after women’s suffrage, the fight for equality isn’t over

‘I am scared all the time’: Chimps and people are clashing in rural Uganda

Proof

At the height of the pandemic, see New York City’s empty streets from above

From a helicopter, photographer Stephen Wilkes captured the startling stillness of New York City under lockdown to fight the coronavirus.

The big idea

My generation grew up online. Endless ‘virtual life’ would be terrifying

College students thrive in a digital, virtual existence. But when COVID-19 cuts them off from the physical world, something important is lost.

Explore

Illuminating the mysteries—and wonders—all around us every day

The dodo gets a makeover

Creating a black-and-white photograph goes beyond the shutter

An insect’s surprising way of seeing, and other revelations

Archaeologists give him skulls—he brings them to life

Prickly porcupines mate without hurting each other. Here’s how.

A photographer climbs for his life—out of the world’s deepest known cave

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