Is a new virus causing a disease outbreak and deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo, or is the cause already known to science?

The World Health Organization has confirmed multiple outbreak clusters of an unidentified illness. Hundreds have become sick and dozens have died. The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed that a worrying mystery illness is spreading in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

On Saturday, renowned geneticist and former longtime NIH director Francis Collins announced that he has retired, leaving an agency being upended by budget cuts and layoffs. He stepped down from the director role in 2021 to return to his research laboratory, but on Saturday gave no reason for his abrupt departure from the NIH. Read more.