Andie Noonan

The bugs that cause Ebola, hantavirus and diphtheria are microscopic, but many of the barriers to controlling them are human-sized. In the video game Plague Inc, the goal is to create a pandemic and infect the world. And for Doherty Institute director of epidemiology Jodie McVernon, it's more than a game. "I make my students play it," she explains, to help them understand how pathogens evolve and thrive in certain environments.

A mouse plague is invading farms and homes in southern and Western Australia. But what does that really look like? Be warned: if you're squeamish, you may not want to find out. Unless you're in the thick of it, it's hard to wrap your head around what it feels like to live through a mouse plague. Mice breed rapidly in the right conditions and communities in parts of Western Australia and South Australia are dealing with an explosion in numbers.

; ; ; Continue reading More for You