What scientists still don’t know about Ebola might surprise you

Ebola has taken the lives of 11,000 people and sickened another 26,000. But scientists know less than you might think about the origins of the virus or how it made its leap to humans.

For this week’s Shortwave podcast, we interview PBS NewsHour Science correspondent Miles O’Brien about his trip to the heart of the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone. He discusses the scientists who study and track the disease and the critical role that social media can play in containing an outbreak. On next week’s Shortwave, we’ll talk about the human stories from his reporting.

“These things are coming to our doorsteps,” Miles says of Ebola and Lassa fever. “Whether we like it or not.”

Miles O’Brien’s four-part series on Ebola will begin on tomorrow’s NewsHour. Watch a preview here:

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