In December 2015, the Pentagon changed a rule to allow American women to serve for the first time ever in front-line ground combat troops. Women have fulfilled many military roles throughout history, including nursing; driving ambulances; handling administrative duties; working as mechanics; and serving in the WASPs, WACs, WAVES, and SPARS. More recently women are flying jets, conducting surveillance, commanding naval ships, and now fighting on the...

Throughout history, several deadly pandemics brought humanity to its knees, killing millions, and recent outbreaks of Ebola and Zika took coordinated international efforts to prevent them from spreading. Learn about factors that contribute to the spread of disease by examining past pandemics and epidemics, including the Bubonic Plague, smallpox Ebola, HIV/AIDS, and Zika. Examine case studies of potential pandemic diseases, like SARS and cholera, and...

Drug overdosing and death from prescription painkillers and heroin are at epidemic levels in the United States. How do people become addicted to opioids and other dangerous drugs, and why? Meet the experts who study the neurology of addiction. Hear stories of addicts in recovery, and of loved ones left behind by those who died from overdosing. Discover more about the social and economic costs of overdosing and learn about scientific research to decrease...

An estimated 245,225 people in the United States are currently living with leukemia or are in remission. More than forty-three thousand Americans are diagnosed with the disease each year. But leukemia is no longer the almost-certain death sentence that it once was. Advanced treatment options have increased survival rates and even brought about complete cures in some cases. As USA TODAY, the Nation's No. 1 Newspaper, reports, "About 20,000 bone marrow...

"Our camp, they tell us, is now to be called a 'relocation center' and not a 'concentration camp.' We are internees, not prisoners. Here's the truth: I am now a non-alien, stripped of my constitutional rights. I am a prisoner in a concentration camp in my own country. I sleep on a canvas cot under which is a suitcase with my life's belongings: a change of clothes, underwear, a notebook and pencil. Why?" -Kiyo Sato In 1941 Kiyo Sato and her eight...

In the twenty-first century, military marine mammals detect lost equipment and underwater mines. Large rats are trained to find land mines in more than 80 countries. Military working dogs search for explosive devices and other weapons and are trained to take down enemy combatants. In earlier centuries, military fighters rode horses into battle, relied on elephants to haul supplies, and trained pigeons to carry messages. Even cats, goats, and chickens...

Stigma is everywhere, from mistrust of unhoused people to discrimination based on weight. Having and discussing mental health challenges has been stigmatized for years until recently when high-profile actors, athletes, and professionals started to share their experiences. Where do these ideas come from and how are they perpetuated in our society? Readers will learn how to stop the spread of stereotypes and prejudice. Informational text on how to identify...

In 1946, as part of the Cold War arms race, the US military launched a program to test nuclear bombs in the Marshall Islands of the Pacific Ocean. From 1946 until 1958, the military detonated sixty-seven nuclear bombs over the region's Bikini and Enewetak Atolls. The twelfth bomb, called Bravo, became the world's first nuclear disaster. It sent a toxic cloud of radiation over Rongelap Atoll and other nearby inhabited islands. The testing was intended...

"The silent killer." That's how a headline in USA TODAY, the Nation's No. 1 Newspaper, described hepatitis. This life-threatening liver disease can go undetected for decades because it often causes no symptoms until serious liver damage has occurred. The good news is that new medications and research bring "hope, treatment, even cures." Millions of people around the world are diagnosed each year with viral hepatitis. In this book, you'll read case...