Move over, Will Smith. There’s a new hero in town poised to save the planet from destruction: the CDC! In Contagion, Hollywood’s latest global disaster thriller, the CDC’s scientists take on a “fictional-but-plausible” fatal virus that quickly spreads throughout the world. That premise is surely entertaining (if not a little bit frightening), but how realistic is it? Could a viral outbreak really threaten all of humanity? And would the CDC save the day?

We hope you all had a lovely Memorial Day weekend! AAA predicted that there would be 35 million Americans on the road, and given the traffic we saw leaving NYC, that sounds about right. But with summer vacation on the horizon, families will be traveling even farther afield than the local beach.

Massive unrest is shaking the small island country as Haiti is overtaken by a cholera epidemic that has killed more than 1,100 and sickened tens of thousands of others. But what exactly is cholera, and why is it spreading so quickly in Haiti? Get the facts after the jump.

In the culmination of a years-long study, a team of researchers have solved a tantalizing mystery: what makes some people seemingly immune to AIDS?

Every 10 minutes, someone dies of rabies. Although many of us think of rabies as merely a threat to our dogs and cats, it is actually a very serious danger in human communities all over the world.  Take a moment to learn the facts about rabies.

We're all a little worried about so-called 'superbugs' these days. New strains of bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics seem to pop up every day. As we reported a few weeks ago, some of them are menacing indeed. That's why it's good news when we see advances in the development of new antibiotics. But the source of the latest discovery is surprising, to say the least.

At over 860,000 deaths a year, malaria is one of the world's top killers. And most of its victims are children. So it's no surprise that finding more effective ways to treat and prevent malaria is a top priority for medical authorities. Even so, it's not every day that a new class of medication is discovered...

We've been talking a lot about immunizations recently. After all, last month was National Immunization Awareness Month, and flu season is nearly upon us. But the new policy from the American Academy of Pediatrics is making news because it's so straightforward - almost everyone should get a flu shot this year. What else should we know about the vaccine?

While sickle cell disease is a painful reality for tens of thousands of people in the US alone, the condition is often misunderstood. Let's review the facts.

Suicide is one of the most serious kinds of health issues, and almost everyone is touched by it at some point. At ZocDoc, we understand the seriousness of mental health awareness, and the importance of doing our part for National Suicide Prevention Week. We're also proud to help bring you the care of hundreds of psychiatrists and psychologists - so If you need to discuss your mental health with a professional, you can find a doctor today.