Amesh Adalja, a speaker at ARI’s Objectivist Summer Conference next month, has a new article in The Atlantic answering the question: “Why Hasn’t Disease Wiped Out the Human Race?”

For most of mankind’s history, infectious diseases were the existential threat to humanity — and for good reason. They were quite successful at killing people: The 6th century’s Plague of Justinian knocked out an estimated 17 percent of the world’s population; the 14th century Black Death decimated a third of Europe; the 1918 influenza pandemic killed 5 percent of the world; malaria is estimated to have killed half of all humans who have ever lived.

Any yet, of course, humanity continued to flourish. . . .

How come? Read the whole article here to find out.

Adalja is an infectious-disease physician. He writes regularly at Tracking Zebra and on July 6, 2016, he will be speaking at Objectivist Summer Conference 2016 in Bellevue, Washington:

Vaccination: An Essentialized History of an Essential Technology

Amesh Adalja will discuss the history of vaccination with special attention to the heroic figures that developed this technology. Particular consideration will be given the chain of reasoning leading to the first vaccine, as well as how the germ theory of disease led to a plethora of vaccines that allowed humans to experience a rapid improvement in lifespan and quality of life.

Later that same day, Adalja will join Amanda Maxham, research associate at ARI, and Gregory Salmieri, philosophy fellow at the Anthem Foundation, to participate in a panel discussion titled “Science in the Culture.” Here’s a description:

From biotechnology and modern medicine to energy and information, science and technology have a tremendous impact on our lives. This panel will discuss science in the culture, including how ideas affect the way people interpret scientific findings, why pseudoscience abounds, the role of science in government policy decisions and how Objectivism can illuminate scientific issues and aid in decision-making.

Click here to learn more and register for Objectivist Summer Conference 2016.