Plague to coronavirus: how pandemics have transformed history

Coronavirus is nothing new: for centuries, infectious diseases have spread across the world. Their deadliness has been well documented - but have they altered the path of history?

From the Plague of Justinian to the Black Death to the spread of cholera and the eventual eradication of smallpox, pandemics have made a profound impact.

Did plague weaken the Byzantium Empire? Did the Black Death cause a social revolution in England? And what role did smallpox play in the birth of the United States?

We speak to the historians Sir Richard J. Evans, Rebecca Rideal, Michael Bennett, Michael McCormick, Elizabeth Fenn, and Andrew Bailey.

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10 Best Places to Visit in Spain

Splendid beaches, delicious cuisine, vibrant nightlife and lively fiestas all make Spain one of Europe’s best getaways. Because Spain encompasses several autonomous regions and islands, the country boasts one of the most widely diverse cultures and landscapes on the continent. Here’s a look at the top places to visit in Spain.

THE WORLD'S FIRST FACE TRANSPLANT

Isabelle Dinoire, born 1967, was the first person to undergo a partial face transplant, after her Labrador dog mauled her in May 2005. Prior to the operation, she could barely eat or speak, but after the operation, she can do both. Dinoire's dog "chewed her face after she passed out from an overdose of sleeping pills." Some reports following the initial surgery claim that her daughter said that the black Labrador cross (named Tania) was "frantically" trying to wake Dinoire after she took sleeping pills in a suicide attempt, and Dinoire wrote about her suicidal feelings in her own memoir. Dinoire's injuries affected her nose, lips, chin, and cheeks. She wore a surgical mask to cover the injuries on the lower part of her face, as the upper face was not affected. Doctors and the media debated whether the donor and/or the recipient had attempted suicide, with reports stating that the donor had hanged herself. The Sunday Times, a British newspaper, stated that Di

Coronavirus tests: how they work and what they show

There's a lot of talk about coronavirus testing at the moment, but some people are getting confused about what they actually are. How is the antibody test different to the PCR antigen test? What do they do? And why are they important? Josh Toussaint-Strauss speaks with Professor David Smith to answer some of these covid-19 questions.

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