Brian Vastag

Brian Vastag is a science reporter at The Washington Post, where he covers general science, the environment, climate change, and space. He covered the 2011 Japanese earthquake and the subsequent meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant; the heavy storms that battered the Southeast in 2011; parrot conservation efforts in Qatar; and the final launch of the space shuttle. From 2004 to 2010, Vastag freelanced for some 40 publications, including U.S. News & World Report, New Scientist, Health, Nature, Science, Scientific American, Science News and National Geographic News. From 2000 to 2004, Vastag
Latest from Brian Vastag

With long-haul covid-19, important advice for patients, doctors and researchers

It’s a poorly understood chronic illness and those affected need to hone their navigational skills. The medical profession needs to listen, too.

October 24, 2020

Researchers warn covid-19 could cause debilitating long-term illness in some patients

The aftereffects of viral infections can be life-altering — we know this from personal experience — and unfortunately are devastatingly common.

May 30, 2020

Glacier and me: Amid a stunning landscape, an ailing science journalist weighs his own uncertain life span

“How many years did I have left to drink in the wonders of this Earth?” he thought as he traveled through mountains of Glacier National Park formed millions of years ago.

September 14, 2019

Myalgic encephalomyelitis, an orphan disease, has cost me my independence

The National Institutes of Health should invest more heavily in research on this disease.

July 20, 2015

I’m disabled. Can NIH spare a few dimes?

A former Washington Post writer pleads with the NIH director for funding for research into a debilitating illness that has stricken him and countless others.

July 20, 2015

Chemist Alexander Shulgin, popularizer of the drug Ecstasy, dies at 88

Dr. Shulgin, 88, was a biochemist who helped spread the popularity of Ecstasy, later banned by the DEA.

June 3, 2014

Drug-resistant bacteria pose potential catastrophe, CDC warns

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says antibiotic-resistant microbes kill 23,000 each year

September 16, 2013

Giant digital camera probes cosmic ‘dark energy,’ the universe’s deepest mystery

New project explores the comic puzzle of “dark energy,” the force driving the universe apart

September 7, 2013

Nerve agents the most deadly of recognized chemical weapons, can kill within 10 minutes

Nerve agents are the most deadly of the types of chemical weapons recognized by experts.

August 21, 2013

J. Paul Van Nevel, cancer communications leader, dies at 75

Led National Cancer Institute’s public communications efforts for quarter-century

August 16, 2013