How Ebola Infected Twitter - Issue 33: Attraction
▻http://nautil.us/issue/33/attraction/how-ebola-infected-twitter
In the fall of 2014, when health officials were fighting to contain an Ebola outbreak in West Africa, Emilio Ferrara was tracking another, far more pervasive pandemic. The contagion entered the body through the eye, hijacking cells in the retina to gain access to the brain. There, it burrowed through webs of neurons to the deepest, most ancient brain regions, beyond the realm of consciousness, where it wreaked its havoc on the autonomic nervous system, which controls bodily functions such as respiration, heart rate, and digestion. The infection was spreading fast, jumping from one person to thousands across the globe in mere minutes. Victims felt its effects before they could recognize them: sweaty palms, shortness of breath, a rapid heartbeat and blood sugar rush, muscle contractions (...)
