Find out why, decades after the 1962 publication of Rachel Carson's 'Silent Spring' exposed the unintended consequences of popular pesticides like DDT, some critics are connecting a renewed rise in malaria around the globe to Carson's controversial book, in this digital video from AMERICAN EXPERIENCE and Retro Report. While DDT was effective in killing insects, Carson warned against its widespread use, arguing that too little was known about its possible threat to human and animal health. Carson's work raised awareness about the issue, and prompted further research that ultimately led many countries to ban DDT for both agricultural uses and insect-borne disease control. As the fight against malaria continues in certain parts of the world, especially where mosquitoes have evolved an immunity to DDT, researchers are hoping to develop a multipronged strategy to fight the disease. [12:30]

Read about the development of genetically modified mosquitoes that will not spread malaria.

In this lifelike narrated animation, watch what happens inside a mosquito when the malaria parasites reproduce and travel to the salivary glands, ready to infect another human host with the next bite. [4:00]

In this lifelike animation, watch what happens inside a host when a malaria parasite-carrying mosquito bites a human. [4:17]

This lesson will identify the cause and effects of various blood disorders. [5:21]

Learn about the current efforts to prevent the spread of malaria, from prevention techniques to the drugs that are available. Joel Breman talks about a how a new class of drugs and bed nets treated with insecticide can offer protection against the malaria-carrying mosquito.

Online presentations on more than 150 health topics, diseases, and conditions, from acne to viruses. Each plays as a slide presentation, with sound, that you can control or set to autoplay. Time varies from 5-20 minutes. Available in both Spanish and English.

This video segment describes the role of the sickle cell gene in natural selection. Footage courtesy of the PBS series Secret of Life: "Accidents of Creation." [4:49]

Discover the story of Dr. Fred Soper and his efforts to eliminate malaria in this video segment adapted from Rx for Survival. Dr. Soper targeted the Anopheles gambiae mosquito, the species known to spread malaria. He devised a strategy that included destroying breeding sites and controlled spraying of a pesticide known as DDT. The video explains why Soper's global campaign ultimately stalled, before it reached the African continent, and why DDT was almost uniformly banned from use. The video concludes with some experts suggesting that it may be time to reconsider using DDT to save African lives. [4:11] Support materials are provided.

This video segment adapted from Rx for Survival examines malaria in sub-Saharan Africa, a disease that kills more than one million children there each year. [4:31]

U.S. History is designed to meet the scope and sequence requirements of most introductory courses. The text provides a balanced approach to U.S. history, considering the people, events, and ideas that have shaped the United States from both the top down (politics, economics, diplomacy) and bottom up (eyewitness accounts, lived experience). U.S. History covers key forces that form the American experience, with particular attention to issues of race, class, and gender.Senior Contributing AuthorsP. Scott Corbett, Ventura CollegeVolker Janssen, California State University, FullertonJohn M. Lund, Keene State CollegeTodd Pfannestiel, Clarion UniversityPaul Vickery, Oral Roberts UniversitySylvie Waskiewicz

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

Explain the meaning of “big stick” foreign policy
Describe Theodore Roosevelt’s use of the “big stick” to construct the Panama Canal
Explain the role of the United States in ending the Russo-Japanese War