Life feels more vivid in a conflict zone. It is clear what matters, and who you can count on, for what.

If you put Earth out beyond Neptune, you wouldn't be able to call it a planet because it couldn't clear its zone.

The slow pace of trains in the U.S. can be maddening, particularly during delays on rail sidings for an hour or more to enable freight trains - which have the right-of-way - to pass.

Conflict photographers grapple with two worlds that are themselves often in conflict - the one where bombs fall and bullets fly, where adrenaline runs high, and the other, back home, which is comparatively secure, and where the big event of the day may involve selecting swatches of fabric for a new sofa.

Without an adequate response, an epidemic can develop into a pandemic, which generally means it has spread to more than one continent.

Anyone who was alive during the outbreak of the bubonic plague in the 14th century experienced something terrifyingly close to the widespread death and chaos of an apocalyptic event.