Which work helped initiate funding for Ebola research?

• A. The Jungle
• B. The Andromeda Strain
• C. The Hot Zone
• D. Silent Spring

Answer: (C)

Public attention to a dangerous disease can mobilize funding for research, especially when a vivid, credible account reaches a wide audience. The Hot Zone does exactly that for Ebola: it provides a detailed, gripping look at real Ebola outbreaks and the biosafety challenges scientists face. By making the threat tangible and urgent for readers, it helped draw attention from policymakers, funders, and the public, which in turn supported increased funding for Ebola research, vaccines, and rapid-response capabilities. The other works are influential in their own right—The Jungle spurred food-safety reforms, Silent Spring helped launch the environmental movement, and The Andromeda Strain, though a memorable fiction about a deadly pathogen, did not specifically initiate funding for Ebola research.