For decades, the idea that Lyme disease emerged from a laboratory accident at Plum Island’s Lab 257 has circulated through books, late-night radio shows, documentaries, and speculative journalism. The theory is compelling on the surface: a mysterious disease appears near a government research facility conducting secretive tick experiments. But compelling does not mean correct. When subjected to rigorous scientific scrutiny, the Plum Island hypothesis begins to collapse under the weight of establ...