Two gaps to fill for the 2021-2022 winter wave of COVID-19 cases

The US was not ready for the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. What can public health leaders and policymakers do to make sure we don't face another winter of rampant disease?

Maciej F. Boni, Associate Professor of Biology, Penn State • conversation
March 3, 2021 • ~9 min

Fewer tourists meant less money for wildlife during the pandemic – but there's an alternative

Wildlife tourism is big business – until a pandemic halts international travel.

Joseph Hamm, PhD Candidate in Conservation Science, University of Leeds • conversation
Dec. 22, 2020 • ~6 min

From permafrost microbes to survivor songbirds – research projects are also victims of COVID-19 pandemic

Three scientists describe the fieldwork they've had to delay in 2020 because of the pandemic. These are setbacks not just for their careers, but for the body of scientific knowledge.

Miriah Kelly, Assistant Professor of Environment, Geography & Marine Sciences, Southern Connecticut State University • conversation
Dec. 7, 2020 • ~10 min

Delinquent electric bills from the pandemic are coming due – who will pay them?

Many Americans have been unable to pay their electric bills during the COVID-19 pandemic, racking up billions of dollars in delinquent bills. Where will the money come from?

Theodore J. Kury, Director of Energy Studies, University of Florida • conversation
Nov. 6, 2020 • ~9 min

Your dog's nose knows no bounds – and neither does its love for you

Dogs process the sensory world very differently than humans, but love in a way that is entirely familiar.

Ellen Furlong, Associate Professor of Psychology, Illinois Wesleyan University • conversation
Oct. 26, 2020 • ~6 min

How do pandemics end? History suggests diseases fade but are almost never truly gone

As ready as you are to be done with COVID-19, it's not going anywhere soon. A historian of disease describes how once a pathogen emerges, it's usually here to stay.

Nükhet Varlik, Associate Professor of History, University of South Carolina • conversation
Oct. 14, 2020 • ~9 min

One small part of a human antibody has the potential to work as a drug for both prevention and therapy of COVID-19

Antibodies are great for neutralizing viruses. But they are big and bulky. Antibody engineers are now creating smaller synthetic antibody-like molecules that may be better for fighting COVID-19.

Dimiter Stanchev Dimitrov, Professor of Medicine and Director, Center for Antibody Therapeutics, University of Pittsburgh • conversation
Oct. 1, 2020 • ~9 min

SARS-CoV-2 infection can block pain, opening up unexpected new possibilities for research into pain relief medication

The SARS-CoV-2 virus usually infects the body via the ACE2 protein. But there is another entry point that allows the virus to infect the nervous system and block pain perception.

Rajesh Khanna, Professor of Anesthesiology, University of Arizona • conversation
Sept. 21, 2020 • ~8 min

Coronavirus reminds you of death – and amplifies your core values, both bad and good

It's human nature to try to insulate yourself from the unpleasant realization that death comes for all of us eventually.

Sheldon Solomon, Professor of Psychology, Skidmore College • conversation
May 21, 2020 • ~9 min

Three charts that show where the coronavirus death rate is heading

Three graphs of mortality data tell the story of the direction the UK and the world are heading in after the peak of the coronavirus outbreak.

Danny Dorling, Halford Mackinder Professor of Geography, University of Oxford • conversation
April 27, 2020 • ~6 min

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