Once a coronavirus vaccine is approved, billions of doses need to be manufactured. Current vaccine production is nowhere near ready, for a variety of reasons, but planning now could help.

Challenge trials – purposefully exposing volunteers to the coronavirus – could speed up the development of a vaccine. But there are serious ethical concerns with this approach.

Aerosols of some FDA-approved food coloring could deactivate airborne viruses.

In places where everyone wears a mask, cases of COVID-19 seem to be less severe. Evidence from labs and outbreaks suggests that masks protect not only others, but the person wearing the mask, too.

Miniaturized laboratory equipment is making it easier to identify airborne pathogens in the field, but there's still work ahead to be able to instantly determine if a room is safe or contaminated.

Testing large numbers of people regularly would reduce the spread of the coronavirus in the US. Laboratory testing is slow and expensive, but rapid screening tests could be the answer.