Getting a Covid-19 vaccine — quickly and safely
Researchers around the globe are working with unprecedented speed to find the vaccines we need to find our way through the pandemic. What’s the bar for safety and effectiveness?
July 30, 2020 • ~17 min
public-health coronavirus society explained health-disease
How we make decisions during a pandemic
From mask wearing to physical distancing, individuals wield a lot of power in how the coronavirus outbreak plays out. Behavioral experts reveal what might be prompting people to act — or not.
May 26, 2020 • ~15 min
coronavirus psychology society explained the-mind
The time of trials: Waiting for a coronavirus vaccine
An infected and impatient world needs protection from Covid-19, but rushing it won't be easy. How can we speed up a complicated process?
May 22, 2020 • ~19 min
coronavirus explained health-disease
Covid-19 antibody testing: Tougher than true/false
Antibodies should indicate if someone has had an infection in the past. But the promise of “immunity testing” is plagued by uncertainty about how the immune system responds to the coronavirus, as well as concerns about the tests’ accuracy.
May 1, 2020 • ~15 min
coronavirus explained health-disease
How disease sleuths are using genomics to track the coronavirus
Rapid sequencing of viral genomes can help public health officials figure out the origins, spread and nature of quickly moving epidemics
April 21, 2020 • ~11 min
coronavirus explained health-disease living-world
What is a cytokine storm?
An immune reaction gone wild seems to be linked with the most severe cases of pandemic Covid-19. Here’s what happens.
April 10, 2020 • ~13 min
coronavirus explained health-disease
An old problem: How immune responses weaken with age
The body’s defenses lose flexibility and diversity over time, and protective responses to vaccines weaken as well. Scientists are working on ways to boost seniors’ protections against influenza, the novel coronavirus and other pathogens.
April 1, 2020 • ~12 min
public-health coronavirus explained health-disease living-world
Fighting fire with fire ... and fauna
Climate change is aggravating the seasonal burns that Australia has always known. They won’t be snuffed out, but new ecological strategies may help.
March 5, 2020 • ~14 min
wildfire explained food-environment physical-world
The tricky task of tallying carbon
To slow or stop global warming, the world agrees it must cut carbon dioxide emissions. But monitoring each nation’s output of greenhouse gases is not always straightforward.
Dec. 7, 2019 • ~15 min
climate-change society explained physical-world food-and-environment
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