Sampling wastewater could give scientists a new way to track the spread of the new coronavirus.

Covid-19

How Wastewater Could Help Track the Spread of the New Coronavirus

The virus that causes COVID-19 is unlikely to remain active in sewage, but its genetic material can still help researchers identify at-risk communities

Liana Vitali, citizen science and stewardship coordinator at Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary, shares tips for birding without leaving your window on May 22.

Here’s How to Stream 11 Free Smithsonian Associates Programs

Expert-led lectures, virtual tours and studio arts classes produced by the world’s largest museum-based educational program

A vial of remdesivir, an antiviral that has broad-spectrum activity, meaning it works against more than one type of virus. Remdesivir has been authorized for emergency use in the COVID-19 pandemic; it also was used to fight Ebola when there were few treatments available.

Covid-19

Remdesivir Works Against Many Viruses. Why Aren’t There More Drugs Like It?

Antivirals that work against a large number of diverse viruses would help us prepare for new diseases, but creating them is a big biological challenge

This week's selections include Enemy of All Mankind, Who Ate the First Oyster? and Daughter of the Boycott.

Books of the Month

A Notorious 17th-Century Pirate, the Many Lives of the Louvre and Other New Books to Read

The seventh installment in our weekly series spotlights titles that may have been lost in the news amid the COVID-19 crisis

The Tenement Museum depicts the life of early immigrants in tenement housing at the turn of century in New York City.

Education During Coronavirus

Nine Educational Livestreams Coming From Historical Sites in the United States

Learn about life in the days when diphtheria and smallpox, not COVID-19, were the diseases to fear, and more

Take this time to learn how to sew.

Education During Coronavirus

The Best Places for Your Kids to Learn Real-Life Skills Online

Why not use quarantine as an opportunity to have your homeschoolers master woodworking or engine repair?

Farmers markets around the country, including the Bloomington Community Farmers' Market in Bloomington, Indiana (shown here), are preparing online orders for customers who then pick them up in a drive-thru arrangement.

Covid-19

How a New Jersey Farmers’ Market Went Virtual

The Metuchen Farmers Market, like many others, has moved to online orders and drive-thru pickups during the coronavirus pandemic

Former First Lady (and bestselling author) Michelle Obama has teamed up with PBS Kids and Penguin Random House for a live story time every Monday at noon.

Education During Coronavirus

A Read-Along With Michelle Obama and Other Livestream Learning Opportunities

Schools are shuttered, but kids can dance with New York’s Ballet Hispánico and listen to a story from a certain former First Lady

This week's selections include The Women With Silver Wings, Tombstone and The Restaurant.

Books of the Month

A 2,000-Year History of Restaurants and Other New Books to Read

The fifth installment in our weekly series spotlights titles that may have been lost in the news amid the COVID-19 crisis

A nurse (left) operates a robot used to interact remotely with coronavirus patients while a physician looks on.

Covid-19

How Robots Are on the Front Lines in the Battle Against COVID-19

Helping health care workers treat patients and public safety officials contain the pandemic, these robots offer lessons for future disasters

The first physician to definitively distinguish typhus and typhoid was American doctor William Wood Gerhard.

Covid-19

What an 1836 Typhus Outbreak Taught the Medical World About Epidemics

An American doctor operating out of Philadelphia made clinical observations that where patients lived, not how they lived, was at the root of the problem

The list includes Sagrada, Pandemic, Settlers of Catan, Wingspan and Dune.

Education During Coronavirus

Twelve Board Games You Can Play With Friends From Afar

These virtual versions of classic and lesser-known games are ideal for social distancing

Soldiers assigned to the 531st Hospital Center build shelving at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in Manhattan, where a temporary medical station has been constructed to aid efforts combating the COVID-19 pandemic.

Covid-19

How COVID-19 Could Inform the Future of Hospital Design

Modified hospital designs have become necessary as the first wave of the pandemic tears through U.S. communities

This week's selections include The Betrayal of the Duchess, Anonymous Is a Woman and Nerve.

Books of the Month

The Science of Fear, the Royal Scandal That Made France Modern and Other New Books to Read

The fourth installment in our weekly series spotlights titles that may have been lost in the news amid the COVID-19 crisis

Eugene V. Debs was in a West Virginia penitentiary when he lost the 1920 presidential election.

Has Anyone Ever Run for President While in Prison? And More Questions From Our Readers

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts

One of designer Ellery Chung's famous King-Smith shirts, featuring a Tahitian print.

The History of the Hawaiian Shirt

From kitsch to cool, ride the waves of undulating popularity of a tropical fashion statement

Owl-inspired innovations can reduce noise by as much as 10 decibels, similar to the difference in noise between a passing truck and a passing car.

To Silence Wind Turbines and Airplanes, Engineers Are Studying Owl Wings

No one knows exactly how the nocturnal hunters manage their whisper-soft flight, yet it’s inspiring the design of quieter airplanes, fans and wind turbines

Canada-based drone tech firm Draganfly is hoping to roll out the stationary cameras and drones in the next two to three months that can detect people with COVID-19 symptoms.

Covid-19

How Innovators Are Adapting Existing Technologies to Fight COVID-19

Engineers around the world are tweaking drones, robots and smart tools to help prevent the spread of the virus

Copper wire

Covid-19

Copper’s Virus-Killing Powers Were Known Even to the Ancients

The SARS-CoV-2 virus endures for days on plastic or metal but disintegrates soon after landing on copper surfaces. Here’s why

The epidemic claimed the lives of some 8 million pigs by spring of 2014.

Covid-19

A Coronavirus Spread Through U.S. Pigs in 2013. Here’s How It Was Stopped

The containment practices of outbreaks past could have lessons for modern epidemics

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