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COVID-19

A doctor checks the temperature of a child at a mobile clinic.

Covid-19

What Happens When Children’s Covid-19 Symptoms Won’t Go Away

Some parents say their kids have been sick for months, and experts aren’t sure what’s going on

All classes are free and open to the public.

Education During Coronavirus

Take Free, Online College Classes Featuring Anthony Fauci and Other Covid-19 Experts

MIT’s class includes live-streamed lectures on Tuesday mornings and Purdue’s self-paced course offers a certificate in contact tracing

Green lasers pointed at a plastic mannequin head wearing a face shield show how the droplets from a cough or sneeze escape around the sides.

New Research

Face Shields and Valved Masks Don’t Fully Stop the Spread of Aerosols

A new visualization shows how droplets from a cough or sneeze escape around the sides of a plastic face shield

An open-air school in the Netherlands shows how the concept spread throughout Europe.

Education During Coronavirus

When Tuberculosis Struck the World, Schools Went Outside

A century ago, a deadly disease sparked a novel concept: teaching in the great outdoors to keep kids safe

A man who recovered from COVID-19 donates plasma in Bogota, Colombia.

Covid-19

The Peculiar 100-Plus-Year History of Convalescent Plasma

Blood has been considered a viable treatment for infectious disease for over a century, but it has rarely proven to be the best solution.

University of Arizona leaders were able to prevent a potential Covid-19 outbreak by testing wastewater.

University of Arizona Stops a Covid-19 Outbreak by Following the Feces

After wastewater monitoring detected the virus in a dorm’s sewage, the school discovered and quarantined two asymptomatic infections

The formation of a blood clot

Covid-19

Why Blood Clots Are a Major Problem in Severe Covid-19

Out-of-control clotting can endanger some patients even after the virus has gone. Researchers are trying to understand the problem and how to treat it.

Club Cardinal users can decorate their own dorm rooms.

Education During Coronavirus

Stanford University Students Flock to a Virtual Campus

A new digital platform allows students to explore campus and connect in Zoom rooms during the school’s Covid-19 shutdown

Cars line up at a drive-in coronavirus testing site in Miami Gardens, Florida, in late June. Testing in many states has been hampered by bottlenecks and long delays, problems that could be eased by the rapid, simple tests scientists are now developing.

Covid-19

Scientists Are Racing to Develop Paper-Based Tests for Covid-19

Inexpensive—and potentially at-home—tools could take only minutes to tell if someone is infected

For nearly four decades, Alexander has lived on various heating grates in Southwest D.C., which is why he introduced himself as “Alexander the Grate.”

A Street-Wise Philosopher Explains What It Means to Be Homeless Amid the Pandemic

Smithsonian Folklorist James Deutsch interviews the Washington D.C. man, “Alexander the Grate,” about living in the “interstices of the infrastructure”

A young boy in Benin, in West Africa, receives a bed net designed to help prevent malaria.

Covid-19

How Covid-19’s Spread Could Drive an Increase in Malaria Deaths

Health professionals worry the pandemic could stress resources and lead to misdiagnosis in Africa

Chokushi-Mon (Gateway of the Imperial Messenger) and the Japanese Gardens

Travel the World in a Day at Kew Gardens

A new exhibition at the British botanic garden brings the landscapes of ten countries and regions across six continents to visitors

In spring, fur farms in the United States had raised biosecurity measures by increasing the use of personal protective equipment like masks, gloves and rubber boots.

Covid-19 Reaches Mink Farms in Utah

Veterinarians have confirmed five cases in U.S. minks, but suspect the actual number is higher

About 70 miles south of the Natural History Museum, Westmoreland State Park’s Fossil Beach is a hotbed for prehistoric shark teeth.

Five Places Where You Can Collect Fossils in the D.C. Area

You don’t have to venture far to make awesome finds

Concert attendees cheer at an event in Porto, Portugal, on August 15, 2020.

Covid-19

What Super-Spreading Events Teach Us About Protecting Ourselves From COVID-19

Scientists are increasingly finding that a small number of people may be the source of many cases

Catherine “Cat” Carnes, a registered nurse from Oklahoma, came to Brooklyn to volunteer after seeing “the news day after day and watching the nurses literally cry out for help in New York City.”

Covid-19

Sixteen Snapshots of Life in New York City Under Quarantine

An outdoor photography exhibition at the New-York Historical Society is helping New Yorkers process the Covid-19 pandemic

Even with lockdown measures through 2021, the decline in greenhouse gas emissions will only cool the planet 0.018 degrees.

Drop in Emissions During COVID Will Have ‘No Effect’ on Climate

Heavy investment in renewable energy is mandatory to significantly cool the planet, scientists say

A customer talks to a waiter in a mask while eating his meal at a table divided with transparent panels in Bangalore, India.

Covid-19

What Scientists Know About Airborne Transmission of the New Coronavirus

Aerosol experts, from engineers to doctors, weigh in on the ability of tiny droplets to transmit the virus that causes COVID-19

The Metcalfs—Joni, 57, and Derek, 60—married in August 1983 and raised four children. When Derek lost his job with the federal government, they eventually ended up living in the streets. Recently, they found permanent housing.

A Washington, D.C. Couple Shares How the Pandemic Complicates Homelessness

Smithsonian curator James Deutsch speaks with the Metcalfs, who have long lived on the streets

An 80-foot dinosaur at the entrance to the town of Wall, South Dakota, advertises for Wall Drug.

Covid-19

Will America’s Roadside Attractions Survive COVID-19?

With canceled bus tours and capacity limits, the country’s quirkiest stops are facing some serious challenges

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