COVID-19

The Covid pandemic prompted universities to rethink the value of standardized tests for admissions.

Has the Pandemic Put an End to the SAT and ACT?

Many colleges and universities stopped requiring the tests during Covid, and it is unclear if they will return to testing in the future

Group portrait of three Chinese children, each holding an American flag and a Chinese flag, in a room in Chicago, 1929

Illinois Becomes First State to Mandate Teaching Asian American History

The move arrives amid a surge in anti-Asian hate crimes across the country

This transmission electron microscopic image shows the pandemic coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.

Over 20,000 Years Ago, a Coronavirus Epidemic Left Marks in Human DNA

The oldest modern coronavirus is about 820 years old, but humanity has been fighting similar viruses for millennia

Trumpet players create about 2,500 aerosol particles per liter of air that flows through their instrument.

To Reduce Covid-19 Risks in Orchestras, Move Wind Instruments to the Sidelines

A study that simulated airflow and aerosol production in a concert hall suggests moving brass and woodwinds near air vents

Officials at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention anticipate that Delta will become the dominant variant in the United States within the next few months.

Covid-19 Delta Variant Emerges as Primary Threat Around the World

A surge of cases in the United Kingdom suggests that Delta is the most transmissible variant yet identified

Rendering of ReWildAR, an augmented reality experience debuting at the Smithsonian's "Futures" exhibition later this year

Immerse Yourself in Five Alternate Worlds Envisioned by Leading Artists

The Smithsonian's "Futures" exhibition features commissions by Beatriz Cortez, Nettrice Gaskins, Soo Sunny Park, Devan Shimoyama, Tamiko Thiel and /p

In work and in personal life, virtual communication kept us in touch during Covid — but oh, those endless Zoom meets! There’s psychological and sensory science behind why they wear us down, and much promise to be realized once we iron out the wrinkles.

How the Pandemic Has Revealed the Promise and Perils of Life Lived Online

For good and for bad, Covid has propelled us even faster into immersive communication technologies

Oil Spill #10, Oil Slick at Rip Tide, Gulf of Mexico, June 24, 2010 (detail) by Edward Burtynsky, 2010

The Sad Truths Behind These Unsettling Works of Art

A new exhibition reflects on the haunting aesthetics of human impact on the planet

A postcard of Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz, New York, from 1914

Five of America's Most Invincible Hotels

From Miami to San Francisco, these luxury establishments survived their share of crises before the Covid-19 pandemic

A Covid-19 restrictions sign hangs outside a supermarket in Austin, Texas. Lauren Ancel Meyers at the University of Texas at Austin has shared her team’s modeling results with city officials who make decisions about Covid-19 measures.

What Data Scientists Learned by Modeling the Spread of Covid-19

Models of the disease have become more complex, but are still only as good as the assumptions at their core and the data that feed them

A photo of the Mauna Loa Atmospheric Baseline Observatory in Hawaii where scientists measure atmospheric concentrations of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide.

Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Reaches New High Despite Pandemic Emissions Reduction

Global carbon emissions in 2020 were lower than they were in 2019, but those reductions would need to be sustained for years to slow the climate crisis

Part of a clinical study called Project S, a small town in Brazil set out to vaccinate its entire adult population. With 95% of adults vaccinated, the city has seen a steep decline in Covid-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths.

Mass Vaccination Success in This Small Brazil City Shows Promise of Low-Efficacy Vaccines

In Serrana, 95 percent of adults received the CoronaVac vaccine, which has a 50% efficacy rate. Now, the city is ready to reopen

The World Health Organization has identified four variants of concern, named Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta, and six variants of interest.

Talking About Coronavirus Variants Just Got Easier With New Greek Letter Naming System

The move aims to remove the stigmatization of location-based names and reduce the confusion of scientific names

Minute Molecular, the company developing the device, has high hopes for it as an efficient and accurate means of testing people at schools, workplaces and sports stadiums.

This Compact PCR Test for Covid-19 Could Give Accurate Results in 15 Minutes

The speed and ease of the DASH testing platform would be a boon for screening efforts

A health worker preserves mucosal swab samples at a Covid-19 testing center in New Delhi, India.

Scientists Are Creating a Blood Test to Measure Covid-19 Immunity

Once researchers determine a 'correlate of protection,' they will be able to measure immunity and develop new vaccines more quickly

Iztuzu Beach in Turkey was closed during part of the pandemic. Around the world, lockdowns to combat Covid-19 forced people to stay home and halt activities—with mixed results for ecosystems and the living things within them.

The Positive and Negative Impacts of Covid on Nature

The absence of humans in some places led animals to increase, while the cancellation of conservation work in other places harmed species

A nurse gives a 16-year-old a Pfizer-BioNTech shot at a clinic in Florida.

Moderna Announces Its Covid-19 Vaccine Is Effective in Adolescents

The company completed a final phase trials in 3,732 adolescents between ages 12 and 17

Booker T. Whatley was a horticulturist and agricultural professor at Tuskegee University in Alabama.

You Can Thank Black Horticulturist Booker T. Whatley for Your CSA

Long written out of the narrative, the Tuskegee University professor first introduced the concept in the 1960s as a solution for struggling Black farmers

The administration has not yet announced how the 80 million doses will be distributed, but intends to do so by the end of June.

U.S. Commits to Sharing 20 Million More Vaccine Doses With Countries in Need

The new commitment adds 20 million Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson doses to the previously promised 60 million AstraZeneca doses

"Beckoning: A Playlist of AAPI Joy, Sorrow, Rage and Resistance" is an eclectic mix of heartwarming tunes, instrumentals and pointed social commentary from such veterans as Yoko Ono and Brothers Cazimero as well as emerging artists like Audrey Nuna and G Yamazawa.

The Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center Calls Upon Its Community to Share the Power of Music

As an antidote for these times, 43 songs honoring joy, sorrow, rage and resistance

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