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Pandemic

In the United Kingdom, coronavirus lockdown measures were relaxed on June 15.

New Research

Studies Estimate That Lockdowns Slowed COVID-19 Spread and Saved Lives

Experts say the results provide evidence in support of extending these measures

A pandemic from a century ago doesn’t necessarily chart the course of the pandemic happening now.

Covid-19

Compare the Flu Pandemic of 1918 and COVID-19 With Caution

The past is not prediction

A wooden paddle with a nail-studded leather face was used in Alabama in 1899 to perforate mail in preparation for fumigation as a precaution against yellow fever.

Mail Handlers Used to Poke Holes in Envelopes to Battle Germs and Viruses

The postal service and scientists say there’s no need to sanitize the mail today

Fumigation was used on library book collections in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when book-borrowing was seen as a possible disease vector.

Ask Smithsonian

How Do Libraries Clean Books? And More Questions From Our Readers

You’ve got question. We’ve got experts

Warren Harding and First Lady Florence Harding watching a horse show the year he became president.

Commentary

Warren Harding Tried to Return America to ‘Normalcy’ After WWI and the 1918 Pandemic. It Failed.

The lessons from his presidency show that a quick retreat to the past can be just a mirage

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

Reduced traffic in Los Angeles reveals a clear view of the San Gabriel Mountains beyond downtown.

Air Pollution May Make COVID-19 Symptoms Worse

Research linking air pollution to elevated death rates remains preliminary but scientists hope the pandemic spurs tighter air quality regulations

Choctaw and Irish dancers at a 2017 dedication ceremony of a sculpture commemorating the 1847 donation

Covid-19

Irish Return Historic Favor by Donating to Native Americans During Pandemic

In 1847, the Choctaw Nation sent $170—more than $5,000 today—to victims of the Irish potato famine

Some U.K. crafters are dedicating their spare time to making masks and drawstring bags for medical professionals.

Covid-19

Arts and Crafts Are Experiencing Surge in Popularity Amid COVID-19

Stay-at-home orders have inspired those with ample free time to pick up hands-on projects

The Fox tunnel is one of only two underground facilities dedicated exclusively to the scientific study of permafrost where a visitor can actually walk around inside the frozen earth.

In a Tunnel Beneath Alaska, Scientists Race to Understand Disappearing Permafrost

What lies inside the icy cavern seems more and more like a captive, rare animal, an Earth form that might soon be lost

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?

This yellow lab is not involved in the research, but it still a very good doggo.

Dogs Are Being Trained to Sniff Out COVID-19

Researchers are attempting to teach eight dogs to detect the pandemic, which could help quickly screen large numbers of people in public places

Philip Kahn, pictured on his 100th birthday with his grandson, Warren Zysman, and great-grandson

Covid-19

One Hundred Years After Influenza Killed His Twin Brother, WWII Veteran Dies of COVID-19

In the days before his death, the New York man spoke often of his lost twin and the lessons humanity seemed not to have learned

An ongoing study by the Lyon Neuroscience Research Center has found a 35 percent increase in dream recall and a 15 percent increase in negative dreams.

Covid-19

Insomnia and Vivid Dreams on the Rise With COVID-19 Anxiety

Fears around the pandemic are causing sleep patterns to change and strange dreams to linger in people’s memories

Nadia and her sister Azul as cubs at the Bronx Zoo in 2016. Both tigers showed symptoms of COVID-19, and Nadia tested positive for the virus.

Covid-19

A Tiger in the Bronx Zoo Tested Positive for COVID-19

Nadia, a four-year-old Malayan tiger, is the first known animal to test positive for coronavirus in the United States

Times Square stands largely empty on March 22.

Covid-19

As COVID-19 Reshapes the World, Cultural Institutions Collect Oral Histories

Universities, libraries and museums are among the organizations seeking personal stories about the pandemic’s effects on daily life

A person holds a sewn handmade fabric mask.

What Experts Know About Masks and COVID-19

The CDC recommends wearing a fabric mask in public where social distancing is difficult, like at the grocery store

Can you become immune to SARS-CoV-2?

Covid-19

What Scientists Know About Immunity to the Novel Coronavirus

Though COVID-19 likely makes recovered patients immune, experts aren’t sure how long protection lasts

People cross Park Avenue after it was announced that some streets will be closed off as lockdown continues in response to the coronavirus outbreak on March 27, 2020 in New York City.

Covid-19

How—and When—Will the COVID-19 Pandemic End?

Americans have some time before social distancing measures can let up—and every day counts

Parks reopened in Wuhan on Thursday, March 26.

Covid-19

China Plans to Lift Lockdown on Wuhan, Where COVID-19 Was First Detected

With no new infections reported in Hubei province in recent days, restrictions are easing up—but experts worry about possible ‘second wave’ of cases

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