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OPINION: Recent CDC guidelines for indoor air quality disregard the benefits of humidity. But research shows it can kill viruses and help thwart infections.
The ‘tripledemic’ unfolding this winter is one of several odd trends among respiratory virus infections these last years. Viruses, it turns out, can block one another and take turns to dominate.
From building up defenses in the nose to slowing down a virus’s ability to make copies of itself, scientists are rolling out a raft of creative approaches to fighting infection
OPINION: Human behavior is fueling major social dilemmas — from climate change to the Covid pandemic to the spread of misinformation. But that means it’s also the solution, if only we can harness psychology for the common good.
OPINION: Many health facilities were already in fiscal straits before Covid-19 — except in Maryland. The state’s innovative and sound approach could be the answer to rescuing systems nationwide.
Some children have been hospitalized and some have died, but at a tiny fraction of the adult rate. As children head back to school, scientists are hoping that research will provide answers.
As Covid-19 descended across the world, people sought refuge in gardens, parks and the woods. But it’s hard to measure how being in nature affects our well-being — and how we can best reap its rewards.
OPINION: A neuroscientist says that he’s particularly worried about kids, who may have spent much of last year learning online. Some easy hacks can help.
Hesitancy rates are falling but they’re still sizable, especially among certain groups. Easy access and trusted community messengers are keys to moving the needle.
Covid-19 has been a stress test for the world’s food supply chains — and a preview of looming threats. That’s making efforts to improve the journey from farm to fork more urgent than ever.
The Covid-19 lockdown has changed alcohol habits, but public health researchers face a blurred and incoherent picture of who’s been drinking, and how much
COMIC: As it spreads throughout the world, the virus that causes Covid-19 has been changing. Scientists are tracking those changes, hoping to stay one step ahead of worrisome strains.
Antibiotics abound, but virus-fighting drugs are harder to come by, and Covid-19 amply shows how much we need them. Fortunately, scientists are getting better at making and finding them.
OPINION: Requiring companies to give unwell workers compensated time off isn’t a burden. It’s smart public health policy that reduces the spread of disease.
Traffic planners, securities traders and military strategists all use it. Simulating the behavior of millions of idiosyncratic individuals also may be the best way to understand complex phenomena like pandemics.
TIMELINE: From colonial efforts to control smallpox outbreaks to antimalarial campaigns targeting mosquitoes, the American effort grew for centuries. But cutbacks have weakened it in the past decades.
Covid-19 has exposed the weak spots of the US public health system — and that presents an opportunity, says an epidemiologist, for the nation to recognize the problems and act to fix them
OPINION: Many Americans say they won’t take a vaccine. I am not one of <br xmlns="http://pub2web.metastore.ingenta.com/ns/"/>them — and I have the shots to prove it.
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?
Public health messages should be loud and clear, so that everyone listens and stays safe. But that’s easier said than done — especially with a case as complex as Covid-19.
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.
Social media posts and online searches may offer vital clues about the spread of influenza — and now Covid-19. But they also risk errors and threaten privacy.
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