Nursing Homes Raise Worries as U.S. Covid-19 Lockdowns Are Eased
Federal officials in the U.S. released new guidance for nursing homes seeking to reopen after months of Covid-19 lockdowns. Urging extreme caution, the guidelines call for widespread testing of nursing...
View ArticleHand Sanitizer and Masks: More Covid-19 Questions From Readers
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread, Undark readers have been sending us numerous insightful questions, comments, and observations on the subject. We’ve asked the Pulitzer Prize-winning...
View ArticleIn Online Covid-19 Videos, A Mix of Science and Conjecture
Amid the confusion of the pandemic, the views of serious scientific dissenters are being swiftly metabolized by a sprawling world of ideologues and conspiracy theorists — most notably in a series of...
View ArticleThe Quest to Purge New Zealand of Invasive Predators
A bold nationwide campaign seeks to preserve what remains of the country’s unique bird life by wiping out invasive mammals. With the Miramar Peninsula already freed of opossum, ferrets, and weasels, a...
View ArticleExperts Question Whether Dental Offices Are Reopening Too Fast
The American Dental Association supports dental offices reopening — with added precautions — in states where Covid-19 cases are declining. It’s welcome news for many of the dental practices that have...
View ArticleIn Canada, Inuit Communities Are Shaping Research Priorities
Over the past decade, Inuit in Canada have demanded a greater say over the research conducted in their territories. This could transform science in the north — a region that holds vital clues about...
View ArticleSociety Is Becoming Germaphobic. Let’s Not Stay That Way.
In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, society’s heightened anxiety about contamination is probably helping to save lives. But if that anxiety crystallizes into a long-term, habitual fear of microbes,...
View ArticleBook Review: Unlocking the Mysteries of the Human Brain
In “The Idea of the Brain: The Past and Future of Neuroscience,” scientist and historian Matthew Cobb explores the evolution of neuroscience and our conception of the brain through the ages, and —...
View ArticleAmid Covid-19 Confusion, Autocrats Seek to Consolidate Power
China sought to tighten restrictions on the semi-autonomous city of Hong Kong this week — though it was far from alone. As human rights advocates have long warned, leaders in Myanmar, Cambodia, Turkey...
View ArticleGovernment’s Use of Algorithm Serves Up False Fraud Charges
Over a two-year period, the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency used an automated system to charge more than 40,000 people, billing them about five times the original benefits, including repayment...
View ArticleEp. 47: The Toll of the Culture of Silence in Animal Research
This month: Communicating about animal research with the public can open early career scientists up to social stigma and even campaigns that threaten their careers. But working with animals can be an...
View ArticleMasks Sold to Navajo Hospitals Don’t Meet FDA Standards
One million masks purchased for Navajo hospitals do not meet FDA standards for use in a medical setting. A former Trump White House official won the contract to acquire the specialized respirator masks...
View ArticleFor Developing Countries, More Solar Power — and Maybe More Lead?
For advocates of renewable energy and climate change mitigation, more solar power in fast-growing nations like India would seem to be good news. But some public health researchers are concerned that...
View ArticleScience Alone Can’t Solve Covid-19. The Humanities Must Help.
During the Covid-19 crisis, decision makers have arguably become better at listening to scientists and following their directives. But the pandemic has also exposed social problems that go beyond...
View ArticleBook Review: The Surprising Science of Walking
In Shane O’Mara’s “In Praise of Walking,” even the most mundane walk is rife with scientific, evolutionary, and even spiritual significance. O’Mara weaves history, philosophy, and poetry into the...
View ArticleProtesters Weigh Risks: Avoid a Virus, or Let Injustice Stand
Protests over the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died on May 25 while in police custody, are taking place in the middle of a global pandemic. Covid-19 has now killed around 108,000...
View ArticleFor Experts Who Study Coronaviruses, a Grim Vindication
Scientists who study them had long argued that the next pandemic would arise from the family of pathogens known as coronaviruses. But research funding was funneled toward other threats, stalling...
View ArticleExperts Say Tear Gas Is Dangerous, Especially During the Pandemic
The widespread use of tear gas amid a respiratory pandemic has experts worried that it may accelerate the spread of the virus and worsen Covid-19 infections. Law enforcement agencies have used the...
View ArticleAs Uganda Takes Control of the HIV Epidemic, U.S. Shifts Funding
The U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief has been credited with saving more than 18 million lives and changing the course of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa. But 15 years on, it was...
View ArticleJohn Ioannidis and Medical Tribalism in the Era of Covid-19
In politicizing Ioannidis’ Covid-19 work, both the left and the right have failed to understand or acknowledge the critical questions he is raising. In doing so, they impede our ability as a nation to...
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