Health

Visitors gather on the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park after its reopening.

The 'New Normal' of Visiting America's National Parks

Across the country, these treasured places—and the lodges and businesses that support them—navigate a complicated reopening

In this origin story of the modern ventilator, we appreciate the duality of intensive care medicine: Its defining strength is also its weakness.

How a Polio Outbreak in Copenhagen Led to the Invention of the Ventilator

After one hospital struggled to sustain the breathing of hundreds of patients, engineers found a solution that saved lives and sparked an ethical firestorm

Maintaining social distancing is a challenge as workplaces reopen during the coronavirus pandemic.

How Workplaces Will Use Emerging Tech to Monitor Social Distancing

But do these technologies, apps and wearables respect employee privacy?

A portrait of scientist Isaac Newton, who developed a toad vomit–based cure for the bubonic plague

Sir Isaac Newton's Prescription for Plague? Toad Vomit Lozenges

Handwritten notes detailing the British polymath's unsavory treatment are now up for auction

Signs on the floor encourage social distancing.

The New Normal of Dining Out

Restaurants and bars worldwide are instituting unique safety measures against the spread of COVID-19. But will they be effective?

On May 6, South Korea returned somewhat to normal, with businesses, museums and libraries reopening with social distancing measures in place. However, with a spike for more than 70 new cases in Seoul, museums have closed until June 14.

Seoul Closes Public Institutions After South Korea Sees 79 New COVID-19 Cases

Museums, churches, and art galleries are shut down until June 14 in Seoul, home to half of the country’s population

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

Larry Kramer by Robert Giard, gelatin silver print, 1989

Playwright and AIDS Activist Larry Kramer Dies at 84

The American writer and public health advocate was "a lionhearted force," says Smithsonian curator Katherine Ott

A scanning electron microscope image of SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

Why Immunity to the Novel Coronavirus Is So Complicated

Some immune responses may be enough to make a person impervious to reinfection, but scientists don't yet know how the human body reacts to this new virus

Could 2020 be America's Year of the Bidet?

The Bottom Line About Bidets

Amid toilet paper shortages, many Americans are making the switch—but does all the fuss about bidets really hold water?

People who run businesses and other organizations want to know whether the spaces they manage and use are safe on a daily basis.

How Accurate Are Tests to Detect Coronavirus on Surfaces?

Labs and companies are already distributing some, but they vary drastically in price and potential performance

Sampling wastewater could give scientists a new way to track the spread of the new coronavirus.

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

A vial of remdesivir, an antiviral that has broad-spectrum activity, meaning it works against more than one type of virus. Remdesivir has been authorized for emergency use in the COVID-19 pandemic; it also was used to fight Ebola when there were few treatments available.

Remdesivir Works Against Many Viruses. Why Aren’t There More Drugs Like It?

Antivirals that work against a large number of diverse viruses would help us prepare for new diseases, but creating them is a big biological challenge

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

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

Micrograph of a well-differentiated papillary mesothelioma

How Evolution Helps Us Understand and Treat Cancer

A new book argues that controlling cancer is within reach if scientists are able to anticipate the evolution of resistance to traditional treatments

Farmers markets around the country, including the Bloomington Community Farmers' Market in Bloomington, Indiana (shown here), are preparing online orders for customers who then pick them up in a drive-thru arrangement.

How a New Jersey Farmers' Market Went Virtual

The Metuchen Farmers Market, like many others, has moved to online orders and drive-thru pickups during the coronavirus pandemic

An engraving by Levasseur after Jules-Elie Delaunay depicts the angel of death at the door during the 165 A.D. plague in Rome.

What Rome Learned From the Deadly Antonine Plague of 165 A.D.

The outbreak was far deadlier than COVID-19, but the empire survived

A street art piece by artist Pony Wave depicts two people kissing while wearing face masks on Venice Beach in Venice, California.

How Street Artists Around the World Are Reacting to Life With COVID-19

Graffiti artists and muralists are sending messages of hope and despair with coronavirus public art

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.

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

A nurse (left) operates a robot used to interact remotely with coronavirus patients while a physician looks on.

How Robots Are on the Front Lines in the Battle Against COVID-19

Helping health care workers treat patients and public safety officials contain the pandemic, these robots offer lessons for future disasters

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