The Conversation

Overloaded morgues, mass graves and infectious remains: How forensic pathologists handle the coronavirus dead

Written by Ahmad Samarji, Associate Professor of Forensic Science Education & STEM Education and the Assistant Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Phoenicia University

The mortuary in Girona, Spain, one of the countries hardest hit by coronaviurs. Marti Navarro/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Editor’s note: Most scientists and doctors in the coronavirus crisis are working to save the living. Those in the field of forensic pathology, however, focus on the dead.

Ahmad Samarji, a Lebanon-based scholar...

Bernie drops out, as Democrats pick pragmatism over consistency

Written by Adam Hodges, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Linguistics, University of Colorado Boulder

Closing the door on another presidential run.Patrick Semansky/AP Photo

In many ways, Bernie Sanders is the anti-Trump. And, in important ways, he ran his campaign as the anti-Biden.

Sanders bowed out of the Democratic nomination race on April 8, repeating his runner-up status from four years earlier. His two runs at the White House have cemented his...

Don't rely on a quarantini to boost your immune system during coronavirus

Written by Katherine Basbaum, Clinical Nutritionist, Cardiology, University of Virginia

A patron buys a frozen margarita to go in New York City April 2, 2020. Is the quarnatini a safer option? Getty Images/Stephanie Keith

As an adult following the stay-at-home recommendations who also enjoys an occasional adult beverage, the “quarantini” Twitter post – a proposed cocktail of gin and Emergen-C, a fizzy vitamin...

Math misconceptions may lead people to underestimate the true threat of COVID-19

Written by Clarissa A. Thompson, Associate Professor of Cognitive Psychology, Kent State University

Americans have been advised to keep six feet away from everyone else when they can't stay home.Nur Photo/Getty Images

People all across the U.S. claim that they are “not math people.” They even readily admit to their hatred for some math fundamentals, such as fractions. For instance, a participant in one of our research studies on how...

Social distancing increased over the course of human history – but so did empathy and new ways to connect

Written by Fritz Breithaupt, Provost Professor in Cognitive Science and Germanic Studies, Indiana University, Indiana University

Reading lets you experience another time, place, even mind.Ben White/Unsplash, CC BY

Social distancing is vital in the present moment. While the increased isolation and spacing of the new drastic measures come as shock to many people, social distancing is not new if you take the long view – the very long view.

As a cognitive scientist and...

In the rush to innovate for COVID-19 drugs, sound science is still essential

Written by Christopher Robertson, Professor of Law, University of Arizona

Employees work on the production line of chloroquine phosphate, resumed after a 15-year break, in a pharmaceutical company in Nantong city in east China's Jiangsu province Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020. Feature China/Barcroft Media via Getty Images

Hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine have been at the center of debate in recent weeks over which drugs...

The long history of US racism against Asian Americans, from 'yellow peril' to 'model minority' to the 'Chinese virus'

Written by Adrian De Leon, Assistant Professor of American Studies and Ethnicity, University of Southern California – Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Members of the Massachusetts Asian American Commission protest on the steps of the Statehouse in Boston.AP Photo/Steven Senne

In a recent Washington Post op-ed, former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang called upon Asian Americans to become part of the solution against COVID-19.

In the face of rising anti-Asian racist actions – now...

Porn use is up, thanks to the pandemic

Written by Joshua B. Grubbs, Assistant Professor of Psychology, Bowling Green State University

Self-isolation can be boring and lonely.Annie Spratt/Unsplash, CC BY

Across the globe, the coronavirus pandemic is affecting almost all aspects of daily life. Travel is down; jobless claims are up; and small businesses are struggling.

But not all businesses are experiencing a downturn. The world’s largest pornography website, Pornhub, has...

A coronavirus vaccine that wouldn't require a shot

Written by Louis Falo, Professor of Dermatology, University of Pittsburgh

Wouldn't it be nice if getting a vaccine was a simple as putting on a Band-Aid? UPMC, CC BY-SA

As labs around the world race to develop a vaccine, my colleagues and I are trying to find a better way to deliver it than the standard, cringe-inducing shot.

I am an immunologist and dermatologist, and my colleagues and I have been working on vaccines...

America is drinking its way through the coronavirus crisis – that means more health woes ahead

Written by David H. Jernigan, Professor of Health Law, Policy & Management, Boston University

Shopping for wine in Seattle, where many liquor stores are considered "essential businesses."AP Photo/Elaine Thompson

In the midst of the COVID-19 epidemic, it has become easier to buy alcohol than toilet paper or eggs.

Across the U.S., governors are terming alcohol sales an essential business and loosening restrictions to permit home delivery and ca...