The Conversation

Jewish history explains why some ultra-Orthodox communities defy coronavirus restrictions

Written by Joyce Dalsheim, Associate Professor of Global Studies, University of North Carolina – Charlotte

An Ultra-Orthodox Jewish man is arrested by Israeli security forces for resisting efforts to shut down a synagogue in the Me’a She’arim neighborhood in Jerusalem, April 17, 2020. AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images

Most prominent rabbis around the world support government health regulations intended to curb the spread of coronavirus,...

Coronavirus bailouts will cost taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars – unlike past corporate rescues that actually made money for the US Treasury

Written by Scott Newsome, Ph.D. candidate in Politics, University of California, Santa Cruz

Fire up the printing presses.Nerthuz/Getty Images

The U.S. government has now pledged almost US$3 trillion to save the economy and Americans from the coronavirus recession.

Most of that is aimed at individual Americans in the form of additional unemployment insurance or the so-called economic impact checks. About $1.2 trillion – and counting...

The coronavirus genome is like a shipping label that lets epidemiologists track where it's been

Written by Bert Ely, Professor of Biological Sciences, University of South Carolina

The steady rate of genetic changes lets researchers recreate how a virus has travelled.nextstrain.org, CC BY

Following the coronavirus’s spread through the population – and anticipating its next move – is an important part of the public health response to the new disease, especially since containment is our only defense so far.

Just...

Are people with pets less likely to die if they catch the coronavirus?

Written by Clarissa M. Uttley, Associate Professor of Educational Leadership, Learning, and Curriculum, Plymouth State University

Even in quarantine, people around the world have to walk their dogs.AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com.

Are people with pets less likely to die if they catch COVID-19? – Mika, age 13, Alexandria,...

How to listen to your loved ones with empathy when you yourself are feeling the strain of social distancing

Written by Annmarie Caño, Professor of Psychology and Associate Provost for Faculty Development and Faculty Success, Wayne State University

Social distancing is challenging couples in an unprecedented way.Witthaya Prasongsin/Moment via Getty Images

COVID-19 has revealed a great many things about our world, including the vulnerabilities inherent in our economic, health care and educational institutions. The pandemic and the resulting orders to shelter in place have also uncovered...

Tomanowos, the meteorite that survived mega-floods and human folly

Written by Daniel Garcia-Castellanos, Earth scientist, Instituto de Ciencias de la Tierra Jaume Almera (ICTJA - CSIC)

Surface detail of the Tomanowos meteorite, showing cavities produced by dissolution of iron. Eden, Janine and Jim/Wikipedia, CC BY

The rock with arguably the most fascinating story on Earth has an ancient name: Tomanowos. It means “the visitor from heaven” in the extinct language of Oregon’s Clackamas Indian tribe.

The Clackamas...

Coronavirus drifts through the air in microscopic droplets – here's the science of infectious aerosols

Written by Shelly Miller, Professor of Mechanical and Environmental Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder

From your lungs into the air around you, aerosols carry coronavirus. Peter Dazeley/The Image Bank via Getty Images

During the 1970s when I was growing up in Southern California, the air was so polluted that I was regularly sent home from high school to “shelter in place.” There might not seem to be much in common between staying home...

How the Hubble Space Telescope opened our eyes to the first galaxies of the universe

Written by Rodger I. Thompson, Professor of Astronomy, University of Arizona

The launch of Hubble Space Telescope on April 24, 1990. This photo captures the first time that there were shuttles on both pad 39a and 39b. NASA

The Hubble Space Telescope launched on the 24th of April, 30 years ago. It’s an impressive milestone especially as its expected lifespan was just 10 years.

One of the primary reasons for the Hubble...

As the coronavirus interrupts global supply chains, people have an alternative – make it at home

Written by Joshua M. Pearce, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, and Electrical and Computer Engineering, Michigan Technological University

Many items labeled "Made in China" could be made on people's desktops instead.kynny/iStock via Getty Images

As COVID-19 wreaks havoc on global supply chains, a trend of moving manufacturing closer to customers could go so far as to put miniature manufacturing plants in people’s living rooms.

Most products in Americans’ homes are labeled...

Mass graves for coronavirus victims shouldn't come as a shock – it's how the poor have been buried for centuries

Written by Vicki Daniel, Teaching Fellow and Instructor of History, Case Western Reserve University

Workers wearing personal protective equipment bury bodies in a trench on Hart Island in New York.John Minchillo/AP Photo

The coronavirus is not only controlling how we live, but increasingly what happens after we die.

In early April, New York City’s Council Health Committee chair Mark Levine generated buzz after tweeting that the city was cons...