The Conversation

Indigenous Mexicans turn inward to survive COVID-19, barricading villages and growing their own food

Written by Jeffrey H. Cohen, Professor of Anthropology, The Ohio State University

Zapotec farmers return from their 'milpa,' the garden plots that provide much of the communities' food, in Oaxaca, Mexico. Jeffrey H. Cohen, CC BY-SA

While the coronavirus hammers Mexico, some Indigenous communities in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca are finding creative ways to cope.

Oaxaca, one of Mexico’s poorest and most ethnically...

Freedom of religion doesn't mean freedom from mask mandates

Written by John E. Finn, Professor Emeritus of Government, Wesleyan University

Some church members have no problem wearing masks; others say it's an unconstitutional mandate.Leonard Ortiz/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images

Mask mandates do not violate the First Amendment’s protections for freedom of speech, assembly and association, as I wrote recently in a story that examined Constitution-based...

I'm a COVID-19 long-hauler and an epidemiologist – here's how it feels when symptoms last for months

Written by Margot Gage Witvliet, Assistant Professor of Social Epidemiology, Lamar University

Margot Gage Witvliet was hospitalized with COVID-19 in March. More than four months later, she has yet to recover.Courtesy of Margot Gage Witvliet, Author provided

Imagine being young and healthy, a nonsmoker with no preexisting health conditions, and then waking up one morning feeling like you were being suffocated by an unseen force. Back in...

Video: The Wall of Moms builds on a long protest tradition

Written by Kelsy Kretschmer, Associate Professor of Sociology, Oregon State University

Kelsy Kretschmer, associate professor of sociology at Oregon State University, explains why the Wall of Moms protest group attracted so much attention in the coverage of the Black Lives Matter protests in Portland, and how the group draws on a long tradition of mothers’ movements around the world.

Kelsy Kretschmer discusses the Wall of Moms...

Children in foster care face deeper jeopardy during the coronavirus pandemic

Written by Lenette Azzi-Lessing, Clinical Professor of Social Work, Boston University

Movie star and comedian Tiffany Haddish, left, is a former foster child who now advocates on behalf of foster children.FilmMagic/FilmMagic for CASA of Los Angeles/via Getty Images

The stress and isolation caused by job losses, school closings and limited social interactions, along with the sharp economic downturn brought on by the coronavirus...

Should students get a discount if they won't be on campus because of COVID-19?

Written by Robert Massa, Adjunct Professor, Rossier School of Education, USC, University of Southern California

COVID-19 has caused colleges to spend more to cope with the pandemic. elenaleonova/GettyImages

Not long after the COVID-19 pandemic caused colleges to start teaching remotely, students balked at the idea of paying full tuition for online learning. It’s not hard to understand why. After all, they were not getting the football and basketball...

¿El coronavirus permanece en el cuerpo? Lo que sabemos sobre cómo los virus subsisten en el cerebro y los testículos

Written by William Petri, Professor of Medicine, University of Virginia

¿Existen áreas del cuerpo donde el SARS-CoV-2 pueda esconderse del sistema inmunitario?fotograzia / Getty Images

Mientras millones de personas se recuperan de la COVID-19, queda una pregunta sin responder: ¿el virus puede “ocultarse” en pacientes aparentemente recuperados? Si es así, ¿podría eso...

Insect apocalypse? Not so fast, at least in North America

Written by Matthew D. Moran, Professor of Biology, Hendrix College

The Texas frosted elfin (_Callophrys irus hadros_), a small butterfly subspecies found only in Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana, has lost most of its prairie habitat and is thought to have dramatically declined over the last century. Matthew D. Moran, CC BY-ND

In recent years, the notion of an insect apocalypse has become a hot topic in...

How to use ventilation and air filtration to prevent the spread of coronavirus indoors

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

Open windows are the simplest way to increase air flow in a room. Justin Paget / Digital Vision via Getty Images

The vast majority of SARS-CoV-2 transmission occurs indoors, most of it from the inhalation of airborne particles that contain the coronavirus. The best way to prevent the virus from spreading in a home or business would be to simply...

As coronavirus curtails travel, backyard pilgrimages become the way to a spiritual journey

Written by Kathryn Barush, Thomas E. Bertelsen Jr. Chair and Associate Professor of Art History and Religion at the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley and The Jesuit School of Theology, Santa Clara University

COVID-19 is changing how people go on pilgrimages.conceptual,fashion,advertising/Moment via Getty Images

Many major religious pilgrimages have been canceled or curtailed in an effort to contain the spread of COVID-19. These have included the Hajj, a religious milestone for Muslims the world over; the Hindu pilgrimage, known as the Amarnath Yatra hig...