The Conversation

On the front lines of developing a test for the coronavirus

Written by David Pride, Associate Director of Microbiology, University of California San Diego

A University of Washington Medical Center set up a drive-through testing center on March 13, 2020.AP Photo/Ted S. Warren

“That escalated quickly!” is a common trope used in popular culture to describe when a situation gets out of hand before you’ve even had a chance to think about it. We don’t often use this trope in...

Social distancing comes with social side effects – here's how to stay connected

Written by Jonathan Kanter, Director of the Center for the Science of Social Connection, University of Washington

There are ways to strengthen bonds while keeping physical distance.MoMo Productions/DigitalVision via Getty Images

To fight the spread of coronavirus, government officials have asked Americans to swallow a hard pill: Stay away from each other.

In times of societal stress, such a demand runs counter to what evolution has hard-wired people to do: Seek...

What Islamic hygienic practices can teach when coronavirus is spreading

Written by Rose S. Aslan, Assistant Professor of Religion, California Lutheran University

A Muslim man prepares for prayer by doing a ritual washing.mustafagull/Getty Images

As outbreaks of the coronavirus spread throughout the world, people are reminded over and again to limit physical contact, wash hands and avoid touching their face. The recent Netflix docuseries “Pandemic: How to Prevent an Outbreak” illustrates how the...

Closing polling places is the 21st century's version of a poll tax

Written by Joshua F.J. Inwood, Associate Professor of Geography Senior Research Associate in the Rock Ethics Institute, Pennsylvania State University

Californians wait in line to vote on Super Tuesday, March 3, 2020.AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu

Delays and long lines at polling places during recent presidential primary elections – such as voters in Texas experienced – represent the latest version of decades-long policies that have sought to reduce the political power of African Americans i...

Coronavirus: Three lessons from the AIDS crisis

Written by Laurie Marhoefer, Associate Professor of History, University of Washington

The AIDS Memorial Quilt, honoring people who died of AIDS, on display in Washington, D.C. in 2011. NIH/Wikipedia

As my governor closes all the public schools and public libraries here in Seattle, I’m thinking about 1981 – the year when newspapers in New York and Los Angeles reported that a strange new virus was killing healthy young...

Barr isn't the first powerful official to defy the courts and risk legitimizing contempt for the law

Written by Austin Sarat, Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science, Amherst College

What message is Attorney General William Barr sending citizens in defying court order?Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images

What happens to the rule of law when even the top law enforcement official in the land refuses to obey it?

That’s the question raised in a stinging rebuke of Attorney General William Barr and his Justice Department that...

Vodka won't protect you from coronavirus, and 4 other things to know about hand sanitizer

Written by Jeffrey Gardner, Associate Professor of Biological Sciences, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Soap and hot water is the best way to clean your hands, but sanitizer is a good second choice.AP Photo/Ric Feld

Editor’s note: As concern about coronavirus grows, hand sanitizer is in high demand. Biologist Jeffrey Gardner explains why alcohol is a key ingredient in hand sanitizer, and why he doesn’t recommend making your own supply at...

Online learning will be hard for kids whose schools close – and the digital divide will make it even harder for some of them

Written by Jessica Calarco, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Indiana University

Millions of US kids are suddenly being taught outside the classroom.asife/Shutterstock.com

More than 10,600 of the nation’s public and private schools were closing at least temporarily by March 12 as communities scrambled to protect themselves from the COVID-19 viral disease pandemic.

With little or no time to prepare for this disruption,...

Social distancing: What it is and why it's the best tool we have to fight the coronavirus

Written by Thomas Perls, Professor of Medicine, Boston University

Staying just a few feet away from other people can help prevent the coronavirus from spreading. Klaus Vedfelt/ DigitalVision via Getty Images

As the coronavirus spreads into more and more communities, public health officials are placing responsibility on individuals to help slow the pandemic. Social distancing is the way to do it. Geriatrician...

America's poorest children won't get nutritious meals with school cafeterias closed due to the coronavirus

Written by Thurston "Thad" Domina, Professor, Educational Policy and Organizational Leadership, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

An East Brainerd Elementary School lunch, Chattanooga, TennesseeThe Washington Post via Getty Images

Schools aren’t only places where kids learn. They are also places where kids eat.

Thanks to the National School Lunch Program, 30 million U.S. children – some 60% of all school-aged kids – regularly eat some combination of...