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After months of social distancing and lockdowns, people around the world are anxious, lonely and yearning to see friends and family. But in many places, especially the U.S., the pandemic is far from over. How do we balance the risk of infection with the very real human need to socialize?
Melissa Hawkins, an epidemiologist at American University, explains that quarantine bubbles – dubbed “quaranteams” – could be the answer to this conundrum. Quarantine bubbles don’t eliminate risk entirely, but, when the people involved are honest, communicate and follow the rules, the evidence suggests quaranteams could be the best way forward.
Also today:
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Daniel Merino
Junior Editor: Science, Health, Environment
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Quaranteams offer a way to limit the risk of infection while also maintaining social contacts and mental health.
Oqvector / iStock Getty Images Plus via Getty Images
Melissa Hawkins, American University
People are turning to quarantine bubbles as a way to see friends and family while limiting the risk from the coronavirus. Research shows that this can work, but it's not easy to be in a quaranteam.
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Politics + Society
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Julie Novkov, University at Albany, State University of New York
Federal law now protects lesbians, gay men and transgender people from being fired or otherwise discriminated against at work. But there are more questions and court cases to come about their rights.
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Qian Cai, University of Virginia
An accurate census requires good data in and good data out. With the 2020 census, the US has unprecedented challenges with both.
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Morgan Marietta, University of Massachusetts Lowell
Many Americans are surprised to learn that Electoral College members do not necessarily have to pick the candidate their state's voters favored. Or do they?
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Christopher Carpenter, Vanderbilt University; Gilbert Gonzales, Vanderbilt University
In a national survey, transgender individuals had worse employment outcomes, lower incomes and higher rates of poverty than cisgender people.
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Science + Technology
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Ana Santos Rutschman, Saint Louis University
Should the US be able to pre-order vaccines for its citizens when other populations around the globe are at greater risk?
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Troy Sutton, Pennsylvania State University
To find a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, scientists need to work hands-on with the highly infectious coronavirus. It happens in a super secure lab designed to keep them safe and prevent any escapes.
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Environment + Energy
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Roland Kays, North Carolina State University
In the 1800s, Americans hunted many wild species near or into extinction. Then in the early 1900s, the US shifted from uncontrolled consumption of wildlife to conservation. Could Asia follow suit?
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Health + Medicine
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Athena Aktipis, Arizona State University; Joe Alcock, University of New Mexico
Pathogens typically face a trade-off between virulence and transmission. But that's not the case with SARS-CoV-2.
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Liza Buchbinder, University of California, Los Angeles
A give-and-take between patient and provider is essential to patient care. As the COVID-19 pandemic ushers in a new era of medicine, one doctor wonders if this connection will be lost.
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Ethics + Religion
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Lawrence Burnley, University of Dayton
From the earliest days of the anti-slavery movement, black religious leaders have infused the fight for civil rights with spirituality.
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Most read on site
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Douglas Reed, University of Pittsburgh
SARS-CoV-2 can be spread through the air. But just how much of a factor that is has been hard to determine. Recent evidence suggests it is common, posing problems as public places begin to reopen.
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Charlotte Roberts, Durham University; Gabriel D. Wrobel, Michigan State University; Michael Westaway, The University of Queensland
People have lived with infectious disease throughout the millennia, with culture and biology influencing each other. Archaeologists decode the stories told by bones and what accompanies them.
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Robin Queen, University of Michigan
Generic names can take on a linguistic life of their own, becoming powerful forms of social commentary.
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