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President Donald Trump’s early morning tweet that he and the First Lady tested positive for COVID-19 stunned the nation and world. By mid-morning, media were reporting that the president was exhibiting mild cold-like symptoms and planned to quarantine himself in the White House. Other officials, including Vice President Mike Pence, have tested negative.
At 74 years old, Trump is in an age group with a much greater risk of experiencing complications from the disease. Colorado State University immunology expert Brian Geiss explains why.
Trump’s positive test also raises concerns over whether he’ll need to hand power over to Pence. Worth another read this morning is an article we published in 2018 – during another kind of crisis – that explains how the power of the president changes hands.
Also today:
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Maggie Villiger
Senior Science + Technology Editor
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Masking up is one way to cut down on risk of COVID-19 infection.
Alex Brandon/Getty Images News via Getty Images
Brian Geiss, Colorado State University
Older coronavirus patients face grimmer outlooks. A virologist explains the aging-related changes in how immune systems work that are to blame.
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Politics/Election '20
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Brian Kalt, Michigan State University
The US Constitution allows the president to be removed from power if his vice president and Cabinet decide that he cannot discharge the duties of his office.
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Karrin Vasby Anderson, Colorado State University
Functional political debates, like healthy democracies, require participants who respect the process and follow mutually agreed-upon rules.
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Health
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Nicole Hassoun, Binghamton University, State University of New York
The Trump administration wants to go it alone when it comes to vaccine development and distribution. What does this mean for the U.S. and the world?
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Joshua S. Fu, University of Tennessee
To understand the risks of wildfire smoke, it helps to understand the chemicals people are breathing.
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Science + Technology
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Marc Zimmer, Connecticut College
With 3% of science Nobels going to women and zero going to Black people, these awards are an extreme example of how certain demographics are underrepresented in STEM fields.
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Mark C. Urban, University of Connecticut
Local adaptation allows plants and animals to thrive in a diversity of places. Sometimes adaptation sharpens patterns of where organisms live, but 85% of the time, it creates a more homogeneous world.
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Ethics + Religion
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Ketika Garg, University of California, Merced
Hindu philosophy believes the soul to be immortal. Death is considered to be the end of only physical incarnation, as the soul continues its journey of multiple births until its final liberation.
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From our international editions
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Gordon Dougan, University of Cambridge
Herd immunity has entered the everyday language, but it is a much misunderstood term.
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Jeanie Chin, Northern Alberta Institute of Technology
In an era of climate change and extreme weather, a microgrid — a self-sufficient, energy-generating distribution and control system — puts communities on the path to self-reliance.
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Jerry John Nutor, University of California, San Francisco
The use of antiretroviral therapy among pregnant and breastfeeding women in Zambia has increased but adherence is a problem.
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