It began in mid-March. Every time Michael D. L. Johnson checked his email, the University of Arizona microbiologist would find a new batch of messages, all asking the same question: Will products made with copper keep the coronavirus at bay? “I was getting three to four emails about it a day,” Dr. Johnson said. Some…
Dustin Schneider made quite an impression with Lindsay Hirsch in December 2018, when he complimented a photo of Ms. Hirsch dressed as Ariel from Disney’s “The Little Mermaid,” that was posted on the dating app, the League. “I was super excited,” said Ms. Hirsch, now 31, who was then living with her mother, Marilyn Kahn…
Picture the day — in six months, a year and a half or in 2023 — when university researchers or a pharmaceutical company announces a breakthrough against the virus that causes Covid-19. Maybe it’s a successful vaccine or an effective treatment, a discovery that brings hope and relief — especially to the older adults most…
By Siraad Dirshe In recent months, we’ve been forced to reimagine how we gather, whether virtually or in person. Alicia Walters, a facilitator, artist and cultural innovator, believes that gathering in person (responsibly, of course) is essential, especially right now, for the black community. “There is power in black people taking up space, particularly when…
PIKEHALL, England — First the phones fell silent, then the email inbox abruptly emptied of orders. At Hartington Creamery, one of just six companies that produce Britain’s famous blue Stilton cheese, things looked ominous from the moment the coronavirus lockdown began and pubs and restaurants closed. But it was when one customer called not to…
Today’s lesson in the virtual classroom of Rachel Elizabeth Cargle, a public academic, writer, and lecturer, is “to give a more critical lens” for people “to view how they exist in the world.” For the mostly white “classroom” that is her Instagram account — “white women make up about 75 percent of my follower count,”…
A study of the wildlife trade in three provinces in southern Vietnam produced startlingly clear confirmation for one of the underlying objections to the wildlife trade in Asia — the trading offers an ideal opportunity for viruses in one animal to infect another. In field rats, a highly popular animal to eat in Vietnam and…
Hardcore gamers and post-apocalyptica enthusiasts have waited years for a sequel to The Last of Us, an immersive video game set in a dark, dismal future after a fungus ravaged Earth and zombies have become the ruling class. The game unspooled through the lens of two unlikely companions: a hardened, Texan smuggler named Joel and…
At an apartment complex in southern Beijing that is under lockdown, residents could not leave their homes in a gated cluster of low-rise brick buildings. Uniformed security guards and medical workers in protective gear watched the gate. Around the corner in the Baizhifang neighborhood lay a different world. Shops were open. A supermarket was doing…
A peculiar alchemy of latkes, Dante, smarts and social aptitude brought Deborah Beck and Alan Greenberg together. But it took some time. The two met in 2011 at Mr. Greenberg’s annual Hanukkah party, which showcased his potato-pancake-making chops. She had tagged along with mutual friends, and both came away from their encounter impressed but not…