Behavior
How COVID Is Changing the Study of Human Behavior
The pandemic is teaching us key lessons about how people respond to crisis and misinformation, and it is spurring changes in the way scientists study public health questions
Stories by Christie Aschwanden
Public Health
Is Your Office Safe from COVID? What to Know Now That Your Boss Wants You Back
Workers are anxious because the coronavirus is still infecting people. Here are ways to evaluate the safety of a shared work space
Public Health
Debunking the False Claim That COVID Death Counts Are Inflated
President Trump and other conspiracy fantasists touted the fake claim that COVID death counts are exaggerated. But three kinds of evidence point to more than 350,000 deaths*
Public Health
How to Minimize COVID Risk and Enjoy the Holidays
Experts suggest limiting travel and keeping Thanksgiving and other celebrations small and outdoors
Behavior
Why Hatred and ‘Othering’ of Political Foes Has Spiked to Extreme Levels
The new political polarization casts rivals as alien, unlikable and morally contemptible
Public Health
COVID-19 Herd Immunity Strategies Could Bring ‘Untold Death and Suffering’
Why proposals to largely let the virus run its course—embraced by Donald Trump’s administration and others—are a false promise
Public Health
How ‘Superspreading’ Events Drive Most COVID-19 Spread
As few as 10 percent of infected people may drive a whopping 80 percent of cases in specific types of situations
Public Health
How New Mexico Controlled the Spread of COVID-19
The state went after the disease with widespread testing and science-based targets. Now it is in better shape than its neighbors
Public Health
Contact Tracing, a Key Way to Slow COVID-19, Is Badly Underused by the U.S.
Despite tracing’s success in other countries, the U.S. government has failed to adequately fund or apply the tool
