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Coronavirus

Final chapter in a pandemic’s shadow
Person in glasses is surrounded by bookcases.

David B. Ruderman, the Joseph Meyerhoff Professor of Modern Jewish History. (Image: Omnia)

Final chapter in a pandemic’s shadow

Historian David Ruderman was set to publish a new book and celebrate his retirement. Then the pandemic hit.

Kristen de Groot

Additional challenges in bringing research online
researching working in simons observatory

The Devlin lab are working on creating an extremely cold environment (nearly -460 degrees Fahrenheit) so that the new Simons Observatory can detect cosmic microwave background (CMB), the residual radiation left behind by the Big Bang. Work done at the High Bay is essential for keeping the project from falling further behind after shutdown delays.

nocred

Additional challenges in bringing research online

As research on campus slowly restarts, those whose work requires field surveys, large-scale collaborations, or travel face additional challenges in bringing their research back online.

Erica K. Brockmeier

When alcohol and a pandemic mix
Person looks out of window with bottle and a glass of wine on a table

When alcohol and a pandemic mix

Edwin Kim, medical director of Penn Medicine’s Charles O’Brien Center for Addiction Treatment, discusses how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected how people use—and misuse—alcohol.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Better care for COVID patients through virtual reality
A black, six-lens camera in the foreground, with actors blurred in the background.

Kyle Cassidy of Annenberg and a team used this camera, which has six outward-facing lenses, to shoot the virtual reality Narcan training.  

Better care for COVID patients through virtual reality

An interdisciplinary team from Penn joined efforts with physicians in New York to fast-track virtual reality coronavirus training materials.

From Penn Libraries

Indoors, yelling and packed crowds: Experts sound alarm ahead of Trump's Tulsa rally amid coronavirus

Indoors, yelling and packed crowds: Experts sound alarm ahead of Trump's Tulsa rally amid coronavirus

Alison Buttenheim of the School of Nursing said an indoor political rally in the middle of a pandemic is “a terrible idea. I would be saying that if it was Joe Biden’s rally; I’d be saying it if a dog catcher candidate was holding a rally,” she said.

Doctors view dexamethasone results on COVID-19 with excitement and skepticism

Doctors view dexamethasone results on COVID-19 with excitement and skepticism

George Anesi of the Perelman School of Medicine expressed skepticism about COVID-19 research findings recently announced via press release, as opposed to in a peer-reviewed journal. "I think there's a good-hearted motivation to try to get helpful findings out as fast as possible, but that can certainly backfire," he said. "The scientific process exists for a reason."

Can contact tracing stop the spread of COVID-19?
a person on public transportation wearing a mask while listening to music on a smartphone

Can contact tracing stop the spread of COVID-19?

Penn experts discuss how contact tracing works, the differences between traditional “analog” and new “digital” approaches, and how these two strategies could shape what everyday life looks like in the next phase of the pandemic.

Erica K. Brockmeier

Coronavirus exploited failure of Pa. health officials to improve long-standing problems with nursing home oversight

Coronavirus exploited failure of Pa. health officials to improve long-standing problems with nursing home oversight

Rachel Werner of the Perelman School of Medicine said relaxing nursing home regulations during the pandemic was a matter of “balancing risks.” “The trade-off was, had they not been relaxed, other things would be worse,” she said.