Grief on the Front Line—and Beyond

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May 05, 2020

Dear Reader, Experts warn that a mental health crisis among health care workers could emerge in the pandemic's wake. Scientific American asked doctors, nurses and respiratory therapists working in hospitals across the U.S. how they were coping with fear, processing grief and tending to their own well-being. Read about their experiences in our main story. More highlights from today's roundup: Antibody tests could help scientists understand the extent of COVID-19's spread in populations but despite optimism about these tests, experts say the reality is complicated and depends on how results are used. Next up, some good news for Earth, the single largest ozone hole ever detected over the North Pole has finally closed. And then some bad news for proponents of another world. New observations by astronomers suggest that the elusive "Planet Nine" may not actually be there.

Sunya Bhutta, Senior Editor, Audience Engagement @sunyaaa

Public Health Grief on the Front Line--and Beyond In their own voices, health care workers from across the country reflect on coping with the coronavirus

Public Health What COVID-19 Antibody Tests Can and Cannot Tell Us Assays that detect prior novel coronavirus infections could reveal the extent of outbreaks. But they may give individuals false security By Stacey McKenna

Space Planet Nine Could Be a Mirage Mysterious patterns in orbits of small bodies in the outer solar system could arise from the gravity of a massive disk of icy debris rather than an undiscovered giant world By Ramin Skibba

EARTH North Pole's Largest-ever Ozone Hole Finally Closes An unusually strong polar vortex kept the hole open for nearly a month—now, it's finally shut again By Brandon Specktor,SPACE.com

Physics 'Magnetic Star' Radio Waves Could Solve the Mystery of Fast Radio Bursts The surprise detection of a radio burst from a neutron star in our galaxy might reveal the origin of a bigger cosmological phenomenon By Nadia Drake

Environment Methane Leaks Erase Some of the Climate Benefits of Natural Gas The switch from coal to gas has driven down CO2 emissions, but leaks negate much of those gains in the short term By Benjamin Storrow,E&E News

Public Health Keeping Pregnant Women Safe during the Pandemic Our health care systems must be agile enough to ensure women have a safe pregnancy and childbirth even under the pressures of COVID-19 By Mary-Ann Etiebet

Behavior & Society Should You Immerse Yourself in Bad News These Days or Ignore It Completely? Neither approach is ideal. The best option is to temper your negative emotions by focusing on positive ones By Hal Hershfield

Arts & Culture Galileo's Fight against Science Denial Astrophysicist and author Mario Livio talks about his latest book, Galileo: And the Science Deniers, and how the legendary scientist's battles are still relevant today. By Mario Livio,Steve Mirsky | 25:52

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FROM THE ARCHIVE The Neglect of Mental Illness Exacts a Huge Toll, Human and Economic By letting mental afflictions go untreated, we consign millions of Americans to misery and put a drag on our economy By The Editors | March 2012

QUOTE OF THE DAY "There are a lot of injustices that we as clinicians are aware of and feel powerless to do much about." Ana Delgado, nurse midwife and clinical professor

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