A Rush to Reopen Could Undo New Yorkers' Hard Work against COVID-19

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July 13, 2020

Dear Reader, Here are highlights from today's top stories to start your week: New York was the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic. Cases peaked at almost 12,000 in a day in April, but with regulations and community buy-in, the Empire State flattened the curve. Experts warn that reopening too early could lead to a surge in COVID-19 cases and will put the most vulnerable at risk. On the energy front, the threat of chronic blackouts is sparking a rush to install battery backup systems as California homeowners try to avoid disruptive power cuts related to wildfires. And in space news, the Arab world's first interplanetary spacecraft is headed to Mars.

Sunya Bhutta, Senior Editor, Audience Engagement @sunyaaa

Behavior & Society A Rush to Reopen Could Undo New Yorkers' Hard Work against COVID-19 We flattened the curve, but there are worrying signs that infections could surge again By Joshua Austin Acklin,Emily Ivey,Rachel Alter,Ingrid Joylyn Paredes,Lucky Tran

Physics Simulation Shows Potential for Glowing Gravitons Research suggests a new way to pin down particles of gravity By Charlie Wood

Space How a Small Arab Nation Built a Mars Mission from Scratch in Six Years The United Arab Emirates' Hope orbiter is the Arab world's first interplanetary spacecraft — and has jump-started science in the country. Will the momentum last? By Elizabeth Gibney,Nature magazine

Environment For Sustainable Oyster Harvesting, Look to Native Americans' Historical Practices Ancient trash heaps show the eastern coast's original inhabitants managed oyster reefs for thousands of years By Scott Hershberger

Energy Blackouts Have Triggered an Energy Storage Boom in California As utilities turn off power to prevent wildfires, more homeowners are looking to install battery backup systems By Anne C. Mulkern,E&E News

Policy & Ethics How to Fix Science's Diversity Problem We can be aware of the issue and still hold on to patterns of thinking and behavior that perpetuate discrimination By Benjamin Deen

Biology Sparrow Song Undergoes Key Change White-throated sparrows made a change to their familiar call that quickly spread across Canada. By Susanne Bard | 03:03

Policy & Ethics Medical Students Should Be Taught How to Care for Immigrant Patients Physicians depend on race-based markers to determine what to look for—but where someone grew up can be more important than their ethnicity By Caroline Lee

Conservation An 'Extinction Hotspot' in Appalachia The discovery of a lost plant species highlights the need to protect other endangered species in one of the most biodiverse regions in the U.S. By John R. Platt

Mental Health The Power of Psychedelics They worked for my depression. Could they be the future of psychiatry? By Erica Rex

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FROM THE ARCHIVE Around the World in (Just) 39 Days Originally published in January 1898 | July 2020

QUOTE OF THE DAY "We urge New Yorkers, and everyone around the country, to think about the long game--to consider the fact that the safety of our most vulnerable people and communities are worth more than our short-term social urges." Joshua Austin Acklin, Emily Ivey, Rachel Alter, Ingrid Joylyn Paredes, Lucky Tran

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