![[A picture of virus particles each in a different color to represent a different Sars-CoV-2 variant.]](https://blogs.iu.edu/sciu/files/2021/08/virus-5231044_960_720.png)
Because the COVID-19 pandemic has been raging for almost 2 years now, most people have heard of the different viral variants that threaten the effectiveness of full protection with vaccines. This topic can be confusing to anyone who is not familiar with viruses or virology. This article will: 1) help you understand what viral variants are, and 2) explain where they come from. Viruses rely on host organisms (e.g., people and/or animals) to make more copies of themselves so that they can infect more hosts. However, hosts typically mount an immune response to clear a virus, which creates a challenge for viruses to overcome…
Tag: COVID–19
Five ways to reduce anxiety naturally
![[Scrabble tiles spell the word anxiety.]](https://blogs.iu.edu/sciu/files/2021/05/anx1.jpg)
According to the NASPA, 4 out of 5 college students felt overwhelmed at least once in the past year by the amount of anxiety that they have experienced. The usual stresses of school, life, and work were met with even more challenges due to COVID-19. Students had to switch their learning style, were kicked out of their dorms on campus, lost on-campus jobs, and some even lost family members. To top it off, quarantine has amplified feelings of isolation and loneliness. As quarantining persists, it’s important for everyone to take personal measures in order to reduce stress and anxiety as much as possible. Here are 5 everyday practices that have been proven by recent studies to reduce anxiety…
Five ways to stay positive during a pandemic
![[A photograph of a young woman looking in the mirror. Her reflection shows that she is smiling, with her hands cupping her face.]](https://blogs.iu.edu/sciu/files/2021/04/image5.jpg)
It’s been over a year since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and staying positive this past year has not been the easiest. Despite what your greatest instincts say, going on your phone could be the cause of your blues. After a year of foregoing family and friends, we crave connection now more than ever. While social media may initially seem like a good way to engage with others when we’re apart, research has shown that social media can negatively impact our mental health and lead to a more sedentary lifestyle. Like social media, a sedentary lifestyle often harms your mental health. Luckily, researchers have discovered small hacks that you can do everyday to increase your levels of serotonin (the mood and happiness hormone)…
A quick summary of the immune system and the COVID-19 vaccine
![[This image shows a person’s hand, and a syringe is being held between the person’s fingers. The needle of the syringe is pointed towards a round pathogen cell with small projections.]](https://blogs.iu.edu/sciu/files/2021/03/virus-5768628_1920.jpg)
There are many strategies when it comes to developing a vaccine, but the idea behind all of them is similar. Vaccines are designed to pose a foreign invader, such as a virus or bacterium, to your adaptive immune system without causing you to be sick. Our immune systems are quite amazing, which also makes them quite complex. Here, we will focus only on a few aspects that are important for understanding vaccine development…
Can Animal Crossing make you happier?
![[image showing three animal crossing characters in the town square.]](https://blogs.iu.edu/sciu/files/2020/08/Eb4ZSsKUMAARkv9.jpeg)
“Animal Crossing: New Horizons” was released on March 20th, 2020 and has since become a cultural phenomenon. Although the game itself has been praised by critics, some suggest that its success is partially attributable to its being released during the COVID-19 pandemic. During these trying times, many people have been affected by anxiety and loneliness stemming from, for example, social isolation and/or loss of work.
How many people has COVID-19 really killed in the U.S.?
In late August, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated their provisional death counts page to indicate that COVID-19 was the sole cause of death listed on death certificates in only 6% of cases. This fact was interpreted by some as only 6% of reported fatalities, or around 10,000 people, actually died of… Read more »
COVID-19 at IU and the importance of waiting for the evidence
Before classes had even started this semester, pictures of student parties began to circulate on social media. A college experience had been promised, but not everyone read the fine print about the degree of isolation and social distancing that would be required. The reactions ranged from indifference, to abject horror, to finger wagging, to smug… Read more »
COVID-19 lockdown: Some good news for the environment
![[smoggy vs clear photo of an arch in Delhi, India]](https://blogs.iu.edu/sciu/files/2020/06/delhi.png)
Since the coronavirus outbreak, many of us had to shelter-in-place or practice social distancing. For some of us, this meant working from home, and for others, it meant traveling to their workplace fewer days of the week. Either way, people commuting less to work can mean many different things: fewer cars on the streets, fewer factories, office and school buildings utilizing electricity. Though all these sound like a massive disruption of plans, there is a silver lining to it: the positive impact the lockdown has on the environment…
Are you sure you should eat that?
Amid this pandemic, you may be having conversations with family members similar to my own. I was talking to my brother about going to the grocery store and buying some eggs for baking when I was pretty strictly told that “no, you shouldn’t because the virus can be transmitted through food.” As a scientist myself, this was intriguing advice. So, I asked him to show me where he had read it. Sadly, nowadays when we are bombarded with news at every corner we turn, we were unable to backtrack his source…
4 Go-To Skills to Support Your Mental Health During COVID–19 (and Beyond)
![[calm-woman-in-lotus-pose-meditating-after-awakening-at-home]](https://blogs.iu.edu/sciu/files/2020/05/calm-woman-in-lotus-pose-meditating-after-awakening-at-home-3791634.jpg)
We’re living in a very stressful time due to the sweeping, global effects of the COVID–19 pandemic. Although much of the focus has been on physical health, mental health is equally important during these times. Broad feelings of uncertainty, job loss, fear, and drastic changes to our normal schedules and activities take a toll on our mental well-being. Below are four of the skills that I have relied on to maintain and support my mental health during COVID–19, though their utility extends to any time I’m experiencing stress in my life…