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Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights

LiveScience invites experts in science & technology to provide insightful commentary and informed perspective on news, current events, innovations, big ideas and ongoing research. Expert Voices includes Op-Ed analysis and opinion as well as interesting observations from the field and science labs around the world.

Related Topics: Expert Voices - Don Lincoln, Expert Voices - Paul Sutter, Expert Voices - Robert Lawrence Kuhn

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3D illustration of a coronavirus.

Coronavirus seems to mutate much slower than seasonal flu

By Niema Moshiri

The novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, seems to mutate its genes four times slower than seasonal flu, which is good news for the potential of a successful vaccine.

Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Washington.

'My first question every time I see a new patient now is: Could this be COVID-19?' Seattle doc on the frontlines

By Nicholas Johnson

An emergency and critical care physician gives a dispatch from the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic.

Passengers wear protective masks after landing at Charles De Gaulle Airport on Feb. 10, 2020 in France. Places like airports, bus stops and gas stations are especially risky during the coronavirus pandemic.

Fleeing from the coronavirus is dangerous. Here's why.

By Rebecca S.B. Fischer

Traveling is risky during the coronavirus outbreak. Places like airports, bus stops and gas stations are especially dangerous for COVID-19.

3D render of a drug defeating the coronavirus.

COVID-19 treatment might already exist

By Nevan Krogan

Treatment for COVID-19, caused by the new coronavirus, might already exist, and researchers are on the hunt to find them.

The Cryogenic Dark Matter Search is one of the most sensitive efforts to track down dark matter particles. But the best dark-matter detector may be Earth itself, a new study suggests.

Hunting for dark matter — inside the Earth

By Paul Sutter

The answer to the dark-matter mystery may be under our feet.

Worried girl.

4 ways to help kids relax as the coronavirus upends everyday life

By Mirae J. Fornander

A childhood anxiety scholar discusses ways for parents to help their kids cope during the coronavirus pandemic.

The coronavirus could cause shortages in the nation’s blood supply.

How coronavirus is upsetting the blood supply chain

By Anna Nagurney

The coronavirus could cause shortages in the nation’s blood supply.

Coronavirus with a baby: What you need to know to prepare and respond

By Karleen Gribble, Nina Jane Chad

From giving baby bottles and extra wash to stocking up on supplies, here are tip to keep your baby healthy and safe from COVID-19.

Two CubeSats, part of a constellation built and operated by Planet Labs Inc. to take images of Earth, were launched from the International Space Station on May 17, 2016.

Hackers could shut down satellites — or turn them into weapons

By William Akoto

Students are taken to a special army facility as a precaution against the possible coronavirus infection on their return from China, at Indira Gandhi International Airport, on Feb. 1, 2020 in New Delhi, India. The passengers were evacuated from Wuhan and will be kept in isolation for 14 days in Chhawla in Delhi.

Stopping the spread of coronavirus: Quarantines go back thousands of years

By Leslie S. Leighton

The recent global spread of a deadly coronavirus originating in Wuhan, China, has led world leaders to invoke an ancient tradition to control the spread of illness: quarantine.

On the city street, two girls in blindfolds, the concept of the spread of the coronavirus from China, toned. E

Is the coronavirus outbreak as bad as SARS?

By Maciej F. Boni

A biologists explains how deadly the coronavirus is and how the virus compares with the deadly SARS outbreak.

Commuters in Chengdu, China, don face masks amidst the coronavirus outbreak, on Jan. 23, 2020.

Coronavirus vaccine still months out. Here's why.

By Aubree Gordon, Florian Krammer

One of the dangers of the novel coronavirus is that there is no treatment -- and no vaccine. Researchers are working on one, but will it be in time to help with the current outbreak?

This artist’s impression shows the blast from a heatwave detected in a massive, forming star.

Astronomers watch star swallow up matter, emit heatwave blast, in rare event

By James Okwe Chibueze

Astronomers observe a rare event, as a star engulfs matter and emits a heatwave blast, something called an accretion burst event.

Antarctica's ice sheets responded most strongly to the angle of Earth's tilt on its axis when the ice extends into the oceans.

Russian explorers discovered Antarctica 200 years ago. What we've learned about Earth's coldest continent.

By Dan Morgan

Two centuries after it was first sighted by Russian explorers, Antarctica is a key site for studying the future of Earth's climate – and for global scientific cooperation.

This artist's concept shows magnetic loops carrying gas and dust above disks of planet-forming material circling stars.

How big can a planet get?

By Natalie Hinkel

Why isn't there an endless variety of planets in the universe? An astrophysicist explains why planets only come in two flavors.

Abstract image of video screens, digital media.

Here's What Scientists Know About 'Screen Time' and Your Health

By Byron Reeves, Nilam Ram, Thomas N. Robinson

Conclusions about the effects of digital media, or "screen time," are often incomplete, irrelevant or wrong, scientists say.

One-fifth of U.S. teen girls reported experiencing major depression in 2017.

Why Teen Depression Rates Are Rising So Fast for Girls

By Jean Twenge

We're in the middle of a teen mental health crisis – and girls are at its epicenter.

The collapsed wall of the ruins of an iconic landmark lighthouse can be seen in Guanica, Puerto Rico, on Jan. 6, 2020, after it was destroyed by an earthquake.

Earthquake Forecast for Puerto Rico: Dozens More Large Aftershocks Are Likely

By Richard Aster

Multiple strong and damaging earthquakes are wreaking havoc on Puerto Rico. And geoscientists forecast dozens more strong aftershocks are likely in the area.

Alien spaceships in warped space.

Could Invisible Aliens Really Exist Among Us?

By Samantha Rolfe

An astrobiologist explains how alien life could exist and we wouldn't notice it.

A planetary system hiding out in the constellation Dorado, some 100 light-years from Earth, hosts an Earth-size planet orbiting within its star’s habitable zone.

Earth-Sized Planet Found in the Habitable Zone of a Nearby Star

By Ravi Kumar Kopparapu

Scientists have discovered what may be TESS' first known Earth-sized planet in the habitable zone of a nearby star, meaning liquid water could exist on the surface of this terrestrial planet.