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"Most air conditioning systems will not filter out or kill the virus in any way," M.G. Finn, director of Georgia Tech's chemical biology center, said. "In a restaurant, the air conditioning makes it comfortable for you to be in the restaurant. If there are other people there with the virus, then there is an increased chance of exposure."

Georgia Tech physicist Jennifer Rieser, who studies snake slithering, but was not involved in this new study, tells NPR that the research is a “cool” finding. The paper provides evidence that the way the snake moves in the air "actually seems to have a pretty important consequence for their movement,” she says. Related coverage: NPR.

Al Kurdi struggled with depression before the pandemic, and some of those problems resurfaced when he was stranded at home. “What I found more difficult than actually just working from home is that I just felt so disconnected,” he says. “I’m two continents away. And I don’t know when I’ll be back.” He’s found comfort in talking to his adviser, Seth Marder. Marder says he tries to remind Al Kurdi and his other students that this won’t last forever. “Keep your eyes on the big picture,” Marder says. Since the pandemic began, Marder is checking in more often with all his group members to make sure they stay focused. “Psychologically they will be better if they’re making progress,” he says.

Joshua Weitz, a professor of biological sciences at Georgia Tech who is currently working on Covid-19 modeling, said that “a broad set of policies -- from mask wearing, testing strategies, to rules undermining the ability of faculty to decide how to teach -- are likely to put students, staff and faculty at Georgia Tech at greater risk.” Many in the campus community have advocated for “more aggressive, public-health driven approaches to prepare for the fall term,” Weitz said. Now, he continued, “we have approximately six weeks left before the start of the fall term, and these next few weeks will be crucial to change course.”

NASA scientist Bryan Duncan, who’s a Georgia Tech alumnus, uses satellites to study air quality. One pollutant in particular that he looks at is nitrogen dioxide, another one that affects people’s health. Once it's emitted, it's only around for a matter of hours, so researchers can see hot spots where it's coming from. "So it's a great indicator of pollution in general," Duncan said.