The BIO5 KEYS Research Internship Program at the University of Arizona takes a new form this summer as 49 high school students engage in computational projects from the safety of their homes.

It began in mid-March. Every time Michael Johnson checked his email, the University of Arizona College of Medicine microbiologist would find a new batch of messages, all asking the same question: Will products made with copper keep the coronavirus at bay? “I was getting three to four emails about it a day,” Johnson said. Some asked if he recommended ingesting copper as a cure. Others wondered if it was a good idea to outfit their homes with it. While copper does have antimicrobial qualities, Johnson and other experts say you should think twice before buying into many of these products’ claims.

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University of Arizona alumni Andrew and Kirsten Braccia, who live in the San Francisco Bay area with their four children, were inspired to make their gift after learning about University of Arizona President Robert C. Robbins’ plan to reopen campus in the fall using a “test, trace and treat” strategy. The $1.5 million gift will COVID-19 initiatives, students in the College of Nursing and student-athletes.

Dr. Sam Campos understands that making mistakes is part of learning, especially when it comes to introducing students to lab research for the first time.

Health Sciences researchers and staff worked quickly to operationalize testing for all of Arizona’s first responders and health-care workers

With new daily coronavirus cases rising in at least two dozen states, an explosion of new infections in Arizona is stretching some hospitals and alarming public health experts who link the surge in cases to the state's lifting of a stay-at-home order close to a month ago. "Perhaps, Arizona will be a warning sign to other areas," said Katherine Ellingson, an epidemiologist at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health.

From the perspective of Arizona emergency room physician Dr. Murtaza Akhter, the COVID-19 pandemic here could be even worse than the state's numbers are showing. “I am taken aback. I walked into the hospital today, and I was like, ‘Oh my God’,” said Akhter, a clinical assistant professor at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix, who works at both Florence Hospital and Valleywise Health Medical Center. "We are getting all sorts of patients who look quite sick.”