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BYU microbiology professor finds silver lining during COVID-19 pandemic BYU microbiology professor Brad Berges works on an experiment researching HIV. Berges’ expertise in viruses led to different opportunities to study SARS-CoV-2 during the pandemic. (BYU Department of Microbiology and Molecular Biology) Many BYU research projects were halted or postponed because of restrictions or social distancing concerns when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. However, microbiology professor Brad Berges was able to make the most of a tough situation and even contribute to research on SARS-CoV-2. As an expert o...

COVID-19 variants: BYU could stay open if campus stays careful Students on BYU campus follow mask guidelines to help protect against COVID-19. BYU researchers say campus should stay open if students and faculty follow BYU and CDC guidelines. (Preston Crawley) The effects of new SARS-CoV-2 variants on the BYU community are still largely unknown. However, BYU virology researchers said it is normal for viruses to mutate, and if students and faculty continue to follow guidelines like mask-wearing and washing hands, BYU should stay open. Though the U.K. variant has been found to be more contagiou...

The Daily Universe BYU graduate student Benjamin Ogilvie holds containers of African green monkey cells. Similar cells to these, called Vero cells, were used in the BYU study done to test alcohol-free hand sanitizer effectiveness. (Veronica Maciel) A recent BYU study on the effectiveness of alcohol-free hand sanitizer against SARS-CoV-2 could impact the current FDA and CDC standards on hand sanitizer alcohol content. “I figured out that the FDA and the CDC had both totally overlooked alcohol-free hand sanitizer as a COVID control tool,” Benjamin Ogilvie said. Ogilvie, a BYU microbiolo...

The Daily Universe Many BYU students are traveling home for Christmas, and some have already traveled for Thanksgiving. Most will be returning for school in January (Emily Andersen). BYU students come from 105 countries and all 50 states within the U.S. With many students traveling home for Thanksgiving and Christmas, there could be a risk of COVID-19 cases spiking when students return to campus. Brad Berges, a BYU biology professor who specializes in studying viruses, said those who travel by plane are in more danger of spreading COVID-19 than those who go by car and suggested that those...

Traveling for Christmas discouraged during the COVID-19 pandemic Traveling for Christmas is going to be different this year for a lot of people. Experts have advised against traveling because of the possibility of spreading COVID-19. (Emily Andersen) BYU family studies major Molly Flinders will be traveling with her husband, Logan, to both Oklahoma and California for Christmas. Flinders said she hasn’t done much traveling during the COVID-19 pandemic, but her family did come to visit her in Utah for Thanksgiving. She said she is concerned about the spread of the coronavirus, but she isn’t...