[ad_1] Like in other countries, widespread adoption of contact tracing apps could prove vital to curbing the spread of the new coronavirus. They might reduce or eliminate the need for further lockdowns while humanity waits for a vaccine. However, governments have generally shied away from requiring these apps, in part to assuage fears they might […]
Category: medicine
Apple Maps now shows COVID-19 testing sites across the US
[ad_1] As hinted earlier, Apple has started displaying COVID-19 testing sites in Maps. People in all 50 states and Puerto Rico can use Apple’s default navigation app to quickly find a place to get checked, whether it’s a hospital, urgent care clinic, pharmacy or dedicated testing site. The facilities also fall under a new “COVID-19 […]
Israel barred from COVID-19 phone tracking without new legislation
[ad_1] While the phone tracking hasn’t been detailed in earnest, it’s believed to involve anti-terrorism tech from the Shin Bet domestic security agency. The tracking was used to enforce quarantines, flagging infected people who left home. The government isn’t happy with the decision. Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz claimed the technology made a “critical contribution” to […]
Australia rolls out COVID-19 tracking app with privacy concerns
[ad_1] Germany, meanwhile, is going in the opposite direction. The country has ditched its centralized approach to COVID-19 tracking, based on Pan-European Privacy-Preserving Proximity Tracing (PEPP-PT), in favor of a “decentralized architecture” that only stores contact data on devices. this more closely resembles the approach Apple and Google will take when their beta tracing tools […]
US blames China for hacks allegedly targeting COVID-19 research
[ad_1] It probably won’t surprise you to hear that state-backed hacking is still going on during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the US is reportedly convinced that one country is mounting a large campaign. Officials speaking to CNN claim they’ve seen a surge of cyberattacks against American government agencies and pharmaceutical firms, and they’re pinning the […]
Dyson won’t build ventilators for the UK after all
[ad_1] The pause comes after some reported drama surrounding Dyson’s late March announcement. Telegraph sources said that Dyson’s announcement had sparked “fury” in the Prime Minister’s office as it preempted plans to outline a strategy to boost the National Health Service’s capacity. Effectively, Dyson may have been “point-scoring” for publicity’s sake, promising a giant order […]
Microsoft blood bot helps recovered COVID-19 patients donate plasma
[ad_1] “We are now convinced that the CoVIg-19 Plasma Alliance has a real chance to save lives, at significant scale, and possibly much sooner than other approaches currently being developed,” Microsoft wrote. Eventually, Microsoft hopes to make the bot available through other web, social and search channels. It will first recruit donors in the US, […]
Instagram founders reunite to create a COVID-19 spread tracker
[ad_1] Instagram founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger have put out their first joint product since leaving Facebook, and it’s not a social network. The two have launched Rt.live, a site that helps track attempts to fight the spread of COVID-19 in each state. As Krieger told TechCrunch, the project takes advantage of Systrom’s open […]
Amazon is using thermal cameras to screen warehouse workers for COVID-19
[ad_1] Amazon is exploring different technological approaches to screening warehouse workers for COVID-19. The internet retailer has confirmed to Reuters that it’s using thermal cameras at some warehouses to check for fevers that may be indicative of the new coronavirus. The company didn’t explain the decision, but the method should be faster and safer than […]
Hitting the Books: How ‘universal’ stem cells might fix our brains
[ad_1] MIT Press Excerpted from The Future of Brain Repair – A Realist’s Guide to Stem Cell Therapy by Jack Price. Reprinted with permission from The MIT PRESS. Copyright 2020. The work of Gurdon, Thomson, and Yamanaka revealed something quite remarkable: if a cell can be induced to express the appropriate factors, then its fate […]