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Mar 26, 2020

French lab offers ‘millions of doses’ of Covid-19 drug

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

A French medical laboratory has said it is ready to give the French authorities “millions of doses” of an anti-malaria medication that early tests have suggested may help cure Covid-19.

Mar 26, 2020

Early Transmission Dynamics in Wuhan, China, of Novel Coronavirus–Infected Pneumonia

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, surveillance

The initial cases of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV)–infected pneumonia (NCIP) occurred in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, in December 2019 and January 2020. We analyzed data on the first 425 confirmed cases in Wuhan to determine the epidemiologic characteristics of NCIP.


Since December 2019, an increasing number of cases of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV)–infected pneumonia (NCIP) have been identified in Wuhan, a large city of 11 million people in central China.1–3 On December 29, 2019, the first 4 cases reported, all linked to the Huanan (Southern China) Seafood Wholesale Market, were identified by local hospitals using a surveillance mechanism for “pneumonia of unknown etiology” that was established in the wake of the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak with the aim of allowing timely identification of novel pathogens such as 2019-nCoV.4 In recent days, infections have been identified in other Chinese cities and in more than a dozen countries around the world.5 Here, we provide an analysis of data on the first 425 laboratory-confirmed cases in Wuhan to describe the epidemiologic characteristics and transmission dynamics of NCIP.

Mar 26, 2020

AMD’s Big Navi and Xbox Series X GPU ‘Arden’ Source Code Stolen and Leaked (Updated)

Posted by in category: computing

AMD’s source code for its Navia and ‘Arden’ Xbox Series X GPUs was posted to Github.

Mar 26, 2020

AI is searching for unexploded Vietnam War bombs in Cambodia

Posted by in categories: information science, robotics/AI

Researchers are using AI to search satellite images for unexploded bombs dropped in Cambodia during the Vietnam War.

The system uses object recognition algorithms that detect the unique features of bomb craters, including their shapes, colors, textures, and sizes. These algorithms then scan satellite images for signals of the craters.

The Ohio State University team first used the system to find craters in a village in the province of Prey Veng, a heavily bombed area around 30 kilometers from the Vietnam border.

Mar 26, 2020

Table Held Up

Posted by in categories: 3D printing, biotech/medical

If you’ve never heard of a tensegrity structure, you should stop now and watch the video below. In it, [The Action Lab] shows a 3D printed table that is held up only with strings. We didn’t say suspended by strings but held up. Or so it appears. The model is from Thingiverse, but it is one of those things you have to see to believe.

The basic idea is pretty simple. Strings have a lot of tensile strength but collapse under the slightest compressive force. The arrangement of strings puts the force on the center string which is essentially hanging — the force is pulling the string down. The other three strings aren’t just for show, though, they keep the structure from tipping over in any one direction.

Continue reading “Table Held Up” »

Mar 26, 2020

A Rapid End Strikes the Dinosaur Extinction Debate

Posted by in category: existential risks

The paleontologist Pincelli Hull has nailed down the timing and speed of the extinction that killed off the dinosaurs — details that carry ominous warnings for today.

Mar 26, 2020

When Secret Mystery Planes Landed At The Air Bases Where I Was Stationed

Posted by in category: transportation

It may sound like fiction, but on rare occasions, ordinary air bases have extraordinary mystery visitors. It happened to me, twice.

Mar 26, 2020

Will the coronavirus kill cash? Russia is pushing for more digital payments

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

As countries work to fight the spread of the coronavirus, it has become clear that traditional methods of fighting disease have proven ineffective. Considering the threat, Russia is now pushing for more digital payments so it won’t be spread out on cash. Russia isn’t alone in worrying about people contracting coronavirus from handling cash, as widespread concerns over if you can get coronavirus from currency have caused many leaders to call for less money changing hands.

Mar 26, 2020

Harvard, MIT Scientists Make Quantum Leap Toward New Internet

Posted by in categories: internet, quantum physics

Researchers from Harvard and MIT have pioneered a device that could improve quantum communication and may be the key to developing a quantum internet, according to an article published Monday in the scientific journal Nature.

Quantum signals lose information when traveling over long distances. To solve this problem, the researchers’ new technology catches and stores quantum bits — known as qubits — thus preventing information loss. The physicists hope this breakthrough will open the door to a quantum internet that can communicate unhackable messages.

“This is the first system-level demonstration, combining major advances in nanofabrication, photonics and quantum control, that shows a clear quantum advantage to communicating information using quantum repeater nodes,” Mikhail D. Lukin — a Harvard physics professor who lead the research team — said in a press release published Monday. “We look forward to starting to explore new, unique applications using these techniques.”

Mar 26, 2020

China ‘willfully inflicted coronavirus upon the world’

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

What do you think? Agree or disagree?


According to Sky News host Rowan Dean “China willfully inflicted” the coronavirus upon the world a spectacular display of “communism” at its very worst”. “Let’s be absolutely crystal clear, this is an inevitable consequence of communism and totalitarianism,” Mr Dean told Sky News host Peta Credlin. “First of all they tried to shut it up and suppress those individuals who were sounding the alarm” after which they panicked “attributed the blame to the United States which is just laughable,” Mr Dean said. “China must be held to account for this…and countries around the world need to start looking at their relationship with China in light of this disaster”. “If it were a company or if it were an individual… that had caused such worldwide damage other countries would be asking for reparations,” Mr Dean said. Image: Getty.