Misleading Viral Claims Show Dangers of Preprint Servers, Researchers Warn

Scientific researchers worry that the capacity for spreading misinformation “goes far beyond the big-name social media sites,” warns the Washington Post. Citing pre-print servers and unvetted “research repositories,” they note that “Any online platform without robust and potentially expensive safeguards is equally vulnerable.” “This is similar to the debate we’re having with Facebook and Twitter. To what degree are we creating…

New XPrize Challenge: Predicting Covid-19’s Spread and Prescribing Interventions

Slashdot reader the_newsbeagle shares an article from IEEE Spectrum:
Many associate XPrize with a $10-million award offered in 1996 to motivate a breakthrough in private space flight. But the organization has since held other competitions related to exploration, ecology, and education. And in November, they launched the Pandemic Response Challenge, which will culminate in a $500,000 award to be split between two…

FDA Panel Endorses Moderna’s Coronavirus Vaccine

Vaccine advisers to the US Food and Drug Administration voted easily and quickly to recommend that the agency give emergency use authorization to Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine. CNN reports: The Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) voted 20-0 with one abstention to recommend EUA for the Moderna vaccine, which is very similar in design, composition, safety and efficacy to Pfizer/BioNTech’s…

Most Popular Courses by Country 2020

Course Partner The Science of Well-Being  Yale University COVID-19 Contact Tracing  Johns Hopkins University Technical Support Fundamentals Google Machine Learning Stanford University Learning How to Learn: Powerful mental tools to help you master tough subjects McMaster University UC San Diego   Programming for Everybody (Getting Started with Python) University of Michigan Financial Markets Yale University Measuring and […]
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Most Popular Courses of 2020: A Year of Mental Health, Contract Tracing, and Job-Relevant Skills

By Betty Vandenbosch, Chief Content Officer, Coursera In 2020, a record number of people turned to online learning as a source of hope, growth, and resilience amid economic uncertainty, and campus and workplace disruptions. Since March, there were more than 69 million enrollments on Coursera—a roughly 430% increase compared to the same period last year. […]
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Russian COVID-19 Vaccine Shows Encouraging Results

Thelasko shares a report from the BBC: Early results from trials of a Covid vaccine developed in Russia suggest it could be 92% effective. The data is based on 20 cases of Covid-19 from 16,000 volunteers given the Sputnik V vaccine or a dummy injection. While some scientists welcomed the news, others said the data had been rushed out too early….

Covid-19 will probably become endemic. Here’s what that means

Rather than completely disappear – even when vaccines become available- it’s likely that the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 will be added to the family of infectious diseases known as “endemic” in the human population. Source: https://earthsky.org/human-world/covid-19-coronavirus-will-probably-become-endemic-defintion…

What are the differences between the Michigan’s Master of Public Health in Population and Health Sciences and Master of Science in Population and Health Sciences?

Last year, Michigan’s School of Public Health announced their first online Master of Public Health in Population and Health Sciences degree. The success of the MPH degree spurred the launch of a Master of Science shortly thereafter from Michigan’s School of Public Health.  The two degrees share an emphasis on providing students with a foundational […]
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Master of Public Health or Master of Science: Which Is Right for You?

Last year, Michigan’s School of Public Health announced their first online Master of Public Health in Population and Health Sciences degree. The success of the MPH degree spurred the launch of a Master of Science shortly thereafter from Michigan’s School of Public Health.  The two degrees share an emphasis on providing students with a foundational […]
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Bottleneck for US Coronavirus Response: The Fax Machine

Public health officials in Houston are struggling to keep up with one of the nation’s largest coronavirus outbreaks. They are desperate to trace cases and quarantine patients before they spread the virus to others. But first, they must negotiate with the office fax machine. From a report: The machine at the Harris County Public Health department in Houston recently became overwhelmed…