Tag: pandemics

How our abuse of nature makes pandemics like covid-19 more likely

From habitat degradation to squalid animal treatment, our part in allowing “zoonotic” diseases like covid-19 to leap into humans is becoming ever clearer Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24933240-800-how-our-abuse-of-nature-makes-pandemics-like-covid-19-more-likely/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…

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…

Five reasons the covid-19 pandemic has been such a nightmare

Humans have faced pandemics before, but some unusual features of covid-19 and modern society have conspired to create the perfect storm this time Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24933162-400-five-reasons-the-covid-19-pandemic-has-been-such-a-nightmare/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…

China Is Blocking the WHO From Investigating the Origins of the Coronavirus

schwit1 writes: The coronavirus was first reported to have originated at an animal market in Wuhan, China, however numerous observers have already questioned this account of the virus’s origins. Among other issues, the original host animal — a species of bat — was not sold at the particular animal market, and the city of Wuhan is home to virology labs where…

Controlling deforestation and wildlife trade could prevent pandemics

Diseases like covid-19 come from wild animals, so reducing unsustainable practices like deforestation could stop future outbreaks from happening, according to a global biodiversity report Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2258527-controlling-deforestation-and-wildlife-trade-could-prevent-pandemics/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…

Refreshing R Programming Skills and Tackling New Challenges: Meet Radha

Learn how Radha, a data analyst in India, used the Data Science: R Basics course from HarvardX, part of HarvardX’s Data Science Professional Certificate program, to brush up on the constantly evolving programming language. How was your experience learning online? It was an amazing experience to learn online. You can succeed in the online classroom without being an expert at self-teaching….

Amid the Pandemic’s Urban Quiet, a Song That Makes Sense

“Every musician knows that when the performers can hear one another, the performance is always better than otherwise,” writes Slashdot reader nightcats. “This principle applies in nature as well, and has been anecdotally witnessed amid the quiet imposed by COVID-19 on cities around the world. In San Francisco, behavioral ecologist Liz Derryberry has been able to deliver a dramatic scientific demonstration…

Jaron Lanier Thinks Things May Have Gotten Better, or Facebook ‘Might Have Won Already’

Jaron Lanier helped design “Together” mode for Microsoft Teams, “where he has a post as an in-house seer of sorts,” according to a recent profile in GQ. (“Initially he’d conceived of Together mode as a way to help Stephen Colbert — in whose house band Lanier sometimes performs when he’s in New York — figure out how to host his show…

Research is our best weapon in the fight against covid-19 and obesity

The obesity and covid-19 pandemics have been shown to be interlinked, and both urgently require more research to provide clear evidence on how best to beat them Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24732923-400-research-is-our-best-weapon-in-the-fight-against-covid-19-and-obesity/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…