Lifeboat Foundation

The Spanish government is taking action in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

Most of us are similar with ‘viruses’ and malware relating to our computers or smartphones, but Yoshihiro Minagawa, a researcher from the University of Tokyo has taken it on literally – he has invented a portable, low-cost, battery-powered device that pairs with a smartphone, which was tested with viruses but could also detect other biological markers. His initial findings, together with other teammates were published recently in the journal, Lab on a Chip.

The current leading method to assess the presence of viruses and other biological markers of disease is effective but large and expensive. It is prohibitively difficult for use in many situations, especially due to certain economic and geographic factors. Although highly accurate at counting viruses, these tools are just too cumbersome for many situations, especially when rapid diagnosis is required.

“I wanted to produce a useful tool for inaccessible or less-affluent communities that can help in the fight against diseases such as influenza,” said Minagawa. “Diagnosis is a critical factor of disease prevention. Our device paves the way for better access to essential diagnostic tools.”

The military branches are requiring troops to make their own cloth face masks after the Pentagon’s latest policy directed face coverings for all personnel during the novel coronavirus outbreak.

The Defense Department announced Sunday that troops, DoD civilian employees, contractors and family members are encouraged to make simple coverings out of clean T-shirts and other household materials. The do-it-yourself face coverings are mandatory whenever people cannot maintain six feet of social distance in public areas or places of work, according to the policy, signed by Defense Secretary Mark Esper.

The DIY masks will help preserve much-needed N95 and surgical masks for health care workers, the policy states.

The U.S. Army’s top enlisted soldier said Tuesday that the service plans to issue some type of non-surgical mask to troops to help control the spread of the novel coronavirus.

During an Army Facebook Live on Tuesday, Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Grinston said that soldiers should follow the face-covering guidance the service issued Monday evening until it can provide masks for them.

“We are going to get you the masks,” he said. “In the near term, we will get you something either black or camouflage to put on.”

Slated for human trials, EIDD-2801 could become the first pill for COVID-19.

Tesla will cut pay for all of its salaried employees and will furlough hourly workers until May 4, when it intends to resume production of electric cars, according to an internal e-mail that multiple employees shared with CNBC. The pay reductions are expected to be in place until the end of the second quarter.

Health orders, implemented to curb the spread of COVID-19, forced Elon Musk’s electric car company to wind down production at its main vehicle assembly plant in Fremont, California.

The new pay cuts follow Tesla’s first-quarter vehicle production and deliveries report, which pleased investors — the company said it delivered approximately 88,400 vehicles and produced 103,000 in Q1. Tesla has yet to withdraw guidance it gave investors for 2020, saying it should “comfortably exceed” 500,000 vehicle deliveries for the year.

New research shows that resveratrol, a chemical found in red wine, contributes to genomic stability by reducing the occurrence of DNA double-strand breaks and prolongs lifespan in genetically modified mice that are prone to carcinogenic mutations [1].

DSBs and genomic instability

Genomic instability, one of the hallmarks of aging, is a condition characterized by frequent mutations within the genome, and it has long been associated with cancer [2]. The authors of this study state that one of its major causes is the erroneous repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). High numbers of DSBs have been found in pre-cancerous cells, and DNA lesions caused by unrepairable DSBs accumulate with time, both in organisms and in cultured cells. One of the possible culprits is the degradation of DNA repair mechanisms in aged cells [3].

Utilizing the antibodies from the plasma of survivors of the coronavirus to help those who are critically ill from the coronavirus has been deemed successful:

In trial, 10 severely-ill patients made recoveries after receiving antibodies from people who had successfully fought the Covid-19 virus

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A heads up: Dyson has “created 44 engineering and science activities for children to try out while at home during the coronavirus pandemic, from making a balloon-powered car to building a bridge from spaghetti,” writes the Dezeen website. They go on to add: “Comprised of 22 science tasks and 22 engineering activities, the Challenge Cards can be completed by children using common household items such as eggs, string and balloons.” You can also find a related playlist of videos on YouTube, one of which appears above.

This engineering/science activities have been added to our refreshed collection, 200 Free Kids Educational Resources: Video Lessons, Apps, Books, Websites & More. If you know of any great K-12 resources, especially ones that are always free, please add them in the comments below, and we will try to add them to the list.

Continue reading “Dyson Creates 44 Free Engineering & Science Challenges for Kids Quarantined During COVID-19” »