Bright yellow and looking like a headless deer, Spot can travel across ground too risky for humans. “Built for dirt and danger,” in the words of its maker Boston Dynamics, this robot is now helping humans battle a different threat: the spread of coronavirus. Equipped with an iPad and two-way radio, Spot has been making… read on >
Scientists studying the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus — which causes COVID-19 — believe they’ve discovered why face masks might help limit transmission of the virus. The virus tends to first infect the nasal cavity, replicating less well in the lower respiratory tract, University of North Carolina (UNC) researchers found. However, sometimes it’s sucked into the lungs, where… read on >
The U.S. center hardest hit by COVID-19 isn’t headline-grabbing New York City; it’s the Navajo Nation in the American southwest. About the size of West Virginia and situated on 27,000 square miles of land spread across Arizona, Utah and New Mexico, Navajo Nation is home to approximately 175,000 people. It’s also home to a coronavirus… read on >
New York City finally reopened its economy on Monday after being the epicenter of the U.S. coronavirus pandemic for months, and a new study shows that stay-at-home orders may have been worth it, preventing nearly 60 million U.S. infections. The research, published in the Nature medical journal, examined how different social distancing policies and measures… read on >
Back before coronavirus took over the headlines, every week seemed to bring another report about artificial intelligence besting human doctors at everything from diagnosing skin cancer to spotting pneumonia on chest X-rays. But these artificial intelligence (AI) tools — computer programs that get better at performing a task by being “trained” on the right kind… read on >
The COVID-19 pandemic has had far-reaching effects, and a new study points to yet another: It may be keeping people from seeking emergency care for suicidal thoughts. The study, at one large Ohio health system, found that ER visits for suicidal ideation dropped by over 60% in the month after the state instituted its stay-at-home… read on >
People infected with COVID-19 who need surgery have much higher odds of dying soon afterward, a new study finds. Infected patients who had surgery died at rates nearly equal to those of the sickest COVID-19 patients in intensive care units, the researchers found. For the study, the investigators looked at data on more than 1,100… read on >
When you’re searching for a misplaced item, it’s helpful to think about its color, size and shape. But Johns Hopkins researchers say traits you can’t see also come into play. The researchers said that volunteers found everyday items in clutter 20% quicker if they subconsciously factored in traits you can’t see, like hardness or softness.… read on >
Federal data released Friday offered signs of hope on the economic front, as jobless numbers actually fell — from 14.7 percent in April to 13.3 percent in May. The economy, hit hard by stay-at-home orders and shuttered businesses tied to the coronavirus crisis, ended up adding 2.5 million job in May, as some Americans warily… read on >
COVID-19 is taking a heavy toll on Americans’ mental health, a new nationwide survey shows. Overall, psychological distress more than tripled between 2018 and this spring — from 4% of U.S. adults in 2018 to 14% in April. Beth McGinty, an associate professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, said the… read on >
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