Science and Technology

Friday, 24 April 2020 04:36

Dogs to sniff passengers for coronavirus at airports

A charity which is training dogs to detect coronavirus in the hope they can be deployed at UK airports says it has been in discussions with the government and remain ‘hopeful’ the project will work. Claire Guest, CEO of Medical Detection Dogs, which has dogs trained to detect cancer and malaria, says its dogs can detect diseases in less than a second. She believes its dogs, among them cocker spaniels and a Labradoodle, could be used to test people arriving at UK airports when lockdown measures are relaxed. On Monday the Daily Mail reported around 15,000 passengers were still flying…

Thursday, 23 April 2020 05:04

WhatsApp accounts are super easy to hack. This is how to protect yourself

Your WhatsApp account can be totally stolen as long as your attacker knows your number and can have a quick glance at your phone's screen. Your phone doesn't need to be unlocked, they don't need your WhatsApp password or your email address, and they'll probably get an archive of all their WhatsApp chats and call logs as well once they've hijacked the account. This attack would easily work against co-workers, roommates, spouses, classmates and so on. It would even work against someone you're having lunch or coffee with, or your boss. All your target needs is for you to leave…

Wednesday, 22 April 2020 05:38

WhatsApp to increase number of people that can video chat at the same time

Facebook owned messaging service, WhatsApp, is to let eight people hold a video chat together at the same time - doubling the current limit of four. It's not clear exactly when the new limit will be introduced as it's only being made available as part of the pre-release beta version of the mobile app at the moment. WhatsApp is already well behind other social messaging services in terms of the size of group video calls - with sister app Facebook Messenger allowing 50 people. There's been a surge in use for video chat apps since the start of lockdown measures…

Monday, 20 April 2020 05:49

Among those infected with coronavirus, some fall ill and die; others don’t. Here’s a key factor in the outcomes

Some people experience Covid-19 as nothing more than a mild cold, and others exhibit no symptoms at all. Then there are the thousands who sicken and, often, die. Scientists are working hard to understand the underlying reasons for such huge discrepancies in symptoms and outcomes. No one knows the answer yet. One theory: It is locked deep in our genetic makeup. We know that age and underlying health conditions, such as hypertension, play a large role in determining how people fare once they’ve contracted Covid-19. But these alone don’t explain the wide diversity of symptoms. Studying the genetics of the…

Friday, 17 April 2020 04:54

A new website is helping Nigerians check if they have coronavirus

While Nigeria has fewer confirmed cases of coronavirus than some other countries in Africa, it's not taking any chances. A new website is helping NIgerians find out whether they're at risk of Covid-19. Created through a partnership between the Wellbeing Foundation and PocketPatientMD, the site will determine if a person needs to visit a coronavirus test center based on a series of questions. The Wellbeing Foundation works with mothers and midwives across the country to ensure adequate maternal and newborn health, while PocketPatientMD is a platform that allows patients and physicians to manage their medical records digitally. "The main motive…

Tuesday, 14 April 2020 05:33

Experts say coronavirus could have lasting health effects even after recovery

Long after the global lockdown is lifted and the pandemic has receded, health services in many places may still be treating vast numbers of long-term victims of the coronavirus. Worrying evidence from early studies of patients with Covid-19 is emerging to suggest the infection may leave behind debilitating conditions ranging from sensory loss to heart and lung damage. These might afflict only a small proportion of sufferers. But so vast are the numbers infected that the long-term afflicted may be in the millions. Already coronavirus is being reported to cause lasting injuries to lungs and hearts, for example. But history…

Sunday, 12 April 2020 05:40

Grandparenting goes digital as virus keeps older adults home

A few weeks ago, Debbie Cameron saw her grandsons most days, playing the piano, making after-school snacks or singing nursery rhymes with the baby in her Chandler, Arizona, home. Then the cornavirus crisis hit and the boys were suddenly gone. Cameron is 68 and has asthma, making her one of the people most at risk of getting seriously ill or dying. Now she sees her grandchildren from behind the glass of a window or a phone screen. “Looking at them through the window and not being able hug them, it’s just a dang killer,” she said. For grandparents all over…

Saturday, 11 April 2020 04:42

Apple and Google are launching a joint COVID-19 tracing tool for iOS and Android

Apple and Google’s engineering teams have banded together to create a decentralized contact tracing tool that will help individuals determine whether they have been exposed to someone with COVID-19. Contact tracing is a useful tool that helps public health authorities track the spread of the disease and inform the potentially exposed so that they can get tested. It does this by identifying and "following up with" people who have come into contact with a COVID-19-affected person. The first phase of the project is an API that public health agencies can integrate into their own apps. The next phase is a…

Thursday, 09 April 2020 05:56

How long does coronavirus live on different surfaces?

Coronavirus RNA was found on a cruise ship 17 days after passengers left. What are the risks of handling packages and groceries? More people are staying indoors to avoid contact with people potentially infected by Covid-19. But in light of a recent report from the US’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that said RNA from the virus that causes Covid-19 was found in the Diamond Princess ship 17 days after its passengers had left, what are the risks of handling packages, groceries and what scientists call “high-touch” surfaces? Does the cruise ship report imply that viruses survive up…

Wednesday, 08 April 2020 05:35

WhatsApp introduces new limit on message forwards to fight spread of misinformation

WhatsApp is imposing additional restriction on how frequently a message can be shared on its platform in its latest effort to curtail the spread of misinformation. The Facebook -owned instant messaging service said today that any message that has been forwarded five or more times will now face a new limit that will prevent a user from forwarding it to more than one chat (contact) at a time. A spokesperson told TechCrunch that WhatsApp will roll out this change to users worldwide today. Today’s move builds on WhatsApp’s effort from last year when it limited users…

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Tuesday, 07 April 2020 04:46

Tesla pieced together parts for car production to build sorely needed Ventilators to fight coronavirus. Here’s how it’s done

Two weeks after an Elon Musk ventilator snafu that saw Tesla ship out about 1,000 B-PAP machines—which do not include the necessary ventilation tubes that the life-saving breathing machines require—the luxury car manufacturer has gone back to the drawing board. Now, Tesla is giving us a glimpse into its process. In a new video (posted online), company engineers break down how they're repurposing Tesla parts to build ventilators for COVID-19 (coronavirus) patients—something that Ford and General Motors have also been doing, thanks to the stockpiles of parts that auto manufacturers keep on hand to maintain a buzzing assembly line. "We've…

Tuesday, 07 April 2020 04:45

Robots stand in for university students during graduation

Colleges around the world have been forced to shut down due to the , but a group of students in are not letting the pandemic ruin their graduation. Using Newme telepresensence robots, students attending Business Breakthrough (BBT) University in Tokyo were able to walk across the stage and accept their diploma, all while self-isolating at home. The robots were dressed in a cap and gown and fitted with tablets on their heads, allowing students to show their face using Zoom. Students who attended the graduation remotely operated the robots in what is deemed the 'world's first' online graduation ceremony. Four…

Monday, 06 April 2020 05:54

Coronavirus: Scientists brand 5G claims 'complete rubbish'

Conspiracy theories claiming 5G technology helps transmit coronavirus have been condemned by the scientific community. Videos have been shared on social media showing mobile phone masts on fire in Birmingham and Merseyside - along with the claims. The posts have been shared on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram - including by verified accounts with hundreds of thousands of followers. But scientists say the idea of a connection between Covid-19 and 5G is "complete rubbish" and biologically impossible. The conspiracy theories have been branded "the worst kind of fake news" by NHS England Medical Director Stephen Powis. Conspiracy…

Saturday, 04 April 2020 05:42

Conspiracy theorists burn 5G masts as UK mobile network providers are forced to deny claims that 'radiation sparked coronavirus'

British mobile network providers have been forced to debunk 'baseless' theories circulating online that 5G masts are linked to coronavirus after several were set on fire. MobileUK, the trade organisation representing Three, O2, EE and Vodafone, added it was concerning the pandemic was being used to further such untruths and said some of the industry's key workers are being abused over the unfounded 5G myths. It comes after videos emerged online of phone masts ablaze, including one in Birmingham and one in Coventry. Shocking footage posted to Facebook captured the moment the 70ft (21m) masts erupted in flames, with firefighters…

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