ScienceHealth

This Dog Is Learning How to Detect Covid-19

Can man’s best friend lend a hand, or a nose, to the fight against the novel coronavirus? The answer might be yes. There are various ongoing efforts to train sniffer dogs to detect covid-19, the disease caused by coronavirus. If dogs prove to be reliable in detecting the virus, scientists believe that they could provide … Continued

Earther

The Quiet of Covid-19 Has Birds Singing Sultrier Songs

While social distancing measures have pushed many people into sexless, joyless bubbles, San Francisco birds are getting flirtier and more coy. I’m glad someone’s getting some. Coronavirus precautions and shutdowns have have made cities a lot quieter. In a study published in Science this week, researchers found that, with fewer cars roaring, people chattering, and … Continued

ScienceHealth

Don’t Be Fooled by Reports on the ‘New’ Coronavirus Mutation

A wave of attention is once again being paid to studies suggesting that the coronavirus behind covid-19 has mutated, possibly into a form that’s more infectious. But while the basic science of this research may be legitimate, it isn’t as worrisome as some headlines might lead you to believe—the virus is not becoming capable of … Continued

Tech NewsNews

System Reboot: Gizmodo’s New Podcast to Fix a Broken World

Gizmodo has a podcast! Again! Two years after The Gateway dug deep into the way YouTube algorithms enable larger-than-life personalities to develop followings online, we’re back with a new podcast. System Reboot is a weekly podcast exploring the big things that are broken and talking to very smart people who have ideas about how to … Continued

Tech NewsNews

Covid-19 Data Is Coming to Google Maps

While contact tracing flails in the U.S. thanks in part to government dysfunction, Google’s deploying a feature to at least help us avoid covid-19 hotspots. Sometime this week, Android and iOS users will be able to toggle on color-coded overlays in Google Maps, representing the concentration of positive cases on the country, state, city, and … Continued

Tech NewsPolitics

Trump Facebook Ads With ‘Real People’ Actually Feature GOP Political Operatives

President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign is currently running Facebook ads with “real people” who support the president. And while it’s accurate to say these people are “real” in the sense that they’re human beings and not robots from the TV show Westworld, they’re not just average people off the street. Many are political operatives. Take … Continued

io9Movies

Your Guide to the Surprising Amount of Movies Out This Fall [UPDATED]

“Wait, are there actually going to be new movies this fall?” It’s a thought we’ve all been having for some time. With the covid-19 pandemic wreaking havoc on all aspects of the world, the film industry included, one could easily assume movies are simply on hold for awhile. However, we’re here to tell you, that’s … Continued

io9Movies

Black Widow, Eternals, and More Have Been Delayed (Again)

The return of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is going to take a little longer than expected. Disney has just delayed the release of Marvel’s Black Widow again. Originally slated for May, it was first moved to November—and now, it’ll be released May 7, 2021. It’s one of a number of delays announced by the studio. … Continued

Tech NewsPolitics

Pentagon Got $1 Billion to Fight Coronavirus, Bought Drones, Jet Parts, and Body Armor Instead: Report

The Pentagon has spent the $1 billion it received through the CARES Act on personal protective equipment, medical gear, and other emergency response supplies to support the nation’s teetering healthcare system. Just kidding, it spent it on fighter jets and body armor. Mask boring; loud thing go boom. Per the Washington Post, the Defense Department … Continued

ScienceHealth

Hell Yes, It’s Time to Get Your Flu Shot

Friends: The time has come. It’s the first day of fall, and you can partially fill the coronavirus-vaccine-shaped hole in your heart by getting a flu shot. I got my flu shot on Monday. My arm still kind of hurts, but that’s OK, because now I’m less likely to get and spread the extremely shitty … Continued

io9

Battlestar Galactica Star Michael Hogan Needs Our Help

A sci-fi legend needs your help—so say we all. Earlier this year Michael Hogan, best known for playing Colonel Saul Tigh on Battlestar Galactica, had an accident that left him completely paralyzed on his left side. This happened in February, after a Battlestar Galactica convention, and things only got worse a few weeks later when … Continued

Tech NewsNews

Pro-Trump NIH Goon to ‘Retire’ After Being Outed as Prolific Author of Anti-Mask, Anti-Fauci Blog Posts

One of the Trump administration’s flacks at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases secretly trashed the agency under the persona “streiff” for the right-wing blog RedState, according to a Monday report by the Daily Beast. He is now planning to “retire.” The official in question, public affairs specialist William B. Crews, wrote on … Continued

Tech NewsNews

Studies Show Far-UVC Light Can Kill Coronaviruses Without Harming Humans

Ultraviolet light can kill microscopic creatures like bacteria and viruses by destroying the molecular bonds in their genetic material. But UV light also damages human DNA, causing eye and skin damage and increasing our risk of cancer. It turns out, though, that there’s a loophole: a specific wavelength of UV light that’s safe for people … Continued

ScienceHealth

CDC Says Covid-19 Can Be Airborne, Then Takes It Back

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finally took a stance on whether covid-19 can be airborne, only to take it back within days. Over the weekend, the public health agency issued new guidelines that warned people about catching the viral illness from the lingering respiratory droplets and tiny aerosol particles emitted by an infected … Continued

ScienceHealth

CDC Nukes Absurd Testing Guidance, Now Says All Exposed People ‘Need a Test’

On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention struck down a previous guidance that recommended against the testing of asymptomatic people for the coronavirus that causes covid-19, even if the person was exposed to the virus. The agency now recommends testing anyone who could have caught the infection from a close contact, symptoms or … Continued

Tech NewsNews

Australia’s 7-Hour ‘Flight to Nowhere’ Sells Out Instantly As People Lose Their Damn Minds Hoping to Feel Normal Again in the Midst of a Pandemic That’s Infected 30 Million and Killed Almost 1 Million Globally But Will We Ever Feel Normal Again and What Even Qualifies As Normal Anymore

Australia’s Qantas Airlines will fly a seven-hour “flight to nowhere” that takes off and lands in Sydney, a bizarre idea hinging on the belief that people who have been cooped up during the pandemic would want to just experience air travel, even if their destination is the same airport where they departed. And, strangely, Qantas … Continued

ScienceHealth

CDC Says Pregnant Women With Covid-19 More Likely to Give Birth Prematurely

Pregnant women and their babies face unique challenges from covid-19, suggests new research published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study found that pregnant women who develop covid-19-related symptoms while hospitalized often become critically ill, and pregnant women with covid-19 may be more likely to have a preterm birth or possibly even … Continued

io9Movies

The Batman Returns to Production Following Robert Pattinson’s Coronavirus Diagnosis

Hopefully this time around he’ll learn there are better masks than a cowl. Two weeks ago, recently resumed production on Matt Reeves’ The Batman hit a roadblock in the form of titular star Robert Pattinson contracting covid-19, forcing him into a period of quarantine. Production shut down entirely, but it seems that right as Pattinson’s … Continued

io9

Aggretsuko Takes on a New Significance in These Extraordinary Times

Back in February, Oni Press’ Aggretsuko comic very presciently delved into a plot in which the world was ravaged by the “C-Virus.” It turned those exposed to it into zombie-like creatures, making it impossible for Retsuko and her colleagues to venture into their office safely. While the comic was a sendup of the Resident Evil … Continued

ScienceHealth

Lab-Made Antibodies Show Early Promise for Treating Covid-19

A lab-made antibody treatment has shown encouraging results in preventing hospitalizations from covid-19, at least in some preliminary data. On Tuesday, the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly announced that its experimental antibody treatment was found to reduce the rate of hospitalizations among people with covid-19 treated in an outpatient setting, compared to a placebo control group. … Continued