Researchers invent mask that can kill coronavirus with heat from phone charger

Researchers invent mask that can kill coronavirus with heat from phone charger

Israeli researchers have invented a reusable face mask that can kill the coronavirus with heat by drawing power from a phone charger.

The team at Technion University in Haifa have come up with a mask with a USB port that connects to a mobile phone charger.

Heating the mask for about 30 minutes disinfects it by killing viruses on its surface. The charger heats a layer of carbon fibres up to 70 degrees celsius.

Professor Allon Moses, an infectious diseases expert at Jerusalem’s Hadassah Medical Center, said that just a half hour’s exposure to 70-degree heat would kill the coronavirus.

But he also cautioned that repeated heating could damage the mask’s paper or fabric and spoil its ability to protect from diseases in the future

However, During testing, the prototype was exposed to 20 heating cycles, each for half an hour, with no impact on durability.

The researchers submitted a patent for the mask in the USA in late March, and are looking at ways to commercialise it with the private sector.

COVID-19: Virus-triggered layoffs in US hit nearly 39 million

COVID-19: Virus-triggered layoffs in US hit nearly 39 million

The number of Americans thrown out of work since the coronavirus crisis struck two months ago has climbed to nearly 39 million, the government said Thursday.

More than 2.4 million people applied for unemployment benefits last week in the latest wave of layoffs from the outbreak that has triggered nationwide business shutdowns and brought the economy to its knees, the Labor Department reported. That brings the running total to a staggering 38.6 million.

An additional 2.2 million sought aid under a new federal program for self-employed, contractor and gig workers, who are now eligible for unemployment benefits for the first time. Those figures aren’t adjusted for seasonal variations, so they are not included in the overall number of applications.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the unemployment rate could peak in May or June at 20% to 25% a level unseen since the depths of the Great Depression in the 1930s.

As of April, unemployment stood at 14.7%, a figure also unmatched since the era when President Franklin D. Roosevelt was assuring Americans that the only thing to fear was fear itself.

The breathtaking downturn unprecedented in its speed has turned up the pressure on politicians to lift the lockdowns that are destroying businesses and livelihoods.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated the economy is shrinking at a 38% annual rate in the April-June period, by far the worst quarterly contraction on record.

Cocktail of antibodies may block coronavirus infection: Study

Cocktail of antibodies may block coronavirus infection: Study

Washington: A combination of antibodies, including those from a patient who had recovered from the 2002-03 SARS pandemic virus infection, can effectively block the novel coronavirus, according to a study which may lead to new therapeutics against COVID-19.

The study, published in the journal Nature, noted that antibodies, produced by the immune system of recovered people, can neutralise the virus, and help in the development of antiviral treatments or vaccines.

A particular kind of antibodies can target one specific protein on a pathogen, the researchers, including those from the University of Washington in the US, said.

They added that identifying these monoclonal antibodies that can bind to the spike protein found on the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, and other similar viruses, may aid efforts to treat or prevent COVID-19.

In the research, Davide Corti and his colleagues identified monoclonal antibodies from a patient who recovered from the 2002-03 SARS pandemic disease.

They said these could inhibit SARS-related coronaviruses from both humans and animals.

When the scientists investigated the potential for 25 of these antibodies to inhibit SARS-CoV-2, they found that eight of them could bind to both the free virus, and infected cells.

One candidate, named S309, showed particularly strong neutralising activity against SARS-CoV-2, they said.

By understanding the crystal structure of S309, the scientists demonstrated how the antibody binds to the viral spike protein, which aids in the entry of the pathogen into host cells. They revealed that S309 can act in combination with another, less potent, antibody that targets a different site on the spike protein of the virus. This tandem activity could enhance neutralisation while reducing the chance of resistant mutations emerging, the scientists noted in the study.

Based on the findings, they suggested that cocktails of monoclonal antibodies may be worth exploring to control SARS-CoV-2.

However, the study noted that the results are yet to be validated in humans clinical trials.

Coronavirus may be aided by body’s own immune response to enter more cells: Study

Coronavirus may be aided by body’s own immune response to enter more cells: Study

Boston: One of the human body’s main defences against viral infections may be helping the novel coronavirus infect more cells, according to a study which can help understand why some people are more susceptible than others to COVID-19.

The study, published in the journal Cell, used single-cell RNA sequencing, which identifies which of roughly 20,000 genes are “on” in individual cells, and found that only a tiny percentage of human respiratory and intestinal cells make the proteins that help the virus gain entry into human cells.

“We started to look at cells from tissues such as the lining of the nasal cavity, the lungs, and gut, based on reported symptoms and where the virus has been detected,” said Jose Ordovas-Montanes, study co-author from Boston Children’s Hospital in the US.

“We wanted to provide the best information possible across our entire spectrum of research models,” Ordovas-Montanes said.

Recent studies had pointed out that the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, like the closely related SARS-CoV behind the 2002-03 SARS pandemic, uses a receptor called ACE2 to gain entry into human cells, aided by an enzyme called TMPRSS2.

In the current research, the scientists found that only a small fraction of cells, often well below 10 percent, make both ACE2 and TMPRSS2.

They said these cells fall in three categories — goblet cells in the nose that secrete mucus, lung cells known as type II pneumocytes which help maintain the alveoli sacs where oxygen is taken in, and one type of so-called enterocytes that line the small intestine and aid in nutrient absorption.

“Many existing respiratory cell lines may not contain the full mix of cell types, and may miss the types that are relevant,” Ordovas-Montanes said.

“Once you understand which cells are infected, you can start to ask, ‘How do these cells work?’ ‘Is there anything within these cells that is critical for the virus’s life cycle,” he explained.

With further studies, the researchers said they can perform better screens to find what existing drugs target the biological mechanism of COVID-19.

Ordovas-Montanes and his team also found that the ACE2 gene, which encodes the receptor used by SARS-CoV-2 to enter human cells, is stimulated by interferon — one of the body’s main defenses when it detects a virus.

They said this signalling molecule used by cells to communicate with each other about infection, turned the ACE2 gene ‘on’ at higher levels, potentially giving the virus new portals to get in.

“ACE2 is also critical in protecting people during various types of lung injury,” Ordovas-Montanes said.

“When ACE2 comes up, that’s usually a productive response. But since the virus uses ACE2 as a target, we speculate that it might be exploiting that normal protective response,” he added.

And since interferon also plays a major role in the body’s own natural immune response against viruses, the scientists believe the timing of when the molecule is active in the body compared to the virus infection process is key to its effects.

“It might be that in some patients, because of the timing or the dose, interferon can contain the virus, while in others, interferon promotes more infection,” said Ordovas-Montanes.

“We want to better understand where the balance lies, and how we can maintain a productive antiviral response without producing more target cells for the virus to infect,” he added.

The scientists also believe that it is too soon to relate the findings to the runaway inflammatory response, called the cytokine storm, reported in very sick COVID-19 patients.

They explained that cytokines are a family of chemicals that rally the body’s immune responses to fight infections, adding that interferon is part of this family.

“It might be that we’re seeing a cytokine storm because of a failure of interferon to restrict the virus to begin with, so the lungs start calling for more help. That’s exactly what we’re trying to understand right now,” Ordovas-Montanes said.

June Almeida: The woman who discovered the first Coronavirus

June Almeida: The woman who discovered the first Coronavirus

June Almeida, daughter of a Scottish bus driver was the woman who discovered first human coronavirus in 1964.She was internationally renowned virologist who pioneered new methods for viral imaging and diagnosis.

The new virus Covid-19 is a variant of the Coronavirus, which Dr. Almeida discovered in the laboratory of St Thomas’s Hospital of London in 1964.

June Almedia was born in 1930 in Glasgow, Scotland. Almeida left school at 16 years old because she was unable to obtain funds to go to university. However, she began training as a technician in histopathology at the Glasgow Infirmary and later transferred to St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London. After marrying an artist, Dr Almeida emigrated to Canada she joined the Ontario Cancer Institute in Toronto as electron microscopy technician.

Here, she discovered a method that helped in better visualizing viruses by using antibodies to aggregate them. After this, she returned to work at St Thomas’s Hospital Medical School in London and at that time Dr David Tyrrell was running research at the common cold unit in Salisbury in Wiltshire.

He later approached Dr June and after examining the specimens sent to her, she described it as like influenza viruses, but not the same. Later, her discovery was known as the first human coronavirus.

COVID-19: 20 Navy personnel in Western Naval Command test positive

COVID-19: 20 Navy personnel in Western Naval Command test positive

New Delhi: At least 20 Indian Navy personnel serving at the Western Naval Command in Mumbai have tested positive for coronavirus, official sources said on Saturday.

The Navy personnel were part of INS Angre, a logistics and support facility of the Western Naval Command.

They are undergoing treatment at a naval hospital in Mumbai, the sources said.

There was no official comment from the Indian Navy yet.

Initially, one Navy official was found to have tested positive for the disease, following which the authorities ordered testing of all those who came in contact with the person.

Novel test may quickly, accurately detect COVID-19: Study

Novel test may quickly, accurately detect COVID-19: Study

Geneva: Scientists have developed a new test that may detect the novel coronavirus more accurately and quickly, and relieve the pressure on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based tests currently used in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic.

Millions of people have been tested for the novel coronavirus, most using a kit that relies on the PCR, a sensitive method that amplifies SARS-CoV-2 RNA from patient swabs so that tiny amounts of the virus can be detected.

However, as the pandemic surges, this laboratory workhorse is showing signs of strain, according to the research published in the journal ACS Nano.

Now, researchers including those from the Institute of Environmental Engineering, ETH Zurich in Switzerland, have developed a potentially more accurate diagnostic based on plasmonic photothermal sensing.

The method can detect interactions between molecules on the surface of a constructed metallic nanostructure as a local change in refractive index. Health experts agree that expanded testing is crucial for controlling the spread of COVID-19.

However, testing in many countries has lagged behind because of limited supplies of some reagents and a backlog of samples awaiting available PCR machines and laboratory personnel.

“A number of false-negative and -positive test results have been reported,” the researchers said.

“Other methods, such as computed tomography (CT) scanning and culturing, do not provide quick or real time results,” they said.

Jing Wang from Institute of Environmental Engineering, ETH Zurich, and colleagues wanted to develop a faster, potentially more accurate COVID-19 test for detecting the SARS-CoV-2 virus that could be a practical alternative to PCR.

The team made DNA probes that recognized specific SARS-CoV-2 RNA sequences and attached them to gold nanoparticles. When they added pieces of the viral genome, the RNA attached to the complementary probes like a zipper being closed.

The team used a laser to heat up the nanoparticles, making it more difficult for imperfectly matched sequences to remain attached, reducing false-positives.

For example, a nucleic acid “zipper” missing a couple of teeth indicating a partial mismatch would unzip under these conditions.

In this way, the researchers could discriminate between SARS-CoV-2 and its close relative, SARS-CoV-1.

“The assay detected amounts of viral RNA below those present in respiratory swabs in a matter of minutes,”  the researchers said.

“Although the test still needs to be tested on intact viral RNA from patient samples, it could help relieve the current pressure on PCR-based tests,” they said.

Quarantine, social distancing best tools to fight coronavirus: AI expert

Quarantine, social distancing best tools to fight coronavirus: AI expert

New Delhi: Artificial Intelligence is being used across many levels in the fight against the coronavirus, but the best tools to tackle any pandemic are quarantine and social distancing, asserts one of the world’s leading AI experts Toby Walsh.

He says an AI epidemiologist was the first to identify the first signs of the pandemic, scanning millions of tweets and blog posts to pinpoint a new disease coming out of Wuhan back in December 2019.

“AI can be (and is being) used across many levels of the fight to beat the coronavirus. AI is also being used in the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of COVID-19,” says Walsh, Scientia Professor of AI at the University of New South Wales and a fellow of the Australian Academy of Science.

“Technology will help. But old-fashioned tools will help win the war. The best tool we have is the oldest – the one we’ve used for 700 years against any pandemic, namely quarantine. In Venice in 1377, ships from plague-stricken countries were forced to wait off its port for 40 days to assure that no latent cases were aboard,” Walsh told PTI in an interview.

“The next best tool that will help us prevent the spread is social distancing. Technologies like AI will help on top of this. But it is these simple, blunt and old tools that will ultimately decide how many people die,” he says.

On the role of AI in the fight against this deadly virus, he says, “AI is being used in the hunt to search for existing drugs that can be repurposed to fight the disease. It is also being used to understand the biochemistry of the coronavirus. Besides, AI help is taken to diagnose those infected with COVID-19 by reading CT-scans for the distinctive patterns on people’s lungs.”

Walsh has recently come out with a book “2062: The World that AI Made” in which he explores the impact artificial intelligence will have on work, war, economics, politics, everyday life and even human death.

He started writing the book, published by Speaking Tiger, the day he finished reading Yuval Noah Harari’s “Home Deus”.

“AI is a profound technology that will change the very fabric of our society. But we won’t become gods. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. It is our mortality and our humanity that will become deeply important as the features that will distinguish us from the immortal and omnipotent machines that we will create,” he says.

When Walsh finished writing the book, his eight-year-old daughter asked him what it was about.

“I told her the book was about the world she will inherit. How will the world in 40 or 50 years be when machines are as smart if not smarter than us, when machines can do almost all our jobs. Will these machines even be conscious? What will our society be like then? And then I did the maths, and in 2062, she will be exactly my age to the year,” he recalls.

“This book focuses on the year 2062. Most experts in AI believe that there’s a 50 per cent chance we will have created machines that can think as well as us by 2062,” he says.

Artificial Intelligence, says Walsh, will change the world dramatically.

“We need, therefore, to think big about the changes we should make to society today if we are to ensure that the world of 2062 is the one we want,” he says.

“If we make the right choices, AI promises to make life better – not just for the few but for the many. It can let us all live healthier, wealthier and perhaps even happier lives,” he adds.

Apple rolls out cheaper iPhone as pandemic curbs spending

Apple rolls out cheaper iPhone as pandemic curbs spending

New York: Apple is releasing a new iPhone that will be vastly cheaper than the models it rolled out last fall at a time when the economy was booming and the pandemic had yet to force people to rethink their spending.

The second-generation iPhone SE introduced Wednesday, April 15 will sell for as little as $399, a 40% markdown from the most affordable iPhone 11 unveiled last year. Higher-end versions of the iPhone 11 sell for more than $1,000. Online orders for the iPhone SE will begin Friday, with the first deliveries expected April 24.

Even before the pandemic, many people had begun to balk at the substantial price tags for smartphones that weren’t that much better than the ones they already owned. That pushed Apple to step up its emphasis on music and video services to the more than 1 billion people who carry around at least one of their internet-connected devices.

High-priced gadgets are expected to become an even tougher sell as the economy plunges into its deepest downturn in more than a decade.

Apple maps out its products many months in advance and the new iPhone SE isn’t a direct response to the economic meltdown hatched by the pandemic. Even though the iPhone SE will sell at a price that seems right for the tough times ahead, it is an extraordinarily difficult time to introduce a product, said Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives.

Apple faced a tough decision to make and ultimately decided to release and green light this smart phone to the market in hopes of gaining contained success out of the gates,” Ives wrote.

New iPhones are typically released with much fanfare at a Silicon Valley theater named after Apple founder Steve Jobs, who revolutionized the market when he introduced the first iPhone in 2007. The springtime event never happened this year because of the pandemic.

Even before the rapidly spreading coronavirus forced most states to order lockdowns, Apple had been hit hard by efforts to contain it in China.

Besides being its third largest market behind the U.S. and Europe, China is also where Apple makes most of its iPhones. With both its factories and stores in China shut down for several weeks this year, Apple issued a warning two months ago that quarterly sales will fall short of previous projections. The Cupertino, California, company is scheduled to release its result for the quarter later this month.

The new iPhone SE is an update to another low-cost model that Apple released four years ago. Apple stopped selling the original iPhone SE in 2018.

The updated Phone SE is essentially the same as the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, which came out in 2017. The iPhone SE won’t share the same displays and cameras carried by the newer iPhone 11 models. But it will be powered by the same A13 processing chip that’s inside the more expensive iPhone 11.

The original iPhone SE was was a hit with budget-conscious consumers or those who preferred a smaller, 4-inch screen as newer phones grow increasingly large. The new model is slightly larger than the original, with a 4.7-inch screen.

In what could be another popular twist, the new iPhone SE brings back the home button. That’s a notable change from the iPhone 11 line, which ditched the once-familiar button to accommodate larger screens that can handle the highest-quality video and photos.

Scientists identify six potential drugs for COVID-19

Scientists identify six potential drugs for COVID-19

Melbourne: Scientists have identified six drug candidates from more than 10,000 compounds that may help treat COVID-19.

The research, published in the journal Nature, tested the efficacy of approved drugs, drug candidates in clinical trials and other compounds.

“Currently there are no targeted therapeutics or effective treatment options for COVID-19,” said Professor Luke Guddat from the University of Queensland in Australia.

“In order to rapidly discover lead compounds for clinical use, we initiated a programme of high-throughput drug screening, both in laboratories and also using the latest computer software to predict how different drugs bind to the virus,” Guddat said.

The project targeted the main COVID-19 virus enzyme, known as the main protease or Mpro, which plays a pivotal role in mediating viral replication, the researchers said.

This makes it an attractive drug target for this virus, and as people don’t naturally have this enzyme, compounds that target it are likely to have low toxicity, they said.

“We add the drugs directly to the enzyme or to cell cultures growing the virus and assess how much of each compound is required to stop the enzyme from working or to kill the virus. If the amount is small, then we have a promising compound for further studies,” said Guddat.

After assaying thousands of drugs, researchers found of the six that appear to be effective in inhibiting the enzyme, one is of particular interest.

“We’re particularly looking at several leads that have been subjected to clinical trials including for the prevention and treatment of various disorders such as cardiovascular diseases, arthritis, stroke, atherosclerosis and cancer,” Guddat said.

Researchers said compounds that are already along the pipeline to drug discovery are preferred, as they can be further tested as antivirals at an accelerated rate compared to new drug leads that would have to go through this process from scratch.

“With continued and up-scaled efforts we are optimistic that new candidates can enter the COVID-19 drug discovery pipeline in the near future,” Guddat said.

5 best Zoom features every user must try

5 best Zoom features every user must try

Due to Covid-19 lockdown, many are working from home and relying on video conferencing applications. At present, the video conferencing app that has become quite popular is Zoom.

For those considering Zoom must try these five features

Background change
You can replace the space behind you with an image of your choice. Open Zoom app, go to in-app settings, choose virtual background, and select the image you want. You can choose from the preset themes or upload your own.

Appearance touch-up
In video settings menu, you can toggle Touch Up My Appearance, filter on the camera that smooth lines, eliminates blemishes, and makes you look a bit more better in video calls.

Zoom web client
Zoom has a web client for those who only ever need to join other people’s meetings. It is simple to use and runs with minimal need for the user to change settings.

Record
Zoom allows users to record their video conferences. To record a video conference, go to settings, then recordings and toggle the button to start.

Screen sharing
One can also share screen with friends in a Zoom call. At the toolbar, click on share screen icon to enable the feature.

OnePlus 8 series to be launched in India in next few months

OnePlus 8 series to be launched in India in next few months

New Delhi: Chinese premium smartphone maker OnePlus on Tuesday, April 14 unveiled its latest flagship OnePlus 8 series that will be launched in India in the next few months.

The global launch comes at a time when the Indian government has extended the nationwide lockdown to May 3 to contain the spread of COVID-19 infections.

Given that smartphones have not been classified under the essential items category (like grocery and medicines), they are not allowed to be sold online or in physical stores amid the lockdown.

While the company did not provide a specific launch date for India, it said “the OnePlus 8 flagship series and the OnePlus Bullets Wireless Z will be available in India this summer”.

It also did not disclose the India pricing of the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro. In the US, the devices will be priced USD 699 onwards and will be available later this month.

OnePlus chose to unveil the devices via a webcast instead of an on-ground event in view of the coronavirus pandemic that has claimed thousands of lives globally.

The OnePlus 8 Pro includes features like 6.78-inch display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 chipset, up to 12 GB RAM, quad rear camera set up (with 48MP main camera) and 4,510 mAh battery (with Warp Charge 30 Wireless charging solution).

The company said it will be among the the first in the industry to release a full line up of 5G devices in 2020.

According to Counterpoint Research Associate Director Tarun Pathak, in terms of features, OnePlus will again live up to its expectations of an Android flagship.

“With 5G and latest features, it is again likely to be among the top Android flagships. For sales perspective, its launch quarter will surely be impacted for example in India where around one-third of its annual sales happen during launch in Q2 quarter,” he added.

To offset this, OnePlus will need to aggressively scale up its efforts in the third and fourth quarters, he said.

“We think demand will be shifted in India due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. Given its brand image and good exposure to online, it look for different ways to push sales especially related to upgrades as it has a loyal userbase,” he said.

“This will also be the first time when OnePlus new launch sales will overlap with the launch quarters of Samsung Note and Apple iPhone refresh too. So we expect a strong competition in India in the premium market in Q3 and Q4,” he added.