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Infectivity of exhaled SARS-CoV-2 aerosols is sufficient to transmit covid-19 within minutes
Abstract Exhaled SARS-CoV-2-containing aerosols contributed significantly to the rapid and vast spread of covid-19. However, quantitative experimental data on the infectivity of such aerosols is missing. Here, we quantified emission rates of infectious viruses in exhaled aerosol from individuals within their first days after symptom onset from covid-19. Six aerosol samples from three individuals were…
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EpiVECS: exploring spatiotemporal epidemiological data using cluster embedding and interactive visualization
Abstract The analysis of data over space and time is a core part of descriptive epidemiology, but the complexity of spatiotemporal data makes this challenging. There is a need for methods that simplify the exploration of such data for tasks such as surveillance and hypothesis generation. In this paper, we use combined clustering and dimensionality…
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Writing dissected, and big answers to simple questions: Books in brief
Symbols Richard Sproat Springer (2023) Linguists differ on what counts as writing. Inclusivists use the term to cover mathematical symbols and emoji, whereas exclusivists accept only symbol systems with a phonetic element, such as European alphabets and Chinese characters. Computational linguist Richard Sproat is an exclusivist. His ambitious, in-depth book is the first systematic study…
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Approaching 1.5 °C: how will we know we’ve reached this crucial warming mark?
The world is already more than 1 °C warmer on average than it was before industrial times, owing to greenhouse gases released from human activities. And that value is rising. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) projects that there is at least a 50% chance that long-term global warming will overshoot 1.5 °C in…
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Gravitational waves from mega black-hole collision reveal long-sought ‘ringing’
The largest black-hole merger ever detected seemed to produce a black hole 150 times the mass of the Sun, in defiance of some accepted theories. Researchers now say they’ve found, for the first time, evidence of the long-sought vibrations produced by the resulting black hole as it settled into a spherical shape. The findings provide…
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Reshaping the training landscape by addressing cultural taxation
Minoritized doctoral students are subject to cultural taxation — disproportionate expectations and obligations based on their race or ethnicity — that negatively impacts their PhD studies. Faculty members and departments should counteract this taxation to support students of colour. Like every student attending a doctoral psychology program, students of colour attend graduate school to hone…
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Spider silk research leads to new microphone patent
The human ability to notice the world around us is made possible by our sense organs — eyes, ears, nose, skin and tongue — which are so efficient that most people don’t consciously think about them. Others, like Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering Ron Miles, have always had a “sense” for them. “I have been…
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Sihoo Doro-C300 and the Science Behind Ergonomic Chairs
Due to the change in the way we work and with the introduction of technology, we now spend a significant portion of our lives at our desks for work or leisure, the extended hours in front of a computer can take a toll on our bodies. The discomfort and fatigue that accompany this sedentary lifestyle…
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Chinstrap Penguins Sleep Over 10,000 Times a Day—for Just Four Seconds at a Time
Chinstrap penguins incubate eggs. Wolfgang Kaehler / LightRocket via Getty Images The meeting drones on, and you feel your eyes getting heavy, your mind drowsy. Suddenly you snap into a very attentive wakefulness—did anyone see me doze off? You’ve fallen into a microsleep, a very brief slip out of consciousness that ends almost as soon…
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World’s weirdest: Meet the purple frog flaunting nature’s most bizarre backside
You could say that the purple frog resembles a turtle without its shell. That’s what the good people of Idukki in Kerala say. Or you could say that this amazing amphibian looks like a bruised, bloated beanbag with beady eyes and a bootylicious backside. That’s what I say. Evolution rightly has no respect for conventional…