Saturday, December 21

Tag: other

Questions Answered: Comparing Other Coronavirus Vaccines, How Does The Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Measure Up
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COVID-19

Questions Answered: Comparing Other Coronavirus Vaccines, How Does The Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Measure Up

On Tuesday, Feb. 24, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration released the results of its trial of the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine. The FDA found the vaccine to be safe and effective and it is expected to grant emergency use authorization in the coming days. Maureen Ferran, a virologist at the Rochester Institute of Technology, explains how this new vaccine works and explores the differences between it and the already approved Moderna and Pfizer–BioNTech vaccines. 1. How does the Johnson & Johnson vaccine work? The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is what’s called a viral vector vaccine. To create this vaccine, the Johnson & Johnson team took a harmless adenovirus – the viral vector – and replaced a small piece of its genetic instructions with coronavirus genes for the SAR...
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A Creative Route To Making Robots And Other Mechanical Devices – Curved Origami
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TECHNOLOGY, VIDEO REELS

A Creative Route To Making Robots And Other Mechanical Devices – Curved Origami

Building robotic grippers that can firmly grasp heavy objects and also gently grasp delicate ones usually requires complicated sets of gears, hinges and motors. But it turns out that it’s also possible to make grippers out of simple sheets of flexible material with the right creases in them. Our lab at Arizona State University has designed curved fold patterns that can change stiffness and flexibility. Flexible materials shaped with these patterns can be used to make simple, inexpensive robotic grippers, swimming robots and other mechanical devices. People naturally vary the amount of stiffness needed to handle fragile and sturdy objects appropriately. Robots interact with the environment in the same way. Curved folding is a simple way to give robots the ability to vary the amount of sti...
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Other Less Visible Biases Threaten Democracy — Not The Political Bias In The Media
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SOCIAL JUSTICE, VIDEO REELS

Other Less Visible Biases Threaten Democracy — Not The Political Bias In The Media

Charges of media bias – that “the media” are trying to brainwash Americans by feeding the public only one side of every issue – have become as common as the hope that the presidential race will end safely … and soon. As a political scientist who has examined media coverage of the Trump presidency and campaigns, I can say that this is what social science research tells us about media bias. First, media bias is in the eye of the beholder. Communications scholars have found that if you ask people in any community, using scientific polling methods, whether their local media are biased, you’ll find that about half say yes. But of that half, typically a little more than a quarter say that their local media are biased against Republicans, and a little less than a quarter say the same local med...
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Urban planning as a tool of white supremacy – the other lesson from Minneapolis
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SOCIAL JUSTICE

Urban planning as a tool of white supremacy – the other lesson from Minneapolis

The legacy of structural racism in Minneapolis was laid bare to the world at the intersection of Chicago Avenue and East 38th Street, the location where George Floyd’s neck was pinned to the ground by a police officer’s knee. But it is also imprinted in streets, parks and neighborhoods across the city – the result of urban planning that utilized segregation as a tool of white supremacy. Today, Minneapolis is seen to be one of the most liberal cities in the U.S. But if you scratch away the progressive veneer of the U.S.‘s most cyclable city, the city with the best park system and sixth-highest quality of life, you find what Kirsten Delegard, a Minneapolis historian, describes as “darker truths about the city.” As co-founder of the University of Minnesota’s Mapping Prejudice project, Deleg...
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Studies of Other Countries Show Truth-Telling Leads to Racial Healing
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Journalism, SOCIAL JUSTICE

Studies of Other Countries Show Truth-Telling Leads to Racial Healing

As the U.S. prepares to celebrate another year of its independence, the country is paying renewed attention to the founders, and how their legacy of slavery is linked to systemic racism. Calls for reform to policing across the nation can help to directly reduce police violence against civilians but don’t address the centuries-old underlying problems in American society. Our research indicates that the country is not likely to escape its historic cycles of violence and racial oppression without addressing this painful and troubled history. Sparked by the killing of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis police, protests have emerged across the United States demanding police and criminal justice reform. Reform efforts abound—including Minneapolis city councilors declaring they will d...
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How cafes, bars, gyms, barbershops and other ‘third places’ create our social fabric
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IN OTHER NEWS

How cafes, bars, gyms, barbershops and other ‘third places’ create our social fabric

Social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic implies many painful losses. Among them are so-called “third places” – the restaurants, bars, gyms, houses of worship, barber shops and other places we frequent that are neither work nor home. The third place is a concept in sociology and urban planning that recognizes the role these semi-public, semi-private places play in fostering social association, community identity and civic engagement. In giving people a familiar setting for social interaction among regulars, they encourage “place attachment” – that is, the bond between a person and a place. Now, experiencing the coronavirus from the fortress of our living spaces, we may enjoy the feeling of being in a haven that protects against this invisible new enemy. But we’ve lost the social an...
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How to stop touching your face to minimize spread of coronavirus and other germs
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COVID-19

How to stop touching your face to minimize spread of coronavirus and other germs

Public health officials consistently promote hand-washing as a way for people to protect themselves from the COVID-19 coronavirus. However, this virus can live on metal and plastic for days, so simply adjusting your eyeglasses with unwashed hands may be enough to infect yourself. Thus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization have been telling people to stop touching their faces. We are experts in psychological science and public health. Brian Labus is an expert in communicable diseases who knows what people should do to avoid becoming infected. Stephen Benning is a clinical psychologist who helps clients change their habits and manage stress in healthy ways. Kimberly Barchard is an expert in research methods who wanted to know what the research say...
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Vodka won’t protect you from coronavirus, and 4 other things to know about hand sanitizer
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COVID-19, HEALTH & WELLNESS

Vodka won’t protect you from coronavirus, and 4 other things to know about hand sanitizer

As concern about coronavirus grows, hand sanitizer is in high demand. Biologist Jeffrey Gardner explains why alcohol is a key ingredient in hand sanitizer, and why he doesn’t recommend making your own supply at home. 1. Why is alcohol the main ingredient in most hand sanitizers? Alcohol is effective at killing different types of microbes, including both viruses and bacteria, because it unfolds and inactivates their proteins. This process, which is called denaturation, will cripple and often kill the microbe because its proteins will unfold and stick together. Heat can also denature some proteins – for example, when you cook an egg, the solidified egg whites are denatured proteins. 2. Alcohol doesn’t kill some microbes very well - why not? There are different types of bacteria and viruses, ...
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Cuba shows his other side during a dreamy love sequence.
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CELEBRITIES

Cuba shows his other side during a dreamy love sequence.

The captivating Cuba Gooding Jr. started his showbiz career break-dancing for Lionel Richie. He was born January 2. 1968 in The Bronx. His father, Cuba Gooding Sr., was the lead vocalist in the R&B group The Main Ingredient. That makes sense, because if we were having a sausage-fest, we’d definitely want Cuba to provide the main ingredient! Cuba’s acting career began with bit parts on 80s More...
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Why bipolar disorder is becoming more ‘desirable’ than other mental illnesses
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Journalism

Why bipolar disorder is becoming more ‘desirable’ than other mental illnesses

Bipolar disorder is a severe mental health condition. But in recent years it has become the one mental health diagnosis that patients are willing to accept. Research shows that to some people it has actually become “desirable” when compared with other mood disorders. This could be because of bipolar disorder’s association with creativity. For example, Charles Dickens and Beethoven are thought to have had bipolar disorder. The de-stigmatising effect of considerable media coverage could also be factor. As could its association with successful celebrities such as Stephen Fry, Kanye West and Carrie Fisher. Figures like Fry – who made the revealing BBC television documentary, The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive – have used their positions to bring home the disturbing realities of the cond...
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