MEDICINE
Flattening the Coronavirus Curve
Siobhan Roberts | The New York Times
“The ideal goal in fighting an epidemic or pandemic is to completely halt the spread. But merely slowing it—mitigation—is critical. This reduces the number of cases that are active at any given time, which in turn gives doctors, hospitals, police, schools and vaccine-manufacturers time to prepare and respond, without becoming overwhelmed.”
ROBOTICS
Autonomous Robots Are Helping Kill Coronavirus in Hospitals
Evan Ackerman | IEEE Spectrum
“To prevent the spread of coronavirus (and everything else) through hospitals, keeping surfaces disinfected is incredibly important, but it’s also dirty, dull, and (considering what you can get infected with) dangerous. And that’s why it’s an ideal task for autonomous robots.”
ART
Quarantined Italians Are Singing Their Hearts Out. It’s Beautiful.
Emily Todd VanDerWerff | Vox
“The Covid-19 coronavirus—and the associated social distancing that nearly everyone on the planet is being encouraged to practice—will presumably hinder people from making and listening to music together, but tweets from all over Italy (which is under heavy lockdown) reveal a country where citizens are taking to their balconies and windows to enjoy music together.”
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
These Industrial Robots Get More Adept With Every Task
Tom Simonite | Wired
” ‘We’re paying people trillions of dollars a year to do stuff that robots have been physically capable of doing for the last 30 or 40 years,’ Phoenix says. Anyone who can make industrial robots more adept—and Vicarious is not the only one trying—could transform the economy by shifting the balance of labor between people and machines.”
INTERNET
How Wikipedia’s Volunteers Became the Web’s Best Weapon Against Misinformation
Alex Pasternack | Fast Company
“…while places like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter struggle to fend off a barrage of false content, with their scattershot mix of policies, fact-checkers, and algorithms, one of the web’s most robust weapons against misinformation is an archaic-looking website written by anyone with an internet connection, and moderated by a largely anonymous crew of volunteers.”
FUTURE
‘Cosmos: Possible Worlds’ Review’ Gorgeous Scientific Escapism Advocates for Rebels and Optimism
Steve Greene | IndieWire
“The most valuable part of ‘Cosmos: Possible Worlds’ is its merging of boundless optimism and the necessity of urgency. Not merely content with being restricted to doomsaying or cheerleading, there’s a healthy blend of both that sticks to a central thesis: We’re capable of understanding what mystifies us now, but only if we’re willing to display some humility and cooperation in the process.”
HEALTH
Don’t Go Down a Coronavirus Anxiety Spiral
Louise Matsakis | Wired
“The stock market had its biggest decline in decades, Sarah Palin rapped to ‘Baby Got Back’ dressed in a bear suit—it feels like the world is unraveling. There is so much going on, and so much uncertainty, it is all too easy to get trapped watching cable news or scrolling through Twitter all day. If all this news is making you feel stressed, you’re far from alone.”
