• Deep Learning in the Emergency Department

    Using a deep-learning model designed for high-dimensional data, researchers have shown that it is possible to predict emergency department overcrowding from complex hospital records. This application of the “Variational AutoEncoder” deep-learning model is an example of how machine learning can be used to interpret and extract meaning from difficult data sets that are too voluminous or complex for humans to decipher.

  • Landmark Danish Study Shows Face Masks Have No Significant Effect

    Do face masks work? Carl Heneghan and Tom Jefferson write that a just-published study reports the results of a trial in Denmark – a study which hopes to answer that very question. “In the end, there was no statistically significant difference between those who wore masks and those who did not when it came to being infected by Covid-19,” they write.

  • Groundbreaking Research on Chlorine Spread

    Chlorine can kill in minutes if inhaled in high concentration. Since 2010, DHS S&T led a project, called Jack Rabbit, aiming to improve ways to detect and deal with chlorine spread. Recent events highlight the need for responders to be prepared with the best information possible for this type of hazard.

  • U.S. COVID-19 Crisis Deepens as Deaths Top 250,000

    As COVID-19 deaths topped 250,000 yesterday, the White House coronavirus task force signaled that the nation’s pandemic situation is worsening, with more overrun hospitals and deaths potentially approaching 2,000 a day in the lead-up to Christmas—unless strong mitigation measures are taken. Meanwhile, the global COVID-19 total topped 56 million yesterday, as Europe’s cases slowed but its deaths rose.

  • Questions Persist over Face Mask Efficacy

    Face masks have become the ubiquitous symbol of a pandemic that has sickened 35 million people and killed more than 1 million. For the variety of masks in use by the public, the data are messy, disparate, and often hastily assembled. On top of that, the use of masks has been accompanied by a divisive political discourse. A new study finds that “the recommendation to wear a surgical mask when outside the home among others did not reduce, at conventional levels of statistical significance, the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in mask wearers in a setting where social distancing and other public health measures were in effect.”

  • The Strategic Stockpile Failed; Experts Propose New Approach to Emergency Preparedness

    A new analysis of the United States government’s response to COVID-19 highlights myriad problems with an approach that relied, in large part, on international supply chains and the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS). A panel of academic and military experts is instead calling for a more dynamic, flexible approach to emergency preparedness at the national level.

  • Putting Games to Work in the Battle Against COVID-19

    While video games often give us a way to explore other worlds, they can also help us learn more about our own — including how to navigate a pandemic. That was the premise underlying “Jamming the Curve,” a competition that enlisted over 400 independent video game developers around the world to develop concepts for games that reflect the real-world dynamics of COVID-19.

  • Shielding the Vulnerable Using a Risk Calculator – Here’s Why It Won’t Be Enough

    In recent weeks, there have been controversial proposals to ask older, more vulnerable adults to isolate from society, while younger adults build herd immunity to COVID-19. These strategies have been criticized by leading figures as “practically impossible” and “unethical”. Yet calls for shielding from COVID “stratified by risk” persist.

  • Nuclear War could Take a Big Bite Out of the World's Seafood

    A new study reveals the damage that a nuclear war might take on wild-caught seafood around the world, from salmon and tuna to the shrimp in shrimp cocktails. The aftermath of such a conflict could put a major strain on global food security, an international team of scientists reports. The group estimates that a nuclear war might cut the amount of seafood that fishing boats are capable of bringing in worldwide by as much as 30 percent.

  • Pfizer’s Ultra-Cold Vaccine Could Be Difficult to Distribute

    The excitement that greeted the news of a vaccine candidate that may be highly effective against COVID-19 was indeed something to behold. One complicating factor will be the maintenance of the cold chain. Vaccines are fragile products: they need to be stored at specific temperatures, and some are sensitive to light and need to be transported in dark glass vials. These precise conditions must be maintained throughout the vaccine journey, right until the point when you’re in the GP surgery with your sleeve rolled up and the nurse opens the fridge door to extract the required immunization.

  • More Economic Worries Lead to Less Caution about COVID-19

    Workers experiencing job and financial insecurity are less likely to follow the CDC’s guidelines for COVID-19, such as physical distancing, limiting trips from home and washing hands. The researchers also found that state unemployment benefits and COVID-19 policies affected the connection between economic concerns and compliance with COVID-19 precautions.

  • Pfizer, Biontech Announce COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate Achieved Phase 3 Success

    Vaccine candidate was found to be more than 90 percent effective in preventing COVID-19 in participants without evidence of prior SARS-CoV-2 infection in the first interim efficacy analysis. The study enrolled 43,538 participants, with 42 percent having diverse backgrounds, and no serious safety concerns have been observed; Safety and additional efficacy data continue to be collected. Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE will apply for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) after the required safety milestone is achieved, which is currently expected to occur in the third week of November. Clinical trial to continue through to final analysis at 164 confirmed cases in order to collect further data and characterize the vaccine candidate’s performance against other study endpoints.

  • Coronavirus: Sweden Keeps Its Laid-Back COVID-19 Strategy

    Despite rising infection rates, Sweden is sticking to its relatively relaxed approach to managing the coronavirus pandemic. But not everyone in the country is pleased with this tactic.

  • Odds and Evens: A Strategy for Safely Exiting Lockdown 2

    Should lockdowns be reimposed, and, if so, for how long? A key difficulty for governments in finding the right answer is that they do not know with any certainty how transmission rates might increase if restrictions are removed. Based on our research, we believe there is a case for a cyclic lockdown policy, which could help control the spread of COVID-19 and also provide evidence to help predict the future much better.

  • U.S. COVID-19 Cases Keep Climbing, with No End in Sight

    U.S. COVID-19 cases are skyrocketing as the coronavirus spreads to every corner of the country. The United States reported 121,888 new COVID-19 Thursday, and 1,210 deaths. That’s nearly 20,000 more cases than were reported Wednesday, and the third day in a row of more than 1,000 deaths.