In the spotlight
Data privacy erosions could leave a dangerous legacy
irishtimes, 26.03.2020
When an image circulated on Twitter last week showing colour-coded data from more than a million smart thermometers plotted to a map of the, it created a sensation. United States Areas with fever-level readings from the thermometers, highlighted in orange and red, stood out against cooler colours for normal temperatures.
Read more
In fight against coronavirus, governments embrace surveillance
politico, 25.03.2020
Chinese-style surveillance is coming to a neighborhood near you. From drones barking orders at park-goers to tracing people’s movements through cellphones, Western governments are rushing to embrace sophisticated surveillance tools that would have been unthinkable just a few weeks ago.
Read more
In Europe, tech battle against virus clashes with privacy culture
cyprus-mail, 26.03.2020
From Helsinki to Madrid, applications are being developed for people to report their symptoms to doctors and researchers; to trace and model the spread of the flu-like virus; and ensure that those under quarantine stay at home.
Read more
Big data versus COVID-19: opportunities and privacy challenges
bruegel, 23.03.2020
A great deal of COVID-19-relevant information is potentially available in the digital world.Users of social networks voluntarily provide extensive personal information, usually including demographics (age, sex) and location;Users of mobile networks provide information necessary to receiving and paying for the service, and also provide location information.
Read more
Agriculture & Environment
A food crisis looms as coronavirus forces farms to stay idle and countries hoard supplies
cnbc, 30.03.2020
Large-scale lockdowns to contain the coronavirus outbreak have hurt the supply of manpower and disrupted supply chains in the agriculture industry. The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization said the world risks a “looming food crisis” unless measures are taken fast to protect the most vulnerable, keep global food supply chains alive and mitigate the pandemic’s impacts across the food system.
Read more
Coronavirus: calls to protect great apes from threat of infection
bbc, 25.03.2020
Conservation experts are calling for urgent action to protect our closest living relatives, the great apes, from the threat of coronavirus. New measures are needed to reduce the risk of wild gorillas, chimps and orangutans encountering the virus, scientists warn in a letter in Nature. Habitat loss and poaching are big threats to the survival of great apes, but viruses are also a concern.
Read more
Transport & Energy
Grid operators turn control centres into campsites to keep coronavirus at bay
reuters, 26.03.2020
After a fortnight living in a mobile home compound built in just three days by his employer, Italian gas company Snam (SRG.MI), Guido Debattisti is returning home. The 37-year-old is part of a team of engineers sealed off during two-week shifts to make sure gas taps stay open – and buildings warm – during a coronavirus epidemic that has killed more than 7,000 Italians and is sweeping Europe.
Read more
World’s governments draft manufacturers for virus treatment arsenal
in-cyprus, 25.03.2020
From Washington to London, Beijing to Rome, governments are draft ing automakers and aerospace manufacturers to ramp up production of ventilators and other medical equipment to bolster what most experts say is an inadequate arsenal of corona virus treatment tools.
Read more
Coronavirus pandemic leading to huge drop in air pollution
guardian, 23.03.2020
The coronavirus pandemic is shutting down industrial activity and temporarily slashing air pollution levels around the world, satellite imagery from the European Space Agency shows. One expert said the sudden shift represented the “largest scale experiment ever” in terms of the reduction of industrial emissions.
Read more
Information society
Covid-19: Fake UPI ID used to collect funds
timesofindia, 30.03.2020
Delhi Police’s Cyber Cell is trying to track down a group of fraudsters who created an UPI ID almost matching to that of the Prime Minister’s relief funds, which was opened to collect donations to combat the novel coronavirus pandemic. The ID was circulated through various social media handles but has now been blocked by the cops.
Read more
Social disease: how fraudsters adapt old scams to exploit coronavirus
guardian, 29.03.2020
The email is immediately threatening. “I know every dirty little secret about your life,” it begins. “To prove my point, tell me, does [REDACTED] ring any bell to yοu? It was one οf your passwords.” Criminals who formerly tried to ‘sextort’ people online are now making threats to infect a target’s family and friends.
Read more
Coronavirus: Can a robot do nurse’s job? Jaipur hospital tries to find out
business-standard, 26.03.2020
A government hospital here is putting a robot through its paces to see if it can help in the fight against coronavirus, delivering food and medicines to patients admitted there. If the trial works out, the humanoid robot could make its way to assigned patients with a tray carrying food or medicines.
Read more
Even in physical isolation, we will remain socially and emotionally connected
forbes, 21.03.2020
Social distancing is nothing new, and a great deal of research has highlighted the benefits of social distancing for highly transmissible diseases in the absence of vaccines, but never before has the term occupied the central place it has in our mind’s today, with governments around the world anxious to reduce or even stop all interpersonal contact in order to control the covid-19 pandemic.
Read more
Food & Health
Coronavirus vaccine: when will it be ready?
guardian, 27.03.2020
Even at their most effective – and draconian – containment strategies have only slowed the spread of the respiratory disease Covid-19. With the World Health Organization finally declaring a pandemic, all eyes have turned to the prospect of a vaccine, because only a vaccine can prevent people from getting sick.
Read more
What if I need to go on a ventilator?
nytimes, 27.03.2020
Late one recent night, I found myself on the phone with my patient’s brother, trying to explain respiratory failure and Covid-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. He had been unable to sleep, he told me, after hours spent online in a futile attempt to understand what might be happening in his sister’s room in our hospital’s intensive care unit.
Read more
World food security at risk, fresh produce in Europe set to be more scarce
cyprus-mail, 26.03.2020
Global food security concerns are mounting with around a fifth of the world’s population already under lockdown to fight the widening coronavirus pandemic that has infected over 470,000 people across 200 countries, killing 21,000. Panic buying of household staples like toilet paper and cleaning products have occurred in nearly every country hit by the virus, and empty shelves in supermarkets have been common.
Read more
20 pledges for 2020: how labelling and storing your food can help to avoid coronavirus panic buying
independent-UK, 25.03.2020
“Best by” is the date you’ll find on most food packages. While “Use by” is about safety, “Best by” is all about quality and taste. It tells me that the penne ziti rigate I just bought will hang out happily in my cupboard for more than two years and still taste like – well, like pasta.
Read more
You’ve got mail. Will you get the coronavirus?
nytimes, 24.03.2020
Global food security concerns are mounting with around a fifth of the world’s population already under lockdown to fight the widening coronavirus pandemic that has infected over 470,000 people across 200 countries, killing 21,000. Panic buying of household staples like toilet paper and cleaning products have occurred in nearly every country hit by the virus, and empty shelves in supermarkets have been common.
Read more
Is reheated rice safe to eat?
guardian, 24.03.2020
So long as you store it properly, there’s no reason to be afraid of reheating cooked rice. It’s the building block for many a great dish. Cooked rice needs to be cooled as quickly as possible, and reheated till piping hot.
Read more
Science policy & Communication
The evolutionary reason why some people avoid following public health orders
CBC, 27.03.2020
On Thursday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau implemented the Quarantine Act, requiring anyone returning to Canada from abroad to stay home for 14 days. Failure to comply can result in fines or arrest. Too many people, said Trudeau, are still gathering with others or going to stores when they should be home.
Read more
Scientists, under pressure, try to balance speed and safety on coronavirus vaccine research
nbcnews, 26.03.2020
Science can be slow and indirect. And despite the sheer number of scientists involved in these efforts, the scientific method requires a rigor that can only be sped up so much. Experts have said that it could take at least 12 to 18 months before a vaccine is commercially available to administer widely — a timeline already seen as aggressive.
Read more
EU initiatives
Hard lessons from COVID-19 will leave us better prepared for the next pandemic
sciencebusiness, 26.03.2020
The head of the EU’s big drug research consortium, the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI), says the world is learning painful lessons from the coronavirus crisis that will leave it better prepared for future pandemics. “Whatever happens in the coming years, we will have learned an awful lot through this terrible experience.”
Read more
What if smartphones could help contain COVID-19?
europarl, 24.03.2020
The recent outbreak of respiratory diseases triggered by the new coronavirus poses a challenge to public health worldwide. As governments evaluate how to stop further contagion, what role could smartphone apps play in the overall effort? Can tracking data recorded by smartphones help better understand and stop the spread of the virus?
Read more
Curious news
The antidote: your five favourite reads beyond coronavirus
guardian, 27.03.2020
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by coverage of the pandemic, try this daily list of non-coronavirus articles that our readers spent the most time.In this series we’re listing the previous day’s top articles by reading time. You can read a little more about how and why we’re doing it here.
Read more
Politicians find time to relax, practice yoga amid COVID-19 lockdown
business-standard, 26.03.2020
With half of their staff on duty and no visitors allowed in waiting halls, many top leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) who are under quarantine due to the extended lockdown are exploring ways to keep themselves busy.
Read more