May 4, 2020 — May the Fourth be with you, my fellow nerds. It's Chronicle assistant editor Cory Perla here, bringing us into a new week from Buffalo, N.Y.
A lot happened last week that re-emphasized the severity of the coronavirus crisis. For those of us in New York state, the cancellation of the Democratic Presidential Primary has been especially unsettling.
Then there is the threat of a breach in the food supply chain, as the chairman of Tyson Foods warned could happen as food processing plants are shutting down, and the fact that no one in Puerto Rico has seen a penny of stimulus aid. Studies are finding that people of colour are being affected by Covid-19 a disproportionate rate. A similar trend was found in the U.K.
To top it off, we may be too exhausted from our work from home Zoom meetings to contemplate any of it. According to an article in Harvard Business Review, aspects of Zoom meetings such as having to focus more intently on conversation and having to maintain a more focused gaze on the speaker than one normally would make video conferences more straining, according to the article. They offered some tips.
Journalist Chris Hedges, put things into perspective this week in an eye-opening interview with Salon saying:
“If anything good emerges out of this period, it might be an awakening to the pre-existing conditions of our body politic. We were not as healthy as we thought we were. The biological virus afflicting individuals is also a social virus. Its symptoms — inequality, callousness, selfishness and a profit motive that undervalues human life and overvalues commodities — were for too long masked by the hearty good cheer of American exceptionalism, the ruddiness of someone a few steps away from a heart attack.”
On the bright side, researchers are figuring out how to better fight this nasty infection, and the early findings of their studies are of great interest. See some of the latest research below.
COVID CHRONICLE 05/04/2020
- Based on the outbreak of Covid-19 in one high rise apartment building in South Korea, researchers have identified procedures that were integral in controlling the spread of the virus. In their study, researchers described decisive actions that were taken to quickly and efficiently address the outbreak—which included extensive testing of residents. Researchers said the solutions examined may provide a blueprint for dealing with future outbreaks that occur on a larger scale.
- A group of 75 organizations, spanning from public health institutions to commercial companies, have banded together to create a consortium focused on increasing research into sequencing the genome of Covid-19. This includes examining how the virus evolved, and tracking mutations in the virus’s genetic code.
- A new study has found that at least 12 FDA approved and 28 at pre-clinical therapies have been found to effective in battling SARS-Cov-2. The therapies range from cancer fighting to anti-psychotics. On the contrary, the study also found that dextromethorphan, a common ingredient in cough syrups, may actually encourage virus growth.
STORIES CHRONICLE IS WORKING ON TODAY
I'm developing a story about the Telewound Coalition, a community of clinical experts, healthcare providers, and technology innovators focused on providing virtual care to patients with wounds.
RIGHT NOW WE ARE LISTENING TO...
The Doldrums by Ariel Pink. The weirdo-pop record has recently been remastered, but don't worry, it still sounds like someone threw an AM radio into a washing machine—in the best way possible. When it was released in 2004, Fact Magazine said "The Doldrums is the sound of isolation in the city, a full-on, sloppy embrace of the madness that A Normal Life and A Normal Job should drive you to in your spare time..."
LATER WE'RE READING...
This in-depth story on Dr. Anthony Fauci’s century-old doppelgänger, Dr. Thomas Tuttle, who helped America battle the Spanish Flu in 1918.
TONIGHT WE ARE COOKING...
We're not cooking, we're ordering pizza from The Wurlitzer in North Tonawanda, N.Y. because they whip up weird things like a vegan dill pickle pizza. (Don't bash it until you've tried it.)
WHAT DO YOU PREDICT FOR THE WEEK AHEAD?
Please make use of the comments section at the Daily CurveFlattener, to let us know what you're up to today. Or feel free to check in via LinkedIn, email, or your choice of connector. By all means, pass this newsletter along to your colleagues.
That's it. Stay in touch, stay safe and enjoy the week ahead. My colleague Jeremy Visser will continue your coverage for Cinqo de Mayo.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for posting a comment. Your remarks are waiting for confirmation, which may take a little while. Check back frequently