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Daily Archives: March 5, 2020

Gene sleuths are tracking the coronavirus outbreak as it happens

MIT Technology Review: “In the unprecedented outbreak of a new coronavirus sweeping the world, the germ’s genetic material may ultimately tell the story not just of where it came from, but of how it spread and how efforts to contain it failed.By tracking mutations to the virus as it spreads, scientists are creating a family tree in nearly real time, which they say can help pinpoint how the infection is hopping between countries. When scientists in Brazil confirmed that country’s first case of coronavirus late in February, they were quick to sequence the germ’s genetic code and compare it with over 150 sequences already posted online, many from China. The patient, a 61-year-old from São Paulo, had traveled in Italy’s northern Lombardy region that month, so Italy was likely where he acquired the infection. But the sequence of his virus suggested a more complex story, linking his illness back to a sick passenger from China and an outbreak in Germany. As a virus spreads, it mutates, developing random changes in single genetic letters in its genome. By tracking those changes, scientists can trace its evolution and learn which cases are most closely related. The latest maps already show dozens of branching events.

The data is being tracked on a website called Nextstrain, an open-source effort to “harness the scientific and public health potential of pathogen genome data.” Because scientists are posting data so quickly, this is the first outbreak in which a germ’s evolution and spread have been tracked in so much detail, and almost in real time.

Book price comparison search engine

booksprice.com: “BooksPrice is a free-of-charge website that enables users to search for the best deals as related to prices of books, CDs, DVDs and other products offered by thousands of stores across the Web. BooksPrice specializes in conducting comparisons of multiple books, CDs and DVDs as part of one single search. BooksPrice is an independent… Continue Reading

Libraries and Accurate Information about the Coronavirus

Libraries 2020: “As designated essential disaster services, libraries are poised to serve a role in the national response to the Coronavirus and COVID-19. Some changes to libraries as a public gathering place may be temporarily required, but our mission of sharing information will likely continue unchanged. They will remain great resources to access credible medical… Continue Reading

Why law librarians are so important in a data-driven world

Oxford University Press Blog – Femi Cadmus Archibald and Frances Rufty Research Professor of Law & Assoc Dean Info Svcs & Tech, Duke University School of Law: “For well over a century, law librarians have been a force in leading research initiatives, preservation, and access to legal information in academia, private firms, and government. While… Continue Reading

EPA launches portal for Guidance Documents

EPA Guidance Documents – “On October 9, 2019, President Trump signed Executive Order 13891, “Promoting the Rule of Law Through Improved Agency Guidance Documents.”  Among other things, the Executive Order directs federal agencies to make active guidance documents available via an online guidance document portal.   On October 31, 2019, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued implementing… Continue Reading

TIME 100 Women of the Year

“For 72 years, TIME named a Man of the Year. With a few exceptions, it was almost always a man, usually a President or a Prime Minister or perhaps a titan of industry. Throughout history, these are the kinds of men who have wielded influence over the world. In 1999, Man of the Year gave… Continue Reading

Power Through apps, not warrants, ‘Locate X’ allows federal law enforcement to track phones

protocol: “U.S. law enforcement agencies signed millions of dollars worth of contracts with a Virginia company after it rolled out a powerful tool that uses data from popular mobile apps to track the movement of people’s cell phones, according to federal contracting records and six people familiar with the software. The product, called Locate X… Continue Reading

Robo lawyer will sue organizations that will not delete your personal info

Fortune: “In January, a new law gave consumers the power to stop companies collecting their personal information. The law, known as the California Consumer Privacy Act (or the CCPA), can be a powerful tool for privacy, but it comes with a catch: Consumers who want to exercise their CCPA rights must contact every data broker… Continue Reading