Penn State. “Mouthwashes, oral rinses may inactivate human coronaviruses, study finds.” ScienceDaily, 19 October 2020. “Certain oral antiseptics and mouthwashes may have the ability to inactivate human coronaviruses, according to a new study. The results indicate that some of these products might be useful for reducing the viral load, or amount of virus, in the… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: October 2020
Why Social Media Is So Good at Polarizing Us
WSJ.com [includes a 4.24 min video which is free to watch] – Mathematicians are teaming up with political scientists to create models of how social media divides us, and results suggest at least one popular solution might actually make the problem worse. “Americans are more polarized than ever—at least by some measures. A growing body… Continue Reading
Until a coronavirus vaccine is ready, pneumonia vaccines may reduce deaths from COVID-19
Via LLRX – Until a coronavirus vaccine is ready, pneumonia vaccines may reduce deaths from COVID-19 – Prof. Robert Root-Bernstein is an immunologist and physiologist interested in the effects of combined infections on immunity vaccines. Two vaccines – pneumococcal vaccine and the Hib vaccine – protect against bacterial pneumonias. These bacteria complicate both influenza and… Continue Reading
Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, October 18, 2020
Via LLRX – Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, October 18, 2020 – Privacy and security issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly… Continue Reading
The Problem of Free Speech in an Age of Disinformation
The New York Times – The First Amendment in the age of disinformation. “…The United States is in the middle of a catastrophic public-health crisis caused by the spread of the coronavirus. But it is also in the midst of an information crisis caused by the spread of viral disinformation, defined as falsehoods aimed at… Continue Reading
Justice Department Sues Monopolist Google For Violating Antitrust Laws
“Today, the Department of Justice — along with eleven state Attorneys General — filed a civil antitrust lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to stop Google from unlawfully maintaining monopolies through anticompetitive and exclusionary practices in the search and search advertising markets and to remedy the competitive harms. The participating… Continue Reading
The socially distanced library: staying connected in a pandemic
OUPBlog: “The concept of a socially distanced library would be considered the ultimate antithesis of the modern-day library. The past two decades have witnessed the evolution of the library from a mostly traditional space of quiet study and research into a bustling collaborative, social space and technology center. The library has been described as a… Continue Reading
Eight Persistent COVID-19 Myths and Why People Believe Them
Scientific American – From a human-made virus to vaccine conspiracy theories, we rounded up the most insidious false claims about the pandemic. Because the pathogen first emerged in Wuhan, China, President Donald Trump and others have claimed, without evidence, that it started in a lab there, and some conspiracy theorists believe it was engineered as… Continue Reading
Monthly poverty rates in the United States during COVID-19
Center on Poverty & Social Policy – “This report presents monthly poverty rates in the U.S. before and throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. In contrast to measures of poverty based on a family’s annual resources, we project poverty rates based on a family’s monthly resources. We find that the monthly poverty rate increased from 15% to… Continue Reading
U.S. Postal Service Benches Its Police Officers Before Election
WSJ.com – Top USPS brass ends agency patrols that protected mail, letter carriers [possibly behind paywall] – “An order by the U.S. Postal Service to pull its uniformed police officers off city streets has sparked a legal battle pitting it against a police union, when the agency is already under scrutiny for delivery delays in… Continue Reading
Your guide to following the election on social media
Washington Post – From misinformation to fast-changing maps, here’s how to understand election results and navigate social media. “The experts agree: The best way to accurately track election results, and avoid falling for misinformation between now and Election Day, is to avoid too much social media. Stick with a handful of reputable news sources and… Continue Reading
Civil Liberties in Times of Crisis
Civil Liberties in Times of Crisis – Marcella Alsan, Luca Braghieri, Sarah Eichmeyer, Minjeong Joyce Kim, Stefanie Stantcheva, David Y. Yang NBER Working Paper No. 27972 Issued in October 2020. NBER Program(s): Health Economics, Public Economics, Political Economy “The respect for and protection of civil liberties are one of the fundamental roles of the state,… Continue Reading
