Good morning! Today: the kids left behind in the rush to online classes, loud talking could leave coronavirus in the air for up to 14 minutes, and the hunt for genetic clues to explain why some people get so sick from covid. Get your friends to sign up here to get The Download every day.
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The children being left behind by America’s online schooling
Like most children in the US, Juana hasn’t been to school in two months. Her mother, Dilma, left school after first grade and doesn’t speak English. Until recently, the family in Oakland, California, only had a very simple cell phone they used to make calls home to family in Guatemala.
Without a computer to connect to her teachers and friends, Juana started to fall behind. While other children in the US were having full lessons on Zoom, she spent the first month of quarantine just practicing the alphabet and learning to count in Spanish. It was only a few weeks ago—well into the shutdown, which in California began March 16—that Juana finally received a school-issued Chromebook. But she still didn’t have internet access. The family didn’t have a wireless connection at home, and Dilma had never connected to the internet on her cell phone before.
The coronavirus crisis is exacerbating the long-standing digital divide in the US, highlighting unequal access to technology. When schools were ordered to close, underfunded districts suddenly found themselves struggling to equip students stuck at home. As every week of school closures passes, many poor students are falling further behind. Read the full story.
—Tanya Basu
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Loud talking could leave coronavirus in the air for up to 14 minutes
The news: Thousands of droplets from the mouths of people who are talking loudly can stay in the air for between eight and 14 minutes before disappearing, according to a new study.
What’s the point: Respiratory viruses like SARS-CoV-2 are transmitted either by direct contact or when the virus hitches a ride on tiny droplets released into the air by a carrier. That’s why coughing and sneezing are thought to be a major method of infection. But speech can release thousands of oral fluid droplets into the air too.
The findings: Scientists asked people to repeat phrases and used sensitive lasers to visualize the droplets they produced, watching them decay in a closed, stagnant air environment. On the basis of previous studies of how much viral RNA can be found in oral fluids in the average covid-19 patient, the researchers estimate that a single minute of loud speaking generates at least 1,000 virus-containing droplets. Their observations suggest these droplets stay airborne for longer than eight minutes, and sometimes as long as 14 minutes.
Implications: It raises concerns that the mere act of an infected patient talking could be dangerously effective in transmitting coronavirus to others.
—Neel V. Patel
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The secret to why some people get so sick from covid could lie in their genes
The news: Why do some people die from covid-19, yet others don’t even get symptoms? We don’t know. To try and answer that question, consumer genomics company 23andMe is going to offer free genetic tests to 10,000 people who’ve been hospitalized with the disease, in the hope of finding genetic factors that could point to an answer.
Data gathering: 23andMe operates a large gene database with more than 8 million customers, many of whom have agreed to let their data be used for research. The company has previously used consumer data to power searches for the genetic roots of insomnia, homosexuality, and other traits. In April it sent covid-19 questionnaires out to members. 400,000 have enrolled according to a company spokesman, including 6,000 who say they have confirmed cases of covid.
The goal: Scientists hope to find a gene that strongly influences, or even determines, how badly people are affected by the coronavirus. Read the full story.
—Antonio Regalado
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We can still have nice things
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The top ten must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 Slovakia is one of the pandemic success stories
It made face masks mandatory in public, and politicians led by example. ( The Atlantic)
Facebook has banned face mask ads, but they’re still running. ( Buzzfeed)
+ Uber will require all drivers and riders to wear masks from Monday. ( CNBC)
2 Prepare for a vaccine information war
Anti-vaxxers are gearing up before one has even been found. Arrrgh. ( NYT $)
+ Conspiracy videos are flourishing on TikTok. ( Rolling Stone)
+ Inside the first US human trials for a covid-19 vaccine. ( Wired $)
+ The US has accused Chinese hackers of trying to steal coronavirus vaccine research. ( Cyberscoop)
3 A recipe for re-entry
A combination of hygiene measures, screening, distancing, and masks will be necessary for us to safely lift lockdowns. ( New Yorker $)
+ Coronavirus may never go away, the WHO has warned. ( BBC)
+ Only 4% of the French population has been infected with covid-19, according to a new study. ( Reuters)
4 The doomsday bunker market is booming
Fear sells. ( The Verge)
5 Why the US fumbled its response to coronavirus so badly
It has been a slow-motion car crash, with Trump at the wheel. ( FT)
6 How big tech plans to profit from the pandemic
Technology is being pushed as the solution for all our problems. It isn’t. ( The Guardian)
7 Why humans go crazy when they get lost 🌲
We really do walk around in circles, like in the movies. ( Wired $)
8 Renewable energy is set to eclipse coal for the first time in the US
A real glimmer of hope in an otherwise depressing news landscape. ( NYT $)
9 People in India are angry about its mandatory contact tracing app
The rule seems to be “comply, or your freedoms get curbed.” ( Wired UK)
+ An engineer hacked the system so they’re always displayed as safe. ( Buzzfeed)
+ India is the only democracy to force its people to use a covid app. ( TR)
10 Dogs still obey commands, even if they’re given by robots 🤖🐕
That is next level obedience. ( IEEE Spectrum)
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“When you take away the diners all you’re left with is this predatory, venture capital, third-party app as all of your business.”
—Giuseppe Badalamenti, owner of Chicago Pizza Boss, tells the Washington Post why people are rebelling against food delivery apps.
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