Sci-Tech

Astronauts land back on Earth transformed by pandemic

  by Christopher RICKLETON Agence France Presse Two NASA astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut on Friday made a safe return from the International Space Station to find a “different planet,” transformed by the coronavirus pandemic. Andrew Morgan, Jessica Meir and Oleg Skripochka touched down in central Kazakhstan at 0516 GMT Friday in the first returning mission since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic in March. Morgan had been on the ISS since […]

Robots ride to rescue as delivery risks rise

by Rob Lever Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — What looks like a rolling picnic cooler stops at the crosswalk, waits for a car to pass and then navigates its way at a leisurely pace down the sidewalk in suburban Washington. Three blocks away, Jake Williams and his three-year-old daughter Emilia wait for the delivery robot and take out bags with pizza, fresh fruit and a loaf of French bread from the nearby […]

Free wi-fi installed at quarantine centers for frontliners, patients

(Eagle News) – Free Wi-Fi has been provided to quarantine centers nationwide to aid health workers in submitting reports and allow frontliners and patients to keep in touch with their families amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. In a statement, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said that it has installed free Wi-Fi hotspots in Rizal Memorial Coliseum, Philippine International Convention Center, and World Trade Center. “[F]ree internet connectivity will help health workers in their […]

‘Medibot’ to do rounds on Malaysian virus wards

KULA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — Malaysian scientists have created a barrel-shaped robot on wheels that they hope will make the rounds on hospital wards to check on coronavirus patients, reducing health workers’ risk of infection. “Medibot” is a 1.5 meter tall (five-foot) white robot, equipped with a camera and screen via which patients can communicate remotely with medics. The invention, built by scientists at the International Islamic University Malaysia, is also fitted with a device […]

New EBC shows coming to YouTube

Eagle News — Quarantine got you running out of things to watch on Netflix? Or tired of watching the same thing on Netflix? Well you’re in luck! As EBC strives to create wholesome content for every member of the family, eight brand new shows will be streaming LIVE on Eagle News via YouTube starting Monday, April 13. For the HipHop/R&B enthusiast in your family, check out The Vocal Chamber—an E25 Records original series, independent artists […]

How false negatives are complicating COVID-19 testing

  by Issam AHMED Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — As COVID-19 tests become more widely available across the US, scientists have warned about a growing concern: Many people with negative results might actually have the virus. That could have devastating implications as a global recession looms and governments wrangle with the question of when to reopen economies shuttered as billions of people were ordered to stay home in an effort to break […]

Apple and Google team up on virus ‘contact tracing’ by smartphone

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Google and Apple unveiled a joint initiative Friday to use smartphones to trace coronavirus contacts to battle the pandemic. The move brings together the largest mobile operating systems in an effort to use smartphone technology to track and potentially contain the global COVID-19 outbreak. Smartphones powered by Apple software and Google-backed Android operating system would be able to exchange information with a joint “opt in system.” The tech giants […]

Robots may become heroes in war on coronavirus

by Julie JAMMOT Agence France Presse SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Long maligned as job-stealers and aspiring overlords, robots are being increasingly relied on as fast, efficient, contagion-proof champions in the war against the deadly coronavirus. One team of robots temporarily cared for patients in a makeshift hospital in Wuhan, the Chinese city where the COVID-19 outbreak began. Meals were served, temperatures taken and communications handled by machines, one of them named “Cloud Ginger” […]

How does 3D printing work?

https://youtu.be/riy7E4ehldM 3D printing is revolutionizing industry and medicine, and inspiring designers and DIY enthusiasts. The main drawback is how long it takes… Printing an object the size of a tennis ball can take up to 12 hours. New developments could reduce this to just six or seven minutes. At present, printers use a layer-by-layer technique The simplest method is known as filament printing, and tends to be used in mass-market 3D printers. A thread of […]

Italy’s doctors look for help from sleek new robots

  by Miguel MEDINA Agence France Presse VARESE, Italy (AFP) — The shiny new robots gently check the pulses of highly infectious patients on life support in the Italian epicentre of COVID-19. The doctors and nurses love them because they also help save their own lives. Italians have seen the world around them turn unrecognisable from the various lockdowns and social distancing measures used to fight the new coronavirus outbreak. But little appears to have […]

Google to publish user location data to help govts tackle virus

PARIS, France (AFP) — Google will publish location data from its users around the world from Friday to allow governments to gauge the effectiveness of social distancing measures put in place to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, the tech giant said. The reports on users’ movements in 131 countries will be made available on a special website and will “chart movement trends over time by geography,” according to a post on one of the company’s blogs. […]

Local group of speech pathologists develop “communication boards” for intubated COVID-19 patients

(Eagle News) – A local group of speech pathologists has developed a tool to allow COVID-19 patients to communicate even when intubated. The Philippine Association of Speech Pathologists (PASP) have come up with “communication boards” which will allow patients on ventilators to express their needs to their caregivers even when they are unable to talk. “Sadly, many of these [COVID-19] patients will need intubation or other escalated respiratory support, rendering them unable to speak.  Patients […]