To beat Covid, we may need a good shot in the nose

‘Intranasal vaccines might stop the spread of the coronavirus more effectively than needles in arms...

‘Although injected vaccines do reduce symptomatic COVID cases, and prevent a lot of severe illness, they may still allow for asymptomatic infection. A person might feel fine, but actually harbor the virus and be able to pass it on to others. The reason is that the coronavirus can temporarily take up residence in the mucosa—the moist, mucus-secreting surfaces of the nose and throat that serve as our first line of defense against inhaled viruses. Research with laboratory animals suggests that a coronavirus infection can linger in the nose even after it has been vanquished in the lungs. That means it might be possible to spread the coronavirus after vaccination.

‘Enter the intranasal vaccine, which abandons the needle and syringe for a spray container that looks more like a nasal decongestant. With a quick spritz up the nose, intranasal vaccines are designed to bolster immune defenses in the mucosa, triggering production of an antibody known as immunoglobulin A, which can block infection. This overwhelming response, called sterilizing immunity, reduces the chance that people will pass on the virus.’

Read here (Scientific American, Mar 1, 2021)

Malaysian company develops Covid-19 rapid test kits that can deliver results under 20 minutes

‘A homegrown diagnostic solution start-up has developed a digital rapid Covid-19 test kit — dubbed APTSENS — that can upload test results in real-time with geo-location data to cloud servers via a mobile app.

‘Biogenes Technologies, a startup in the field of molecular diagnostics and genomics, said that APTSENS is a simple-to-use kit consisting of Covid-19 single-use sensor chip, portable electronic reader and collection swab that can produce test results in under 20 minutes.’

Read here (Malay Mail, Feb 26, 2021)

A-Z inventions of Covid-19

‘The pandemic may have brought the world to its knees, but the side effects are not all negative. The Straits Times locks down the upsides of the coronavirus.’

Read here (Straits Times, Dec 20, 2020)

Face masks go hi-tech amid the Covid-19 pandemic, from one with a translator to another that monitors vital signs

‘A Japanese start-up has created a face covering that allows people to have a conversation while keeping up to 10 metres apart – and also acts as a translator. A Singaporean face mask has sensors that monitor temperature and blood oxygen levels, while a company in South Korea has made an air purifier mask.’

Read here (South China Morning Post, Oct 23, 2020)

Call for clear face masks to be ‘the norm’

‘Standard face masks, which have become widespread as countries try to stop the spread of coronavirus, muffle words and obscure the mouth... Main dans la Main (Hand in Hand), an association which supports deaf and hearing impaired people in Chevrières, northern France, is among the organisations around the world that have created a mask with a transparent window... But one setting where homemade masks are not suitable - but where both PPE and communication are vital - is in hospitals. There is just one company in the US that has secured Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval to make clear masks for clinical use.’

Read here (BBC, May 26, 2020)

8 ways Covid will transform the economy and disrupt every business

‘In this report, we look at eight major trends underway in the world, and pinpoint the possibilities for savvy business operators, investors and innovators. We all know how much our lives have changed, and how we’re not likely to go back to our old ways. We’ll be more cautious but we also may be more creative. As history likes to remind us, with unprecedented times come unprecedented opportunities.’

Read here (RBC Thought Leadership, May 22, 2020)

Why are Africa's coronavirus successes being overlooked?

‘Take the two African countries I have called home – Senegal and Ghana... Senegal is in a good position because its Covid-19 response planning began in earnest in January, as soon as the first international alert on the virus went out... As a result, this nation of 16 million people has had only 30 deaths... Ghana, with a population of 30 million, has a similar death toll to Senegal, partly because of an extensive system of contact tracing, utilising a large number of community health workers and volunteers, and other innovative techniques such as “pool testing”, in which multiple blood samples are tested and then followed up as individual tests only if a positive result is found. The advantages in this approach are now being studied by the World Health Organization.’

Read here (The Guardian, May 21, 2020)

Amsterdam trials ‘Covid-safe’ restaurant

As countries in Europe start to emerge from lockdown, they’re experimenting with ways to get people dining out again. An innovative solution in Amsterdam is currently being trialled and tested. It hopes it will provide a way to help people adjust from isolation to a degree of social contact.

View here (BBC, May 15, 2020)

We need smart solutions to mitigate the coronavirus’s impact. Here are 30

‘The coronavirus crisis has upended American life, and fresh ideas are needed for dealing with the problems it’s creating. Here is a collection of smart solutions. We are expanding this list as we receive more ideas.’

Read here (The Washington Post, April 30, 2020)

Coronavirus is accelerating eight challenging mega trends

‘...be in no doubt, as the long days at home seem to pass ever so slowly: in its effect on societies, politics and the distribution of power in the world, COVID-19 is on track to be the Great Accelerator.’

1. Eurozone existential crisis: ‘To put it crudely, Italians will not work as productively as Germans, and Germans will not agree to pay off the debts of Italians.’ 
2. Trans-Pacific tensions: ‘...the process of “deglobalisation” - more of what we consume being made closer to home, even if it is more expensive - will accelerate.
3. Greater rise of the Asian tigers: ‘[Asia] was already going to account for 90 per cent of new middle-class people in the next decade. Perhaps we can revise that up to 95 per cent now.’
4. Oil price volatility: ‘Countries dependent on oil production already faced forecasts that petroleum demand would peak and fall before 2030.’ We have in recent days seen negative oil prices.
5. Politics of inequality: ‘It will push to the forefront of politics fundamental issues about the taxation of wealth, the case for basic incomes provided by governments, and the responsibility of companies for their employees.’
6. Debts: ‘Political parties will campaign for debt forgiveness and write-offs, and for the cancelling by central banks of money borrowed by governments, with inflationary consequences.’
7. Data: ‘Once we are all carrying around an app on our phones to show where we have been and who we have met, pressure will grow to use that information for other purposes.’
8. Crisis as the mother of innovation: ‘More optimistically, they have one positive companion - the massive incentive this crisis provides for innovation’

Read here (The Age, April 21, 2020)

When Americans go back to work, things won't be the same... and what can be done

‘Modern manufacturing plants are very capital-intensive enterprises with a lower population density. And a typical factory is used to putting a premium on controlled work processes that are safety-driven. Many could open now.’

‘For the record, Caulkins thinks restaurants should stay open, too. But, with more creativity and flexibility from governments, he sees a pathway for millions of additional workers to soon join cooks and cashiers back at work with even greater safety than we have today. Even furniture and electronics stores are potential candidates.’

Read here (Futurity, April 20, 2020)

Watch a video on making surgical masks as safe as N95 masks: Towards Surgical Mask Brace 2.0, a scalable, open source design by ex-Apple engineers

Why adapt surgical masks?

• ‘Safety: Surgical masks have a government standard that regulates their filtration efficiency. They are regulated to meet ASTM standard F2100 which guarantees filtering 95% or more of COVID-19 sized particles.
• ‘Accessible: Surgical masks are faster to manufacture and more readily available. Currently, of the 200 million masks China makes a day, only 600,000 are N95 standard masks. That means surgical masks can be made more than 300x faster than N95’s.’

Watch here (fixthemask.com, undated)

How rituals and focus can turn isolation into a time for growth

‘Joan and I banished the feeling that we had fallen into limbo by reconstructing our daily activities. By celebrating shared experiences and intensifying attention to mundane tasks, we filled those moments with passion and awareness. Exercise, cooking, eating, reading, work and even watching the news became more deliberate components of our daily ritual, giving us happy moments to look forward to, creating a mood of anticipation rather than paralysis. In a time of randomness and uncertainty, it made us feel proactive instead of reactive.’

Read here (Wall Street Journal, April 9, 2020)

Ray Dalio discusses depression economics and what to expect

Ray Dalio, "Global Macro Investor", philanthropist and founder of the world's largest hedge fund, understands deeply the inner workings of the world economy. In this 52-minute interview with Corey Hajim and Chris Anderson of TED, he mentions the following:

1. The world is going through a massive stress test, akin to the 1930s, when there would be widespread economic collapse, money printing and subsequent restructuring. Wealth will be redistributed but the levers of power will decide how it would be (within nations and internationally). This will cause a lot of friction, even wars.
2. Even today, there is demonisation of "others" even if they are being helpful. For example, while China is helping many countries, anyone holding such views can be ostracised in the US.
3. It is an opportunity to reform capitalism to create more equal opportunities, greater harmony, more innovation and more productivity via universal education.
4. Companies that win will be those that provide basic needs and those that are adaptive and creative. Algorithmic thinking, especially in investment, will give way to more human interventions and creative input.
5. For the individual investor, he calls for humility and diversification, and not to try to time the market. Cash, he stresses, is not good investment.

View here (TED, April 9, 2020)