To help flatten the curve of Covid-19 cases, universities across the nation have closed, and many professors are scrambling to transition to teaching online. This sudden shift is easier for some, especially those that already have online content readily available. For others, especially those who teach science labs, this may seem impossible. Both of us…
We humans weren’t ready for the novel coronavirus—and neither were the machines. The pandemic has come at an awkward time, technologically speaking. Ever more sophisticated robots and AI are augmenting human workers, rather than replacing them entirely. While it would be nice if we could protect doctors and nurses by turning more tasks over to…
By now, you may have noticed a divide among your friends. As social distancing and self-imposed quarantine wear on and more workplaces urge employees to avoid the office, the Covid-19 outbreak has left many people more alone than they’ve been in a long time, or ever. Some are responding by hunkering down into cozy domesticity:…
Congress raised concerns this week that the ongoing Covid-19 crisis—and the resulting “critical fall-off in mail” volumes across the sheltering-in-place country—might bankrupt the United States Postal Service in a matter of weeks. “A halt in Postal Service operations could have grave consequences across the country,” two senior members of the House warned on Monday, saying…
If you’re stuck inside and your kids are climbing the walls, but you aren’t yet ready to let them watch Netflix from dawn to dusk, well, I don’t blame you. Here are some games that are sometimes called “edutaining.” Think of them as fun games that also teach something, but in a way your kids…
In these self-isolated days, silver linings are almost entirely obscured by clouds. Yet should the worst-case predictions of mass deaths and overwhelmed health care systems not come to pass, there’s a case to be made that the way the virus is spreading—in waves from Asia to Europe and to the US, rather than simultaneously everywhere—will…
An upside of being quarantined during a global pandemic is that your isolation doesn’t have to be so … lonely. Amid the chaos of the coronavirus, the magic of video conferencing technology (and, most popularly, Zoom) has allowed unprecedented numbers of people to connect virtually.But it’s not exactly second nature. There are all sorts of…
An anti-malaria medicine called hydroxychloroquine might be a rescue drug for Covid-19—or maybe not. Or another anti-inflammatory drug, such as tocilizumab, might dampen the deadliest effects of the coronavirus. For now, there’s a lot of hope—and a controversial plug from President Donald Trump—for existing medicines that could possibly work as Covid-19 treatments, but not much…
With supply chains globally reacting to the rapid spread of COVID-19, stock shortages of numerous goods are expected. If you’re been tempted by the recent release of Animal Crossing: New Horizons and planned on picking up a new Nintendo Switch, you might be out of luck already, as stock has become almost impossible to find.That…
More good news for everyone stuck at home during the pandemic. The second annual American Tabletop Awards were announced on Tuesday, and the committee has some excellent suggestions for you, your friends, and your family. Best of all, these aren’t niche titles that you had to order on Kickstarter three years ago to get copies…
