Culture

Despite increasing concern over the intrusion of algorithms in daily life, people may be more willing to trust a computer program than their fellow humans, especially if a task becomes too challenging, according to new research from data scientists at the University of Georgia.

From choosing the next song on your playlist to choosing the right size pants, people are relying more on the advice of algorithms to help make everyday decisions and streamline their lives.

"Algorithms are able to do a huge number of tasks, and the number of tasks that they are able to do is expanding practically every day," said Eric Bogert, a Ph.D. student in the Terry College of Business Department of Management Information Systems. "It seems like there's a bias towards leaning more heavily on algorithms as a task gets harder and that effect is stronger than the bias towards relying on advice from other people."

Bogert worked with management information systems professor Rick Watson and assistant professor Aaron Schecter on the paper, "Humans rely more on algorithms than social influence as a task becomes more difficult," which was published April 13 in Nature's Scientific Reports journal.

Their study, which involved 1,500 individuals evaluating photographs, is part of a larger body of work analyzing how and when people work with algorithms to process information and make decisions.

For this study, the team asked volunteers to count the number of people in a photograph of a crowd and supplied suggestions that were generated by a group of other people and suggestions generated by an algorithm.

As the number of people in the photograph expanded, counting became more difficult and people were more likely to follow the suggestion generated by an algorithm rather than count themselves¬ or follow the "wisdom of the crowd," Schecter said.

Schecter explained that the choice of counting as the trial task was an important one because the number of people in the photo makes the task objectively harder as it increases. It also is the type of task that laypeople expect computers to be good at.

"This is a task that people perceive that a computer will be good at, even though it might be more subject to bias than counting objects," Schecter said. "One of the common problems with AI is when it is used for awarding credit or approving someone for loans. While that is a subjective decision, there are a lot of numbers in there -- like income and credit score -- so people feel like this is a good job for an algorithm. But we know that dependence leads to discriminatory practices in many cases because of social factors that aren't considered."

Facial recognition and hiring algorithms have come under scrutiny in recent years as well because their use has revealed cultural biases in the way they were built, which can cause inaccuracies when matching faces to identities or screening for qualified job candidates, Schecter said.

Those biases may not be present in a simple task like counting, but their presence in other trusted algorithms is a reason why it's important to understand how people rely on algorithms when making decisions, he added.

This study was part of Schecter's larger research program into human-machine collaboration, which is funded by a $300,000 grant from the U.S. Army Research Office.

"The eventual goal is to look at groups of humans and machines making decisions and find how we can get them to trust each other and how that changes their behavior," Schecter said. "Because there's very little research in that setting, we're starting with the fundamentals."

Schecter, Watson and Bogert are currently studying how people rely on algorithms when making creative judgments and moral judgments, like writing descriptive passages and setting bail of prisoners.

An observational study of patients in London hospitals suggests that the B.1.1.7. variant is not associated with more severe illness and death, but appears to lead to higher viral load, consistent with emerging evidence that this lineage is more transmissible than the original COVID-19 strain.

A separate observational study using data logged by 37,000 UK users of a self-reporting COVID-19 symptom app found no evidence that B.1.1.7. altered symptoms or likelihood of experiencing long COVID.

Authors of both studies acknowledge that these findings differ from some other studies exploring the severity of the B.1.1.7. variant and call for more research and ongoing monitoring of COVID-19 variants.

Two new studies, published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases and The Lancet Public Health, found no evidence that people with the B.1.1.7. variant experience worse symptoms or a heightened risk of developing long COVID compared with those infected with a different COVID-19 strain. However, viral load and R number were higher for B.1.1.7., adding to growing evidence that it is more transmissible than the first strain detected in Wuhan, China, in December 2019.

The emergence of variants has raised concerns that they could spread more easily and be more deadly, and that vaccines developed based on the original strain might be less effective against them. Preliminary data on B.1.1.7. indicates that it is more transmissible, with some evidence suggesting it could also be associated with increased hospitalisations and deaths. However, because the variant was identified only recently, these studies were limited by the amount of data available.

Findings from the new studies, which spanned the period between September and December 2020, when B.1.1.7. emerged and began to spread across parts of England, provide important insights into its characteristics that will help inform public health, clinical, and research responses to this and other COVID-19 variants.

Increased viral load but no association with increased severity and death

The Article in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal is a whole-genome sequencing and cohort study involving COVID-19 patients admitted to University College London Hospital and North Middlesex University Hospital, UK, between November 9 and December 20, 2020. This was a critical time point when both the original and B.1.1.7. variants were circulating in London, the vaccination programme was just starting, and before a significant surge in cases in early 2021 caused a strain on the NHS.

The authors compared illness severity in people with and without B.1.1.7 and calculated viral load. Among 341 patients who had their COVID-19 test swabs sequenced, 58% (198/341) had B.1.1.7 and 42% (143/341) had a non-B.1.1.7. infection (two patients' data were excluded from further analysis). No evidence of an association between the variant and increased disease severity was detected, with 36% (72/198) of B.1.1.7. patients becoming severely ill or dying, compared with 38% (53/141) of those with a non-B.1.1.7 strain.

Patients with the variant tended to be younger, with 55% (109/198) of infections in people under 60 compared with 40% (57/141) for those who did not have B.1.1.7. Infections with B.1.1.7. occurred more frequently in ethnic minority groups, accounting for 50% (86/172) of cases that included ethnicity data, compared with 29% (35/120) for non-B.1.1.7 strains.

In a regression analysis that included 289 patients, those with B.1.1.7 were no more likely to experience severe disease after accounting for hospital, sex, age, ethnicity, and underlying conditions.

Those with B.1.1.7. were no more likely to die than patients with a different strain, with 16% (31/198) of B.1.1.7. patients dying within 28 days compared with 17% (24/141) for those with a non-B.1.1.7. infection.

More patients with B.1.1.7 were given oxygen by mask or nasal cannula than those with a non-B.1.1.7. strain (44%, 88/198 vs 30%, 42/141, respectively). However, the authors say this is not a clear measure of disease severity, as patients may have received nasal prong oxygen for reasons unrelated to COVID-19, or as a consequence of underlying conditions.

To gain insights into the transmissibility of B.1.1.7., the authors used data generated by PCR testing of patient swabs to predict their viral load - the amount of virus in a person's nose and throat. The data analysed - known as PCR Ct values and genomic read depth - indicated that B.1.1.7. samples tended to contain greater quantities of virus than non-B.1.1.7. swabs.

Dr Eleni Nastouli, from University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, UK, said: "One of the real strengths of our study is that it ran at the same time that B.1.1.7. was emerging and spreading throughout London and the south of England. Analysing the variant before the peak of hospital admissions and any associated strains on the health service gave us a crucial window of time to gain vital insights into how B.1.1.7. differs in severity or death in hospitalised patients from the strain of the first wave. Our study is the first in the UK to utilise whole-genome sequencing data generated in real-time and embedded in an NHS clinical service and integrated granular clinical data.

"We hope that this study provides an example of how such studies can be done for the benefit of patients throughout the NHS. As more variants continue to emerge, using this approach could help us better understand their key characteristics and any additional challenges that they may pose to public health." [1]

The authors acknowledge some limitations to their study. Disease severity was captured within 14 days of a positive COVID-19 test, so patients who may have deteriorated after 14 days may have been missed in the analysis, though the authors sought to mitigate this by capturing deaths at 28 days. The analyses also did not take account of any other treatments that patients were receiving - such as steroids, antiviral medications, or convalescent plasma - or the possibility that some patients may have received ventilation for reasons other than COVID-19.

Writing in a linked comment, Sean Wei Xiang Ong, Barnaby Edward Young, and David Chien Lye, from the National Centre for Infectious Diseases, Singapore, who were not involved in the study, said, "[The authors'] observation that B.1.1.7 infections were associated with increased viral loads corroborates findings from two other studies and provides a mechanistic hypothesis that increased transmissibility is via increased respiratory shedding. Yet, disease severity and clinical outcomes between patients with B.1.1.7 and non-B.1.1.7 infections were similar after adjusting for differences in age, sex, ethnicity, and comorbidities. Importantly, this study was done from Nov 9 to Dec 20, 2020, before the late- December peak in UK COVID-19 infections, avoiding any confounding effect of the availability of health-care resources on mortality. This finding is in contrast with three studies that reported increased mortality associated with lineage B.1.1.7."

They continue, "Thus, although limited by a much smaller dataset, the study by Frampton and colleagues has important advantages over the three community studies. These advantages include the use of whole-genome sequencing, recruitment of hospitalised patients, and a population reflective of the spectrum of severity in whom increased virulence will have the greatest effect on outcomes. The finding that lineage B.1.1.7 infection did not confer increased risk of severe disease and mortality in this high-risk cohort is reassuring but requires further confirmation in larger studies."

Effective Control Measures

The Article in The Lancet Public Health journal is an ecological study that analysed self-reported data from 36,920 UK users of the COVID Symptom Study app who tested positive for COVID-19 between 28 September and 27 December 2020.

Test results and symptom reports submitted through the app were combined with surveillance data from the COVID-19 UK Genetics Consortium and Public Health England to examine associations between the regional proportion of B.1.1.7. infections and symptoms, disease duration, reinfection rates, and transmissibility.

The analysis covered 13 full weeks over the period when the proportion of B.1.1.7. grew most notably in London, South East and East of England. Users were included in a week if they had reported a positive test during the 14 days before or after that week. For each week in every region in the analysis (Scotland, Wales, and the seven NHS England regions), authors calculated the proportion of users reporting any of 14 COVID-19 symptoms.

Dr Claire Steves, Reader and Honorary Consultant Physician, King's College London, UK, who co-led the study, said "We could only do this by aggregating two large sources of data: the extensive genetic sequencing of viral strains performed in the UK, and symptom and testing logs from millions of users on the COVID-symptom Study App. Thanks to them, we confirmed the increased transmissibility but also showed that B.1.1.7. clearly responded to lockdown measures and doesn't appear to escape immunity gained by exposure to the original virus. If further new variants emerge, we will be scanning for changes in symptom reporting and reinfection rates, and sharing this information with health policymakers."

For each region and symptom, a linear regression was done to examine the association between the proportion of B.1.1.7. in that region and the proportion of users reporting the symptom during the study period. The analysis adjusted for age, sex, and seasonal factors (regional temperature and humidity) that could affect reporting of some symptoms.

The analysis revealed no statistically significant associations between the proportion of B.1.1.7. within regions and the type of symptoms people experienced. There was also no evidence of any change in the total number of symptoms experienced by people with B.1.1.7: in the South East region, which experienced the earliest rise in B.1.1.7, the correlation coefficient was -0.021. The proportion of people who experienced long COVID (here defined as symptoms persisting for more than 28 days without a break of more than 7 days) was also not altered by B.1.1.7., with a correlation coefficient of -0.003.

The reinfection rate was low, with 0.7% (249/36,509) of those who reported a positive test before October 1, 2020, testing positive again more than 90 days later. The analysis found no evidence that reinfection rate was altered by B.1.1.7: for all regions except Scotland (where less data was available due to fewer users of the app), reinfections were more positively correlated with the overall regional rise in cases than the regional rise in the proportion of B.1.1.7. infections. No difference in reinfection rates was reported across study regions.

However, the authors found that B.1.1.7. increased the overall reproduction number, or R number, by 1.35 times compared with the original strain. This estimate is similar to those from other studies investigating the variant's transmissibility. Despite this increase, the analysis indicates that the R number was below 1 - indicating falling transmission - during local and national lockdowns, even in the three regions (London, South East, and East of England) with the highest proportions of B.1.1.7., which accounted for 80% of infections.

Dr Mark Graham, from King's College London, UK, said: "The wealth of data captured by the COVID Symptom Study app provided a unique opportunity to look for potential changes in symptoms and length of illness associated with the B.1.1.7. variant. Reassuringly, our findings suggest that, despite being more easily spread, the variant does not alter the type or duration of symptoms experienced and we believe current vaccines and public health measures are likely to remain effective against it." [1]

The authors acknowledge some limitations to their study. It was not possible to assess causal effects of B.1.1.7. due to the lack of information on the disease strain of individual positive cases reported through the app. Users may also have made errors when inputting their information through the app. People who sign up to the app are likely to be more interested in health and COVID-19 than the wider population and may exhibit different behaviour to other members of the population.

Writing in a linked comment, Dr Britta Jewell, from Imperial College London, UK, who was not involved in the study, said: "This study adds to the consensus that B.1.1.7 has increased transmissibility, which has contributed in large part to the sharp rise in cases in the UK over the study period and beyond, as well as ongoing third waves in European countries with growing burdens of B.1.1.7 cases. However, Graham and colleagues reach somewhat different conclusions about differences in symptoms than those of the UK Office for National Statistics, which reported that a higher proportion of individuals who tested positive for the B.1.1.7 variant had at least one symptom compared with those without the variant...Graham and colleagues acknowledge the limitations of using self-reported digital data for this type of analysis, including the inherent selection bias of app-based data, which could cause confounding that might explain some of the differences in findings.

However, Jewell continues: "The data suggest that, despite important changes in transmissibility and mortality, B.1.1.7 is similar enough to non-VOC lineages for current testing infrastructure and symptom profiles to identify new cases. Additionally, existing non-pharmaceutical interventions can reduce the Rt of B.1.1.7 to below 1, given adequate governmental planning. Fortunately, B.1.1.7 also appears to be quite effectively combatted by existing vaccines."

It has been long been known that cannabis users develop psychosis more often than non-users, but what is still not fully clear is whether cannabis actually causes psychosis and, if so, who is most at risk. A new study published in Translational Psychiatry by researchers at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and King's College London helps shed light on both questions. The research shows that while cannabis users had higher rates of psychotic experiences than non-users across the board, the difference was especially pronounced among those with high genetic predisposition to schizophrenia.

"These results are significant because they're the first evidence we've seen that people genetically prone to psychosis might be disproportionately affected by cannabis," said lead author Dr. Michael Wainberg, Scientist the Krembil Centre for Neuroinformatics at CAMH. "And because genetic risk scoring is still in its early days, the true influence of genetics on the cannabis-psychosis relationship may be even greater than what we found here."

Using data from the UK Biobank, a large-scale biomedical database containing participants' in-depth genetic and health information, the authors analyzed the relationship between genetics, cannabis use and psychotic experiences across more than 100,000 people. Each person reported their frequency of past cannabis use, and whether they had ever had various types of psychotic experiences, such as auditory or visual hallucinations. The researchers also scored each person's genetic risk for schizophrenia, by looking at which of their DNA mutations were more common among schizophrenia patients than among the general population.

Overall, people who had used cannabis were 50 per cent more likely to report psychotic experiences than people who had not. However, this increase was not uniform across the study group: among the fifth of participants with the highest genetic risk scores for schizophrenia, it was 60 per cent, and among the fifth with the lowest scores, it was only 40 per cent. In other words, people genetically predisposed to schizophrenia were at disproportionately higher risk for psychotic experiences if they also had a history of cannabis use.

Notably, because much less is known about the genetics of schizophrenia in non-white populations, the study's analysis was limited to self-reported white participants. "This study, while limited in scope, is an important step forward in understanding how cannabis use and genetics may interact to influence psychosis risk," added senior author Dr. Shreejoy Tripathy, Independent Scientist at the Krembil Centre for Neuroinformatics, who supervised the study. "The more we know about the connection between cannabis and psychosis, the more we can inform the public about the potential risks of using this substance. This research offers a window into a future where genetics can help empower individuals to make more informed decisions about drug use."

The "three-body problem," the term coined for predicting the motion of three gravitating bodies in space, is essential for understanding a variety of astrophysical processes as well as a large class of mechanical problems, and has occupied some of the world's best physicists, astronomers and mathematicians for over three centuries. Their attempts have led to the discovery of several important fields of science; yet its solution remained a mystery.

At the end of the 17th century, Sir Isaac Newton succeeded in explaining the motion of the planets around the sun through a law of universal gravitation. He also sought to explain the motion of the moon. Since both the earth and the sun determine the motion of the moon, Newton became interested in the problem of predicting the motion of three bodies moving in space under the influence of their mutual gravitational attraction (see attached illustration), a problem that later became known as "the three-body problem".

However, unlike the two-body problem, Newton was unable to obtain a general mathematical solution for it. Indeed, the three-body problem proved easy to define, yet difficult to solve.

New research, led by Professor Barak Kol at Hebrew University of Jerusalem's Racah Institute of Physics, adds a step to this scientific journey that began with Newton, touching on the limits of scientific prediction and the role of chaos in it.

The theoretical study presents a novel and exact reduction of the problem, enabled by a re-examination of the basic concepts that underlie previous theories. It allows for a precise prediction of the probability for each of the three bodies to escape the system.

Following Newton and two centuries of fruitful research in the field including by Euler, Lagrange and Jacobi, by the late 19th century the mathematician Poincare discovered that the problem exhibits extreme sensitivity to the bodies' initial positions and velocities. This sensitivity, which later became known as chaos, has far-reaching implications - it indicates that there is no deterministic solution in closed-form to the three-body problem.

In the 20th century, the development of computers made it possible to re-examine the problem with the help of computerized simulations of the bodies' motion. The simulations showed that under some general assumptions, a three-body system experiences periods of chaotic, or random, motion alternating with periods of regular motion, until finally the system disintegrates into a pair of bodies orbiting their common center of mass and a third one moving away, or escaping, from them.

The chaotic nature implies that not only is a closed-form solution impossible, but also computer simulations cannot provide specific and reliable long-term predictions. However, the availability of large sets of simulations led in 1976 to the idea of seeking a statistical prediction of the system, and in particular, predicting the escape probability of each of the three bodies. In this sense, the original goal, to find a deterministic solution, was found to be wrong, and it was recognized that the right goal is to find a statistical solution.

Determining the statistical solution has proven to be no easy task due to three features of this problem: the system presents chaotic motion that alternates with regular motion; it is unbounded and susceptible to disintegration. A year ago, Racah's Dr. Nicholas Stone and his colleagues used a new method of calculation and, for the first time, achieved a closed mathematical expression for the statistical solution. However, this method, like all its predecessor statistical approaches, rests on certain assumptions. Inspired by these results, Kol initiated a re-examination of these assumptions.

The infinite unbounded range of the gravitational force suggests the appearance of infinite probabilities through the so-called infinite phase-space volume. To avoid this pathology, and for other reasons, all previous attempts postulated a somewhat arbitrary "strong interaction region", and accounted only for configurations within it in the calculation of probabilities.

The new study, recently published in the scientific journal Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy, focuses on the outgoing flux of phase-volume, rather than the phase-volume itself. Since the flux is finite even when the volume is infinite, this flux-based approach avoids the artificial problem of infinite probabilities, without ever introducing the artificial strong interaction region.

The flux-based theory predicts the escape probabilities of each body, under a certain assumption. The predictions are different from all previous frameworks, and Prof. Kol emphasizes that "tests by millions of computer simulations shows strong agreement between theory and simulation." The simulations were carried out in collaboration with Viraj Manwadkar from the University of Chicago, Alessandro Trani from the Okinawa Institute in Japan, and Nathan Leigh from University of Concepcion in Chile. This agreement proves that understanding the system requires a paradigm shift and that the new conceptual basis describes the system well. It turns out, then, that even for the foundations of such an old problem, innovation is possible.

The implications of this study are wide-ranging and is expected to influence both the solution of a variety of astrophysical problems and the understanding of an entire class of problems in mechanics. In astrophysics, it may have application to the mechanism that creates pairs of compact bodies that are the source of gravitational waves, as well as to deepen the understanding of the dynamics within star clusters. In mechanics, the three-body problem is a prototype for a variety of chaotic problems, so progress in it is likely to reflect on additional problems in this important class.

With 'Eyecam' they now present the prototype of a webcam that not only looks like a human eye, but imitates its movements realistically. "The goal of our project is not to develop a 'better' design for cameras, but to spark a discussion. We want to draw attention to the fact that we are surrounded by sensing devices every day. That raises the question of how that affects us," says Marc Teyssier. In 2020, the French scientist completed his doctorate on the topic of anthropomorphic design in Paris. Now he is a postdoctoral researcher in the Human-Computer Interaction Lab at Saarland University in Germany.

The research team at Saarland Informatics Campus has developed a webcam that not only looks like a human eye, but also realistically imitates unconscious eye movements such as blinking or raising the eyebrow. "With 'Eyecam' we are exploring the question of whether a technical device should reflect its function in its design," adds computer scientist Marion Koelle, who did her doctorate on the social acceptance of body-worn cameras. "There are different ways of seeing, all of which have their own unique connotations, such as observing, recognizing, watching, or even spying. Also, a camera designed as an eye can send nonverbal signals through facial expressions. This opens up a whole new layer of interaction that hasn't existed in technical devices before," Koelle adds.

"The research is part of a whole series of work within a large EU-funded project, the ERC Starting Grant 'InteractiveSkin'. Here we are researching how interfaces that have properties of the human body can improve the interaction between humans and computers," says lab director Professor Jürgen Steimle.

The researchers use the unique capabilities and optics of their new development to explore different facets of ubiquitous sensing. Already today, webcams are a potential privacy risk. 'Eyecam' exaggerates this aspect, acting as an observer by opening its eye and tracking the user with its gaze. Alternatively, the anthropomorphic camera could be used for self-reflection, with the artificial eye getting ever more tired and repeatedly falling shut as the user sits in front of the computer late at night. Or it could take on the role of a pet that is simply there, looking around from time to time and reacting with delight when its owner enters the room.

"Our application scenarios are fictional and are intended to encourage people to think about how we interact with technical devices today, but also in the future. What is special is that we can experience and recreate our imagined scenarios with the help of a physically existing prototype," says Marc Teyssier. To reach as many people as possible with their thought-provoking development, the group has published the blueprints for their device.

Almost all bacteria rely on the same emergency valves--protein channels that pop open under pressure, releasing a deluge of cell contents. It is a last-ditch effort, a failsafe that prevents bacteria from exploding and dying when stretched to the limit. If we understood how those protein channels worked, antibiotic drugs could be designed to open them on demand, draining a bacterium of its nutrients by exploiting a floodgate common to many species. 

But these channels are tricky to operate in the lab. And how precisely they open and close, passing through a sub-conducting state and ending in a desensitized state under the influence of mechanical forces, remains poorly understood. Now, new research from the laboratory of Rockefeller's Thomas Walz introduces a novel method to activate and visualize these channels, making it possible to explain their function. The findings shed light on key membrane proteins in bacteria, and the same method can be used to improve our understanding of similar channels in humans. 

"We were actually able to see the entire cycle of the protein channel passing through a series of functional stages," Walz says.  

Walz has long focused upon MscS, a protein embedded in bacterial membranes that opens in response to mechanical force. MscS proteins exist in a closed state while resting in a thick membrane. Scientists once suspected that, when fluid build-up causes the cell to swell and puts tension on the membrane, it stretches so thin that its proteins protrude. Thrust into an unfamiliar environment, the protein channels snap open, releasing the contents of the cell and relieving pressure until the membrane returns to its original thickness and its channels slam shut. 

But when Yixiao Zhang, a postdoctoral associate in the Walz group, tested this theory over five years ago, reconstituting MscS proteins into small custom-designed membrane patches, he discovered that it was impossible to prise the channel open by thinning membranes within the natural range. "We realized that membrane thinning is not how these channels open," Walz says. 

These custom patches, called nanodiscs, allow researchers to study proteins in an essentially native membrane environment and to visualize them with cryo-electron microscopy. Walz and Zhang resolved to push the limits of nanodisc technology, removing membrane lipids with β-cyclodextrin, a chemical used to excise cholesterol from cell cultures. This induced tension in the membrane, and Walz and his team could observe with cryo-electron microscopy as the channel reacted accordingly--eventually snapping closed for good, a phenomenon known as desensitization.  

What they observed matched computer simulations, and a new model for the function of MscS emerged. When fluid builds up inside the cell, they found, lipids are called in from all corners to help ease tension throughout the membrane. If the situation becomes dire, even lipids associated with the MscS channels flee. Without lipids keeping them closed, the channels have the legroom to pop open. 

"We could see that, when you expose the membranes to β-cyclodextrin, the channels open and then close again," Walz says.  

Walz and Zhang's new method of manipulating nanodiscs with β-cyclodextrin will allow researchers studying dozens of similar mechanosensitive protein channels to, at long last, test their hypotheses in the lab. Many such proteins play key roles in humans, from hearing and sense of touch to the regulation of blood pressure. Of more immediate interest, however, is the prospect of exploiting protein channels that many different bacteria rely upon to survive. Novel drug targets are a particular necessity, given the rise of dangerous antibiotic resistant bacteria such as MRSA.  

MscS and the related bacterial protein channel MscL are "extremely interesting drug targets," Walz says. "Almost every bacterium has one of these proteins. Because these channels are so widely distributed, a drug that targets MscS or MscL could become a broad-spectrum antibiotic."  

A study done in rooms where COVID-19 patients were isolated shows that the virus's RNA - part of the genetic material inside a virus - can persist up to a month in dust.

The study did not evaluate whether dust can transmit the virus to humans. It could, however, offer another option for monitoring COVID-19 outbreaks in specific buildings, including nursing homes, offices or schools.

Karen Dannemiller, senior author of the study, has experience studying dust and its relationship to potential hazards like mold and microbes.

"When the pandemic started, we really wanted to find a way that we could help contribute knowledge that might help mitigate this crisis," said Dannemiller, assistant professor of civil, environmental and geodetic engineering and environmental health sciences at The Ohio State University.

"And we've spent so much time studying dust and flooring that we knew how to test it."

The study, published today (April 13, 2021) in the journal mSystems, found some of the genetic material at the heart of the virus persists in dust, even though it is likely that the envelope around the virus may break down over time in dust. The envelope - the crown-like spiked sphere that contains the virus's material - plays an important role in the virus's transmission to humans.

The study offers another non-invasive avenue for monitoring buildings for COVID-19 outbreaks, especially as more people are vaccinated and return to communal spaces.

Municipalities and others have tested wastewater to evaluate the prevalence of COVID-19 in a given community - gene copies and fragments of the virus live in human waste, and by testing wastewater, local governments and others can determine how widespread the virus might be, even if people are asymptomatic.

Dust monitoring could offer similar understanding on a smaller scale - say, a specific nursing home, hospital or school.

"In nursing homes, for example, you're still going to need to know how COVID is spreading inside the building," said Nicole Renninger, lead author of the paper and an engineering graduate student in Dannemiller's lab. "For surveillance purposes, you need to know if you are picking up an outbreak that's going on right now."

For this study, the research team worked with the crews responsible for cleaning the rooms at Ohio State where students who tested positive for COVID-19 were isolated. They also collected samples from two homes where people who tested positive for COVID-19 lived. They gathered vacuum bags of dust from the cleaning crews and from the homes.

The researchers also tested swabs collected from surfaces in the rooms.

They found genetic material from the SARS-CoV-2 virus - the virus that causes COVID-19 - in 97% of the bulk dust samples and in 55% of the surface swabs.

The cleaning crews sprayed a chlorine-based disinfectant in the rooms prior to cleaning; the researchers believe that disinfectant destroyed the envelope and/or capsid - the outer coat surrounding the virus - likely defanging it for transmission.

The research team tested the samples when they arrived at the lab, shortly after the rooms were cleaned, then tested the samples again weekly. After four weeks, the virus's RNA did not significantly decay in the vacuum bags.

"We weren't sure that the genetic material would survive - there are many different organisms in dust, and we weren't sure we'd see any viral RNA at all," Renninger said. "And we were surprised when we found that the actual RNA itself seems to be lasting a pretty long time."

Testing dust to monitor for COVID-19 outbreaks would likely be most useful for smaller-scale communities with a high-risk population - a nursing home, for example, Dannemiller said. Testing indoor dust is also likely less expensive at that scale than testing wastewater or all individuals directly on a routine basis.

"We wanted to demonstrate that dust could be complementary to wastewater for surveillance," Dannemiller said. "Wastewater is great for a large population, but not everybody sheds the virus in feces, and you have to collect wastewater samples, which not everyone wants to do. People are already vacuuming these rooms, so dust may be a good option for some groups."

Even before this study was published, Dannemiller said the researchers presented their findings to an industry group that represents maintenance and cleaning staff, with a recommendation: "If they can wait at least an hour or more after a person leaves the room to clean, they should," she said, citing previous studies of viral viability on other materials and in aerosols.

WHAT:

Many people who have COVID-19 make a full recovery and return to their baseline state of health; however, some people have symptoms or other sequelae weeks or months after initial SARS-CoV-2 infection. These heterogeneous symptoms were the subject of the virtual "Workshop on Post-acute Sequelae of COVID-19" hosted on Dec. 2 and 4, 2020, by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), in collaboration with other institutes and centers of the National Institutes of Health. A paper published recently in Annals of Internal Medicine describes the workshop. Over 1,200 registered participants including researchers, clinicians, and affected community members discussed what is known about sequelae after COVID-19 and the knowledge gaps that need to be addressed in future research.

The constellation of symptoms and other effects experienced by those who do not return to their baseline state of health after COVID-19 has been referred to by many names, including post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC), and long or long-haul COVID. Symptoms can be wide-ranging in severity and duration, and may affect numerous organ systems. Reported symptoms include severe fatigue, cognitive dysfunction, and shortness of breath, as well as psychological symptoms, such as anxiety and depression. Longer term effects of COVID-19 have been reported in all age groups and demographics and in persons with asymptomatic, mild, or severe initial COVID-19 illness. If only a small fraction of SARS-CoV-2 infections lead to longer term effects, the global burden of disease will be significant.

In addition to reviewing existing data the workshop presenters identified important knowledge gaps. Notably, the epidemiology is not fully characterized, and it will need to be expanded in order to identify and help vulnerable groups of people. The full clinical spectrum of post-acute COVID-19 is not yet known, nor the reasons why the symptoms manifest so differently in individuals. Underlying pathophysiology is not determined and may be due to SARS-CoV-2 itself, or the immune response to infection.

Since COVID-19 is a new disease, researchers are still documenting the spectrum of recovery and trying to understand the different outcomes patients may experience. People who do not return to their baseline state of health have diverse clinical conditions that will require individualized and multidisciplinary approaches to treatment.

Workshop discussions highlighted that longitudinal studies, ideally including systematic assessments of different organ systems, and including diverse populations, will be needed in order to properly characterize post-acute COVID-19. Careful study of the virus and the immune response to infection may help researchers understand how manifestations of post-acute COVID-19 arise. These research efforts will need to involve a collaboration among clinicians, researchers, advocacy groups and patient communities.

Researchers have identified molecular signatures of the aging process in mice, publishing their results today in the open-access eLife journal.

Their analyses provide one of the most comprehensive characterisations of the molecular signatures of aging across diverse types of cells from different tissues in a mammal, and will aid future studies on aging and related topics.

Aging leads to the decline of major organs and is the main risk factor for many diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. While previous studies have highlighted different hallmarks of the aging process, the underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms remain unclear.

To gain a better understanding of these mechanisms, the Tabula Muris Consortium created the single-cell transcriptomic dataset, called Tabula Muris Senis (TMS). The TMS contains over 300,000 annotated cells from 23 tissues and organs of male and female mice. "These cells were collected from mice of diverse ages, making the data a tremendous opportunity to study the genetic basis of aging across different tissues and cell types," says first author Martin Jinye Zhang, Postdoctoral Researcher in the Department of Epidemiology, Harvard University, Boston, US.

The original TMS study* mainly explored the cell-centric effects of aging, aiming to characterise changes in the composition of cell types within different tissues. In the current gene-centric study, Zhang and colleagues focused on changes in gene expression that occur during the aging process across different cell types.

Using the TMS data, they identified aging-dependent genes in 76 cell types from 23 tissues. They then characterised the aging behaviours of these genes that were both shared among all cell types ('globally') and specific to different tissue cells.

"We found that the cell-centric and gene-centric perspectives of the previous and current studies are complementary, as gene expression can change within the same cell type during aging, even if the composition of cells in the tissue does not vary over time," explains co-senior author Angela Oliveira Pisco, Associate Director of Bioinformatics at the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, US. "The identification of many shared aging genes suggests that there is a coordinated global aging behaviour in mice."

The team then used this coordinated activity to develop a single-cell aging score based on the global aging genes. This new high-resolution aging score revealed that different tissue-cell types in the same animal can have a different aging status, shedding light on the diverse aging process across different types of cells.

"Taken together, our results provide a characterisation of aging genes across a wide range of tissue-cell types in the mouse," concludes senior author James Zou, Assistant Professor of Biomedical Data Science at Stanford University, Stanford, US, and a Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Investigator. "In addition to providing new biological insights on the aging process, this work serves as a comprehensive reference for researchers working in related fields."

A study carried out by the University of Granada indicates that smoking cannabis significantly alters key visual functions, such as visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, three-dimensional vision (stereopsis), the ability to focus, and glare sensitivity

Yet, more than 90% of users believe that using cannabis has no effect on their vision, or only a slight effect

A group of researchers from the Department of Optics of the University of Granada (UGR) has studied the effects of smoking cannabis on various visual parameters compared to the effect that the users themselves perceive the drug to have on their vision.

This study, led by Carolina Ortiz Herrera and Rosario González Anera, has been published in the journal Scientific Reports. Its main author, Sonia Ortiz Peregrina, explains that cannabis use is on the rise despite being an illegal drug. According to the national Survey on Alcohol, Drugs and Other Addictions in Spain 2019-2020, cannabis use nationally has increased since 2011, with 37% of Spanish adults having used this drug at some time. Approximately 10% consumed it in the last year.

In this study, which had the approval of the Human Research Ethics Committee of the UGR (ref. 921/CCEIH/2019), an exhaustive visual trial was conducted on 31 cannabis users, both when they had not consumed any substance in advance and also when they were under the effect of the drug. The researchers also studied the participants' perception of the visual effects of having consumed this drug.

The results showed that, following consumption, visual aspects such as visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, three-dimensional vision (stereopsis), the ability to focus, and glare sensitivity significantly worsened. Despite this, not all subjects reported a worsening of their vision after smoking cannabis. Indeed, 30% reported that their vision had not suffered at all, while 65% responded that it had worsened only slightly. The authors note that the visual parameter that could be most strongly linked to users' perception of the visual effect is contrast sensitivity.

The study found a negative effect on all of the visual parameters evaluated, with the effect of cannabis on some of the parameters being analysed for the first time in this research. These results, together with the lack of awareness that the participants presented about the visual impairment caused by smoking cannabis, indicate the need to carry out awareness-raising campaigns, as this visual deterioration can pose a danger when performing everyday tasks.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- For young athletes, the new normal on soccer fields and basketball courts means temperature checks before practice, wearing masks through games and a sparse in-person fan base.

But that hasn't kept children and teens from playing. Close to a fourth of parents say their child has participated in school, travel, or community sports during the fall or winter months, according to the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health at the University of Michigan.

And while the majority of parents give their child's sports organization high marks for communication about safety protocols, one in four rate their sports league as fair or poor for consistent enforcement of COVID-19 precautions.

"As kids return to playing sports, it's critical that teams and facilities enforce COVID guidelines to keep players, coaches and families as safe as possible and to reduce community spread," says poll co-director Sarah Clark, M.P.H.

"This is especially important as we have seen recent COVID-19 outbreaks among youth sports teams. While most families seem confident in their local organization's safety measures, our report suggests that ensuring compliance with COVID-19 protocols has also been challenging."

The nationally representative report comes just as health experts say team sports may be a big driver of youth COVID-19 cases. The nation's top infectious disease expert, Anthony Fauci, M.D., said this month that recent school cases have frequently been traced back to sports.

Local health departments in several states, including Florida and Minnesota, have also traced outbreaks back to youth sports. In Michigan, where COVID-19 cases have surged, experts attribute recent outbreaks among young people to extracurricular activities that involve kids spending long periods of time together, rather than classroom exposure. Socialization before and after sports events, including indoor, mask-less gatherings, may also be contributing to the spike in cases among young people.

The trends have led to many schools again putting a pause on sports seasons and returning to virtual learning.

Playing in a Pandemic

The Mott Poll report is based on responses from 1,630 parents of children ages 6-18 who were surveyed about youth sports participation between August 2020 and January 2021.

Sports participation was slightly higher for older children 12-18 years compared to younger children 6-11 years (25% vs 21%), the Mott Poll report finds. Among parents whose child did not participate in a sport, one in three parents said their child's sport was canceled, while one in four wouldn't allow their child to participate due to COVID-related safety concerns.

Overall, three in four parents felt their child's sports team mostly got it right when it came to resuming sports during COVID. Roughly equal numbers of parents felt officials were too strict versus too lenient (13% compared to 14%).

The majority of parents also gave excellent or good ratings to their child's school or sports league for clear communication, treating children fairly and listening to parent concerns about COVID-19.

Among parents whose child participated in one or more sports, more than 90 % say they received information from the school or sports league about masks and social distancing guidelines for players and spectators.

Four out of five parents also received information about when players should sit out of practice or games after being exposed to the virus and the same percent also felt informed on when a child could return to play after a COVID-19 diagnosis.

Rules on testing guidelines, however, were sometimes less clear, with only 59% of parents seeing communication regarding when players should get tested for COVID-19.

"Parents largely felt that sports officials successfully communicated about most of their new COVID-19 policies," Clark says.

"Communication was notably lower around COVID-19 testing. It's unclear if the lack of information was an oversight or if schools and leagues didn't have clear guidelines from public health officials."

"As more youth sports resume, our poll suggests that parents will need further direction on whether, when and where their child should get tested. This is particularly important as cases are rising among younger people."

When a child can return to sports activity after a case of COVID-19 is another key decision facing parents. When asked what they would likely do if their own child had COVID-19 during a sports season, 40% of parents would wait the number of days specified by team or league guidelines, while half would have their child cleared to play by a doctor. Five percent would base the decision on when the child felt well enough to play.

More parents of older than younger children would wait the specified number of days (46% vs 33%), and fewer parents of teens would have their child cleared by a doctor (44% vs 57%).

Experts say that return to play should be based on the severity of the infection, whether there's a pre-existing medical condition, and if the child is experiencing ongoing fatigue, fever, dizziness or chest pain.

"If parents rely solely on league guidelines to determine when it's safe for their child to return to sports activity, they may overlook signs that the child is not fully recovered. It's important that parents involve their child's doctor for specific guidance on resuming sports activity," Clark says.

In addition to school or league policies, parents should also reinforce common sense steps such as not sharing water bottles or food, and using hand sanitizer during breaks in activity, Clark says. They should also consider their own actions, such as maintaining social distance and wearing masks while attending games.

Players and families should also avoid indoor gatherings before and after sporting events, especially with unvaccinated groups.

"We know sports provide physical and social health benefits for children and teens and are a valuable part of many students' school experience," Clark says.

"Unlike many youth activities that have switched to a remote format to meet social distancing guidelines, sports can't go virtual. It's important that both sports officials and families closely adhere to guidelines that minimize the risk of COVID-19 transmission during practices and competitions."

Scientists found six sex chromosomes in the Odorrana swinhoana frog species endemic in Taiwan, giving new insights into how complex XY systems evolve.

The discovery was a surprise to the international research team led by Associate Professor Ikuo Miura of Hiroshima University's Amphibian Research Center. In 1980, the first reported instance of multiple sex chromosome systems in amphibians was found in the Taiwanese brown frog Raina narina -- a synonym for O. swinhoana -- which had a male-specific translocation between two chromosomes. Its sex chromosomes could be described as ?X1Y1X2Y2-?X1X1X2X2.

The finding suggested that translocation -- a chromosomal abnormality that happens when a chromosome breaks and its fragment fuses to another -- occurred between two potential sex-determining chromosomes. At that time, however, the identification of the chromosomes involved in the translocation was uncertain.

So when the researchers set out to precisely identify the chromosomes involved, they were expecting only one translocation and not three. The three male-specific translocations created a system of six sex chromosomes, ?X1Y1X2Y2X3Y3-?X1X1X2X2X3X3. Their findings were published in the journal Cells last March 16, 2021.

A first among vertebrates

Cases of multiple chromosomes in amphibians are rare and their karyotypes, or collection of chromosomes, are generally highly conserved with little rearrangement among species. A majority are also homomorphic with undifferentiated sex chromosomes, unlike mammals and birds which have heteromorphic XY and ZW sex-determination systems. So far, there are only 10 known cases of multiple sex chromosome systems in amphibians.

What's more, the research team uncovered that the potential sex-chromosomes involved in the translocations contained orthologs of the sex-determining genes in mammals, birds, and fishes. Orthologs are genes that evolved from an ancestral gene found in the shared ancestor of those species.

The researchers found the Dmrt1, the male determining gene in birds, and Amh, the male determining gene in fish and platypus, on the Y1 chromosome; the Sox3, the ancestral gene of SRY in therian mammals and the male determining gene in medaka fish, on the Y3 chromosome; and an unidentified sex-determining gene on the Y2 chromosome.

This is the first time that sex chromosomes containing orthologs of the sex-determining genes in mammals, birds, and fishes are found together in a vertebrate species.

Chance vs choice

Sex chromosomes evolve from an ordinary autosomal pair after acquiring a sex-determining gene. But the team has yet to figure out which of the three pairs is the original sex chromosome and which is the major sex-determining gene of the three candidates: Dmrt1, Amh, and Sox3.

Miura explained that up to now sex chromosome-autosome fusion has been documented as a chance occurrence.

"In fact, it was like that in this frog, too. The break and fusion of the chromosomes may have occurred by chance," he said.

But the researchers believe that the chromosome members involved in the fusions were selected non-randomly or inevitably chosen as they probably share a common genomic region.

"To be so, the three may share a common DNA sequence on each of them, which makes them closely localized to each other, and this makes it possible to join the simultaneously occurring breakages and translocations."

"This rare case suggests sex-specific, nonrandom translocations and thus provides a new viewpoint for the evolutionary meaning of the multiple sex chromosome system."

Miura said identifying the genomic sequence common to the potential sex chromosomes would improve understanding of the mechanisms of its evolution and turnover.

Niigata, Japan- New insights into the three-dimensional (3D) morphology of the human uterine endometrium could advance our understanding of the mechanisms of endometrial regeneration and fertilized egg implantation while clarifying the pathogenesis of menstrual disorders, infertility and endometrium-related diseases such as adenomyosis, endometriosis, endometrial hyperplasia and endometrial cancer.

The endometrial glands are comprised of complicated winding and branching structures, and conventional 2D imaging techniques have been unable to adequately assess their shape. This limitation has prevented elucidation of the mechanisms of endometrial regeneration during the menstrual cycle and the location of endometrial progenitor cells. Recent developments in 3D tissue-clearing imaging allowed researchers from Niigata University to explore the endometrial structure in greater depth.

The team, led by Prof. Takayuki Enomoto, Dr. Kosuke Yoshihara and Dr. Manako Yamaguchi of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata University, implemented an updated clear, unobstructed brain/body imaging cocktail and computational analysis (CUBIC) protocol with fluorescent microscopy to obtain 3D full thickness images of the human uterine endometrium. As expected, the 3D tissue analysis revealed unique morphologies that had not been previously detected by 2D histological observation. Human endometrial glands were discovered to form a complex plexus network in the stratum basalis referred to as the 'rhizome' structure. Named after the rhizomatous plant's stems, the rhizome describes the horizontally expanding plexus morphology of the basal glands. Furthermore, some glands share the rhizome and rise toward the luminal epithelium. Interestingly, these structural features were detected in all samples, regardless of age or menstrual cycle phase, which suggests they are basic components of the normal human endometrium.

After observing the normal structure of the uterine endometrium, the researchers expanded their analysis to clarify the 3D structure of adenomyotic lesions. Adenomyosis is a benign condition characterized by the atypical presence of endometrial glands and stroma within the myometrium, or the muscular walls of the uterus. Prior to this study, various hypotheses regarding the etiology of adenomyosis existed, including endometrial invasion, endometriotic invasion and de novo metaplasia. Reconstituted 3D images verified the endometrium breaches the myometrium, where these aberrant structures lengthen to form fine glands that intricately branch and extend along the large blood vessels of the uterus, analogous to an ant colony.

The human endometrium is a dynamic tissue that exerts morphological and functional changes on a monthly basis in response to ovarian hormones. This highly regenerative tissue is involved in menstruation and implantation of the fertilized egg, giving it a central role in women's reproductive health. Unfortunately, the regenerative nature of the endometrial glands can encourage the development and progression of 'endometrium-related diseases', such as adenomyosis, endometriosis, endometrial hyperplasia and endometrial cancer. The pathogenesis of endometrium-related conditions remains unclear, which has hindered the development of effective preventative measures and therapeutic strategies.

In their previous 2018 genomic study, the investigators sought to provide insight into the origins of endometriosis and elucidate associated molecular characteristics. They found that the genes most recurrently mutated in endometriosis-associated ovarian cancers were also frequently mutated in endometriotic epithelium, and, surprisingly, in normal uterine endometrial glands. These novel findings led to the hypothesis that clonal genomic alternations may change the structure of endometrial glands and increase susceptibility to endometrium-related diseases. Establishing the 3D morphology of normal uterine endometrium was therefore essential to testing this model and ultimately sparked this investigation.

As pointed out by principal investigator Prof. Enomoto "Our 3D imaging established the baseline for the 3D structure of human endometrial glands and adenomyotic lesions. These findings dynamically change the concept of human uterine endometrium."

While extensive research in the field of obstetrics and gynecology is required to identify the mechanisms of normal endometrium function and related diseases, this study can provide novel insight into the 2D shape of the human endometrial glands for the first time in nearly one hundred years along with the contemporary 3D model of the tissue. The potential application of this work is not lost on Prof. Enomoto "The 3D representation of the human endometrium will lead to a better understanding of the human endometrium in various fields, including histology, pathology, pathophysiology, reproduction and oncology."

A Korean research team succeeded in developing a technology generating various vibration using LED light signals. The technology allows various tactile sensations by area and reduction in size by considerably lowering the cost of light source, and these are expected to be applied to many industries including automobile and electronics.

The Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, or ETRI for short, announced that it succeeded in developing a technology to implement various vibrations using LED. This technology was widely recognized as published on the cover of the February 10 issue of ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces1), a leading scientific journal.

* Glossary description 1) ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, a scientific journal ranking among the top 14%; impact factor at 8.758 / on the supplementary cover.

Haptic technology refers to an interface that can create an experience of touch to the user. As applications of touch-screen devices and remotely controlled tasks have increased via smartphone, home appliance, medical equipment, and virtual game, demand for technology requiring accuracy and safety is also on the rise.

Representative applications using haptic technology include vibrations made on the smartphone and tablet screen. The currently commercialized technology offers vibrations felt on the entire device like a mono speaker. The user feels the consistently same vibration regardless of where he or she touches.

The technology realized by ETRI allows the user to experience varying tactile sensations by area where his/her finger touches. The technology is expected to be optimized for the environment where the user's fingers can feel varying textures of different products while shopping online.

At present, the vibration made on the smartphone or game pad is created by the movement of a pendulum attached to the motor. Drawbacks includes the inability to deliver delicate tactile sensations by part, since the consistently same vibration effect spreads to an entire device.

Another technology was recently developed to create vibrations using shock waves per momentary temperature change using laser; due to the price2) of the laser used for the technology at tens of thousands of USD, however, it is known to be difficult to reduce in size and commercialize.

* Glossary description 2) Nanosecond Pulse Laser: Laser radiates amplified light in pulse in nanosecond (one billionth of a second).

The research team at ETRI succeeded in developing a technology that transformed light signals at low outcome into vibration. This technology can allow productions of display screens making independent vibrations by part using multiple LEDs in small size, whose price range is 1/10,000 of the extremely expensive laser light source.

This technology is based on the principle that absorbs light energy and turns it into thermal energy. When the film coated with special photothermal layer3) is applied with light energy, the film goes through bending and restoration depending on the thermal expandability of the material as it is heated and cooled, creating vibration.

* Glossary description 3) PEDOT-Tos (Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-tosylate): A conductive polymer material efficiently absorbs near infrared light.

The research team utilized this technology to prove the possibility of making precise vibrations with a wide frequency bandwidth4) by creating a 3x3 LED sequence made of nine 1cm2 units. The team believes the size will be easily applied to a much larger area.

* Glossary description 4) "Frequency bandwidth" refers to the range that can control the vibration per second (Hz). Humans are known to react most sensitively to vibrations in the range of 100-200 Hz, gentle to high frequencies and rough to lower frequencies. The wider the range, the more varied the frequency can express vibration. Currently the new technology can express 125-300 Hz.

The latest trend in the automobile industry includes the use of one touch-screen integrated with various control functions including navigation, media, and mutual assistance systems in place of traditional operative devices, such as buttons or dials. Currently, feedback per touch input is simple; through this new technology, however, tactile sensations to turn a dial, press a button, slide and the like can be simultaneously added.

The technology offers durability in particular as it does not include an electric structure in the film for easy application to a thin and flexible display screen. As it can integrate well with the currently active field of flexible devices, it is expected to be applied to various researches.

The research team also expects to utilize the new technology as an alternative to supplement Braille by grafting it with information devices for the visually challenged. It plans to make an effort to commercialize the technology for automobiles, touch-screen devices, electronic displays, smartphones and more.

"The technology is expected to be used widely to support people who are vulnerable with information, such as the visually challenged, by practically applying the original technology designed to deliver information through tactile sensation," said Shin Hyung-cheol, head of the Human Enhancement & Assistive Technology Research Section at ETRI.

The research team is currently engaged in follow-up studies to create vibrations that are strong enough for users to feel the sensation by increasing the efficiency of light-to-vibration energy conversion and to reduce the consumption of electric energy.

This performance was part of the project titled "Research on the Original Technology of Human-centered Autonomous Intelligent Systems" supported by the Korean Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT). The research team at ETRI has published 10 academic theses and applied for 7 patents related to this technology.

People who trust television and Facebook to provide them with accurate news about the coronavirus pandemic are less knowledgeable about COVID-19, according to a new study, which assessed people's knowledge of the virus in the earliest stages of the pandemic.

The study, published today in the peer-reviewed journal Current Medical Research & Opinion, surveyed 5,948 adults in Pennsylvania between March 25-31, 2020, and found that those who rely on social media and tv for news are less likely to get the facts right about the coronavirus.

In fact, adults that used Facebook as an additional source of news in any way were less likely to answer COVID-19 questions correctly than those who did not.

"The rise of social media has changed the way people around the world keep up with current events, with studies showing that up to 66% of Americans rely on social media for news," says Dr Robert P. Lennon, associate professor of family and community medicine at Penn State College of Medicine, one of the authors of the paper.

"This is worrying, as misinformation and misunderstanding about COVID-19 and how it spreads is likely to have fuelled the pandemic, whose death toll now surpasses 2.5 million worldwide."

In early March 2020, the COVID-19 outbreak had become alarming enough that Lennon and other Penn State University researchers rapidly developed a survey to explore public knowledge, perceptions, and preferred information sources regarding COVID-19. Within hours of been told that they had been awarded funding, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, and two days later the President declared a National Emergency.

The survey was rapidly disseminated to 5,948 adults in Pennsylvania, offering insight into the public use of information in the midst of a national emergency. The respondents answered questions about where they got their news about coronavirus from, and which news sources they trusted most. They were then given 15 statements about COVID-19 and asked if they thought the statements were true or false, and how confident they were in their answer.

The questions covered knowledge across several domains - transmission, severity, treatment - and asked questions felt to be of easy, moderate and hard difficulty in each. As media coverage on COVID-19 escalated, developing knowledge questions became increasingly difficult - a nearly impossible question on Monday was by Thursday so easy it couldn't be used.

The results showed that the most trusted news sources were government websites (42.8%), followed by television (27.2%), and health system communications (9.3%).

There was a clear relationship between where people got their news from, and their knowledge of coronavirus. For example, participants who said that their most trusted source of information was government health websites were more likely to correctly answer COVID- 19 questions than other groups, while individuals whose most trusted source was television news were less likely to correctly answer COVID-19 questions than other groups. Respondents who selected "Facebook" as either their single most trusted source or as an additional information source were less likely to answer knowledge questions correctly.

The findings highlight the importance of considering where people get their news from when it comes to designing public health interventions. Guidance such as 'stay at home', 'wash your hands', 'wear a mask' and 'socially distance' are only effective if understood.

"Effective communication is a critical element of successfully managing a pandemic response, as for the disease spread to be contained, the public must comply with public health recommendations," says Lennon.

"The first step in compliance is an understanding of those recommendations, so it is vital that health communicators consider how the public get their information and monitor these venues to correct misinformation when it appears."