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Some clever use of algorithms to optimally aggregate COVID-19 tests to optimise for test shortages: pooled testing seems to be the keyword to search for. See also “multi-pooling” – https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.06.028431v1.full.pdf
(tags: pooling multipooling pooled-testing testing covid-19 algorithms pandemics)
Sure, the Velociraptors Are Still On the Loose, But That’s No Reason Not to Reopen Jurassic Park
And speaking of injuries, I want to take a moment to thank our Jurassic Park EMTs. They’re the real heroes here, am I right? In the process of responding to velociraptor attacks, many of our EMTs get mauled and dismembered by velociraptors themselves. That’s why, as a sign of appreciation, we will be repainting the Jurassic Park ambulance with the words “Hero Mobile” in big bubble letters. We think this is a far more meaningful token of gratitude than the salary increase they requested. I know many of you out there are going to be hesitant to return to Jurassic Park knowing there are still velociraptors roaming the preserve, but rest assured things will return to normal sooner rather than later. The life expectancy of a velociraptor is only 15-20 years, so we’re confident that these attacks will eventually run their course.
(tags: mcsweeneys funny satire covid-19 trump jurassic-park)
Global Progress on COVID-19 Serology-Based Testing
A comprehensive list of current serology-based COVID-19 tests, listing their phase of development, release date (if any), sensitivity and specificity (via This Week In Virology)
(tags: covid-19 tests serology testing immunity pandemics jhu via:twiv)
‘What are we doing this for?’: Doctors are fed up with conspiracies ravaging ERs
Whitney Phillips, a assistant professor of communications who studies the spread of disinformation at Syracuse University, said the coronavirus outbreak offers a look at how conspiracy thinking is now, in some ways, more organized. “With conspiracy theories, the reason they’re impervious to fact-checking is that they have become a way of being in the world for believers,” Phillips said. “It isn’t just one narrative that you can debunk. It is a holistic way of being in the world that has been reinforced by all the other bulls— that these platforms have allowed people to consume for years.”
(tags: conspiracy-theories facebook social-media covid-19 conspiracies stupid twitter)
NHSX release the source for their COVID-19 tracking apps
both the iOS and Android versions of the UK’s apps. Great to see this openness and transparency; hopefully the HSE’s apps, in Ireland, will follow suit
(tags: nhsx nhs uk covid-19 ble bluetooth tracking contact-tracing ios android apps)