The Reason Covid Antibodies Are So Hard To Find In the US

Because despite the ongoing spikes and the country's poor handling of the virus, relatively few people in a nation of 331 million have yet to be exposed to it.

Which means there are plentiful potential hosts and explains why Covid is finding so many targets - and why herd immunity is a pipedream. JL

Laurie McGinley reports in the Washington Post:

Only a small proportion of people in many parts of the United States had antibodies to the novel coronavirus as of this spring, indicating most of the population remains highly susceptible to the pathogen.I n New York City, 24% of the population had antibodies, the highest proportion by far of any location. In the other areas, the percentages of people with antibodies were in the single digits. “The study rebukes the idea that current population-wide levels of acquired immunity (so-called herd immunity) will pose any substantial impediment to the continued propagation” of the virus."

Google AI Can Rank Prostate Cancer Samples With 72 Percent Accuracy

The implication is that with some diseases, AI diagnoses can be predictive at a higher level than healthcare professionals consider acceptable.

This, by extension, may mean that it could be applicable to future spikes of Covid-19 or to other coronaviruses. JL 

Kyle Wiggers reports in Venture Beat:

Google researchers claim to have developed an AI system that accurately identifies signs of prostate cancer in biopsies. Building on an algorithm that grades large, surgically removed cancerous segments of prostates, their system works on the smaller samples extracted during the initial part of cancer care to get diagnoses and prognoses. "These promising results indicate deep learning has the potential to support expert-level diagnoses and expand access to high-quality cancer care."

The Reason Walmart, Target Workers Are Afraid Of Enforcing Mask Rules

Some major retailers have instituted mandatory mask rules, which was seen as a sign of public-spirited policy. But the reality, as it turns out, is that store employees have no way of enforcing the rule, are actively prohibited from demanding that customers wear masks or leave.

The result is that employees are subject to verbal and threats of physical abuse because the issue has become so politicized. The photo is of a Walmart shopper in Florida who pulled a gun after being asked to wear a mask. He was eventually arrested. JL

Kelly Weill reports in The Daily Beast:

“Walmart put an order in without giving us any real way of enforcing it. They always bend over backwards for the customer no matter the circumstances." Associates feel helpless and scared to go to work to barely make anything compared to the people on unemployment. "Our AP [asset protection] has no way to stop guests from actually coming into our store, they aren't allowed to physically touch anyone and if the person decides to ignore us asking them to leave, the only thing we can do is call the police, which we aren’t allowed to do."

To Sell Books In A Pandemic, Put Them By the Toilet Paper

Mind you, that is not as a suggested use of the books...Putting books next to groceries works too. JL

Elizabeth Harris reports in the New York Times:

If you want to sell books during a pandemic, one of the best places to do it is within easy reach of eggs, milk and diapers. When anxious consumers were stocking up on beans and pasta, they were also grabbing workbooks, paperbacks and novels and the book sales at those stores shot up. “They sell groceries, they sell toilet paper, they sell everything people need during this time, and they’re open “You’re doing your big shop and go, ‘Oh, we’re bored, and we need a book or a puzzle,’ there it is.”

How AI Is Making Drug Development Low-Cost, Ultra-Fast and Personalized

While research and testing leading to Covid vaccines is relatively far along, identifying the compounds that will work best in the long run for certain age or ethnic groups and genetic types may take longer, a process in which AI may be able to play an important role in speeding the process. JL

Peter Diamandis reports in Singularity Hub:

90% of all drug possibilities fail. The few that do succeed take an average of 10 years to reach the market and cost from $2.5 billion to $12 billion to get there. GANs allow researchers to verbally describe drug attributes and then the AI constructs the molecule from scratch. (It) sifts millions of data samples to determine the biological characteristics of specific diseases. The engine then identifies the most promising treatment targets. It's generating molecules in 46 days, including initial discovery, the synthesis of the drug and its experimental validation in computer simulations. They’re in the early stages of using AI to predict the outcomes of clinical trials in advance of the trial.

Why the Pandemic's Negative Impact On Retailers Has Exceeded Forecasts

Retailers were already struggling to compete with ecommerce, were overleveraged due to private equity buyouts and were subject to the vagaries of the global supply chain as China and the US ramped up their trade war.

As if that weren't enough, the breadth of the pandemic - and its resurgence in the US - were too much for many non-essential retailers. JL

Aisha Al-Muslim and Soma Biswas report in the Wall Street Journal:

With a resurgence of coronavirus cases, some companies that were healthy before the pandemic are showing signs of buckling. Bankruptcies in the sector are piling up, with more retailers seeking chapter 11 protection so far in 2020 than in all of last year. Two dozen public and large private retailers in the U.S. have filed for bankruptcy. Heavy debts, a glut of stores and a struggle to keep up with changing consumer tastes and habits are nothing new for many retailers, but the mix proved to be disastrous during the pandemic.

What It's Like To Be One of 10,000 Participants In the Oxford Vaccine Trial

Volunteers dont know if they've been given a vaccine or are part of a control group. It requires effort and dedication. They will not know if they are now immune or not, nor are they likely to know if what they were given was a batch that worked.

But they are doing it for the good of their fellow humans, and for that the rest of us should be grateful. JL

Richard Fisher reports in the BBC:

Half the volunteers will get this vaccine. The second group will be given an existing vaccine. This is a “control” for comparison, and was chosen instead of a placebo so the control group experience the effects of a real vaccine, preventing them from working out which group they are in. I have to rub my tonsils with a cotton bud swab for 10 seconds, without touching my teeth or tongue, then stick the same stick up my nose as far as it will go. I then place the swab into a sealed bag and post it. I repeat this routine once a week for four months. There’s a 50:50 chance I received a vaccine, but it won’t change my behaviour or my choices.

The Reason Seniors Eschew Tech Is Surprising, Especially In the Pandemic

The reality is that seniors are the fastest growing digital demographic. Their choices to use or not embrace tech have more to do with values - such as concerns about the privacy of personal health records and its potential impact on their insurance or access to necessities like driving - than it does with competence or resistance to change.

And the result is that many have died, are dying - or may inadvertently transmit the virus to others. JL

Joelle Renstrom reports in Slate:

In the pandemic, when internet connectivity drives social engagement and medical care, 27% of Americans over 65 are not online. Seniors are the fastest growing online demographic; the real barrier to entry isn’t technological—it’s personal. The assumption that seniors are “alienated” by technology ignores the research: that older adults’ resistance to technology is a value-based choice. Many older adults have privacy concerns. The COVID-19 crisis could perpetuate the dangerous misconception that seniors who resist technology either can’t or don’t want to be reached.

Why People Cant Help Being Distracted While Working From Home

Working in isolation plus the effort required to connect electronically is making those working from home more susceptible to distractions they could avoid in an office when casual interactions with other people served as a relief - and release. JL

Eleanor Cummins reports in Re/code:

As work and life bled together, the US workday for many companies grew by three hours since March. The meandering minds of remote workers around the world has less to do with working from home than the context: a once-in-a-century mass casualty event. In an office, people spend part of the day chatting with colleagues. At the least, they feel the presence of others around them. Now, “the only way to make up for it is to electronically talk to people, so you self-interrupt all the time.”

Apple Has Started Assembling iPhone 11 In India, Not China, For First Time

As the world - and the smartphone market - turns. JL

Manish Singh reports in Tech Crunch:

Foxconn has started to assemble the current generation of iPhone units — the iPhone 11 lineup — in its plant near southern city of Chennai. The production of current iPhone 11 models illustrates Apple’s further commitment to India, the world’s second largest smartphone market, as it explores ways to cut its reliance on China. Assembling handsets in India enables smartphone vendors to avoid a 20% import duty the Indian government levies on imported electronics. Xiaomi,  Vivo, Samsung, Oppo, OnePlus, and others have inked deals with contract manufacturers across India

Why the Pandemic Hasn't Brought Back US Factory Jobs

The economic reason for global supply chains remains, China is a market that many American companies are reluctant to abandon despite its difficulties, and US failures to manage the pandemic - especially relative to China - are a disincentive both to bring jobs back or to create new ones in the US. JL

Ana Swanson and Jim Tankersley report in the New York Times:

U.S. factory output declined throughout 2019 and has dropped further this year. As of June, there were 300,000 fewer factory jobs in the US than when Mr. Trump was inaugurated. Foreign direct investment into the United States, which measures spending from international companies (in) American businesses, sank last year, to its lowest level since 2006. The economic incentive to outsource prevails. Most firms that shifted out of China moved to other low-cost countries. Others say China is a growth market they cannot afford to lose. “Covid has generated new imagination of worst-case scenarios.”

How the Pandemic Is Affecting US Births, Deaths and Socio-Economics

Social science studies the interrelationships between people, organizations and societies. Thanks to the pandemic, the numbers are in motion.

Births, deaths and immigration are all being changed by pandemic-driven realities: social, economic, psychological, behavioral. While the results cannot be predicted with certainty, the trends suggest changes in the growth and composition of population will eventually lead to significant evolutionary impacts in how this society sustains, nurtures and governs itself. JL

Joe Pinsker reports in The Atlantic:

Three variables determine the fluctuations of a country’s population: births, deaths, and migration flows. The coronavirus pandemic is disrupting all three.The three variables are shifting: Deaths are rising, immigration is falling, and birth rates will start dropping at the end of the year. (And) even if the U.S. were issuing visas at its regular rate, the country would be a less enticing destination than usual with its uncontained COVID-19 outbreak and economic turmoil. “Between births and deaths, we’re talking half a million people missing from the U.S. population next year.”

Concern Grows Over How US Priority For Receiving Vaccines Will Be Determined

There are established groups of scientific, economic and ethical experts with laboriously designed protocols for making such decisions.

But in the US, the administration running the federal government ultimately has the power to override such groups and their recommendations, using any criteria it wishes. JL 

Helen Branswell reports in Stat:

As manufacturers around the world race to develop Covid-19 vaccines, an effort has begun to figure out who in the US should get them first. The effort is complicated by tensions over who gets to make those critical decisions. The administration in power when vaccine is approved for use will dictate the vaccine priority line. The current administration’s decisions about distribution of protective equipment and supplies of the antiviral drug remdesivir don’t instill confidence. “We have received no assurance that existing vaccine allocation, distribution, and tracking systems will be used.”

EU Demands Health Data Privacy Concession To Approve Google-Fitbit Deal

The EU has not generally fared well in its legal and regulatory battle with big US tech companies. And capturing health data has long been a Google goal to use for a variety of products and services.

But in this case, delay could mean the election of a new US government more ideologically sympathetic to EU values and policies, which presents the company with a more serious strategic risk.  JL

Javier Espinosa reports in the Financial Times via ars technica:

EU regulators want the company to pledge that it will not use that information to “further enhance its search advantage” and that it will grant third parties equal access to it. Google had previously promised it would not use Fitbit’s health data to improve its own advertising, but the commitment was not sufficient to assuage the EU’s concerns nor those of US regulators also examining the deal.

The Pandemic Has Been Very, Very Good To Netflix

Netflix growth in the US had plateaued due to competition from Disney and others. These results suggests the company still has room to grow, but will it last once whatever passes for normality eventually returns? JL

Steven Zeitchik reports in the Washington Post:

Netflix gained 10.1 million subscribers worldwide in its most recent quarter, suggesting that the lockdowns resulting from the pandemic continue to be good for the streaming business.The figure in the U.S. is notable, building on the 2.3 million Netflix added during the first quarter as the pandemic began. Prior to that quarter, growth in the U.S. had often shrunk to 1 million subscriber additions or fewer in many quarters.“Everything is muddy with the entrance of new players; it’s hard to know how much of any growth is people switching around to try different services, and maybe switching back,”

The Reason It's Still So Hard To Find Disinfectant Wipes

Stretched global supply chains due to restrictions in China, growing demand from spiking infections in the southern and western US, plus many of the materials are also used in PPE or related healthcare products.

Which is why materials sourcing diversity is becoming a strategic imperative. JL

Aaron Mak reports in Slate:

Sales for wipes rose by 144% from March to May, and they’re still a rare sight on store shelves.The rapid spread of the virus in states like Texas and Florida has pushed the already-high demand even higher. Restrictions on factories in China made it difficult for American companies to source ammonium compounds, which are the antimicrobial disinfectant found in wipes. Packaging components for all cleaning products are also experiencing strains because manufacturers abruptly increased their orders all at once. (And) the fabric is the same material being used to make personal protective equipment

Jeff Bezos Added $13 Billion To His Net Worth In A Single Day This Week

The $13 billion addition to his net worth on Monday is just one tranche of the $74 billion wealth he's added since January 2020.

A looming question is whether these manifestations of Amazon's success will ultimately contribute to regulatory action based on the argument that this wealth accumulation would not be happening if the company were not, in fact, a monopoly. JL

Tom Huddleston reports in CNBC:

Bezos, who is the world’s wealthiest man, experienced the one-day spike in his net worth after Amazon stock surged during the day, thanks to a positive Wall Street forecast. Amazon shares spiked by 8% on Monday after a Goldman Sachs analyst raised his price target for the e-commerce giant. He’s on the precipice of becoming the first person in the world to officially boast a net worth of more than $200 billion. Bezos has added more than $74 billion to his net worth since the start of 2020.

Some Pharma Cos - Like Pfizer and Moderna - Plan To Profit From Covid Vaccine

Concerns are being raised about the intentions of at least two pharmaceutical companies developing Covid vaccines, especially Moderna, which accepted US government funds for its project.

Pfizer specifically refused federal funds, which some suspect is because they want to be able to charge market prices, which, in a panicked pandemic environment, could make it unaffordable to most of the US and global population. Hanging over the debate is the recognition that in an extreme case, the company's inventory could be seized by the government. JL

Katherine Wu reports in the New York Times:

AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson pledged to the lawmakers that they would produce hundreds of millions of doses of their vaccines at no profit to themselves. Moderna, which has been granted $483 million from the government to develop its product, made no such promise. Pfizer’s decision to reject federal funds, suggests it could lead to price-gouging and a lack of transparency. “We’ll price our potential vaccine consistent with the urgent global health emergency that we’re facing...”

How A Psychological Concept May Help AI Be More Productive

The theory of affordance, which describes the ability to see possibilities in objects, may help make AI more productive. JL

William Derringer reports in MIT Technology Review:

The theory of affordance specifies that when smart beings take a look at the world they view not just things and their relationships (but) their possibilities: the chair “affords” the possibility of sitting. Researchers at DeepMind (believe) if the robotic were first taught its environment’s affordances, it would remove a substantial portion of the working trials it would have to carry out. This would make its knowing procedure more effective.

Covid Researchers Pool Data To Test How Well Recovered Patients' Plasma Works

While experience and anecdotal evidence suggests that plasma works in treating Covid patients, securing enough of it has been difficult.

Pooling data among traditionally competitive researchers may be one way to determine plasma's efficacy and thus help the healthcare system focus its efforts on solutions that really work. JL

Amy Marcus reports in the Wall Street Journal:

Researchers studying plasma to treat Covid-19 have struggled to find enough patients. So a new project is pooling data in real time from disparate clinical trials to form a larger data set.Pooling data from  randomized controlled trials allows investigators to glean insights from more patients than they were able themselves. The efforts reflect a sense of urgency among researchers who need answers faster than independent efforts produce.Transfusing antibody-rich plasma from recovered patients has been used for more than a century but a question has persisted: Does it really work?

Could Covid Eventually Become the New Common Cold?

There are some researchers who believe that is possible. Eventually.

The question is over what period of time that evolution might occur - and how many people will become very sick or die during what could be a very long meantime. JL

Tom Chivers reports in Unherd:

The most likely outcome is that Covid-19 becomes “the fifth seasonal coronavirus”. Assuming that reinfection is far less dangerous because of the T-cell response (or whatever else is going on), then once everyone’s immune system is prepared for it, as with the common cold coronaviruses, we could see it going around as an inconvenient but not devastating seasonal illness.(But) it’s still a novel disease and we shouldn’t get complacent that we know everything about it.

The Pandemic Is Changing the Way Americans Eat

Most Americans expect to continue cooking and eating more at home than at restaurants. That has implications for employment and the broader economy.

But on the bright side, food cooked at home tends to be less caloric and infused with saturated fats, so it is possible that health could improve. JL

Beth Kowitt and Lance Lambert report in Fortune:

Spending on food away from home plummeted 34%. That's less than half of what Americans spent on FAFH in December 2019. 70% of respondents expect to cook more at home and 80% expect to eat more at home post-COVID as they did during COVID-19. Half plan to eat at restaurants less post-COVID, while most ordering delivery or takeout less than they were two weeks ago.The trends are likely to be compounded by a worsening economic landscape.

Why More Needs To Be Learned About Those 'Minor' Covid Vaccine Side Effects

A minor side effect to a bio-chem virology researcher might not be so minor to you. JL

Jonathan Block reports in MedShadow:

Six of the12 patients who received either 10μg or 30μg (which was administered at day one and 21) of the vaccine reported adverse events within seven days of vaccination, as did seven out of 12 patients in the 100 μg group (which was given just once on day one). A significant percentage of the patients experienced side effects including fever, fatigue, headache, chills, diarrhea, and muscle and joint pain. Researchers reported that two participants in the 30 μg group experienced a severe adverse event: Grade three pyrexia, which is an extreme fever.

How Leaders Are Preparing Their Firms For A Shift Away From Density

With the right leadership, enhanced tools and improved processes, 40% of jobs can be done remotely. And most of those are the more creative, strategically significant - and better paid.

Leaders are finding that if regular interpersonal interaction can be arranged, this approach may improve productivity and lower costs. The challenge that may take some time is developing an organizational design that optimizes outcomes for the specific enterprise but the benefits of result for most are no longer in doubt. JL

Eduardo Porter reports in the New York Times:

The pandemic threatens the assets that make America’s most successful cities so dynamic - their networks of innovative businesses and skilled workers, jumping among employers, bumping into one another, sharing ideas, powering innovation and lifting productivity. (But) 40% of the nation’s jobs can be done from home. By shifting to remote work, “(companies) can widen their labor pool and evade the labor-wage trap.” Tracking employees working from home at least part of the time since March, one-half of large businesses and one-third of small didn’t detect productivity loss. One in four reported a productivity increase.

Amazon Expands Scout Delivery Robot Tests To US Atlanta, Other Markets

Scout has been tested till now in Snohomish, Washington and Irvine, California, both largely suburban locales.

The significance of the Atlanta announcement is that it represents a big, urban market, which may mean the company believes it is getting closer to a broader roll-out. JL

Kurt Schlosser reports in GeekWire:

Amazon Scout, the package delivery robot that looks like a cooler on wheels, is headed to two new cities as the tech giant continues to expand the test market for the device.Amazon says the same delivery options are available via Scout as with any order, including same-day, one-day and two-day shipping for Prime members. The robots autonomously follow their delivery route, and for now are accompanied by a (human) Amazon Scout Ambassador.

Researchers Identify Genetic Factors That May Influence Covid Susceptibility

That genetic predisposition to cardiovascular and pulmonary problems was already well-known, though this research confirms that.

That prostate cancer might also be a factor suggests both that the list of pre-existing conditions may be larger than first expected and, as an interim measure, that treatment for Covid using existing drugs for such conditions could be medically beneficial. JL

The Cleveland Clinic reports in MedXpress:

Several ACE2 variants were found to be associated with cardiovascular and pulmonary conditions. In addition, germline deleterious variants in the coding region of TMPRSS2, a key gene in prostate cancer, were found to occur in different cancer types. These variants among different populations could pave the way for precision medicine and personalized treatment strategies for COVID-19."Because we currently have no approved drugs for COVID-19, repurposing already approved drugs could be an efficient and cost-effective approach to developing prevention and treatment strategies."

Is the Pandemic Going To Doom the Fall TV Season?

If producers cannot film new shows, networks and streaming platforms cannot offer them.

And, if the US National Football League, which provides some of the biggest networks with 20$% of their annual revenue can't play due to the pandemic, the entire entertainment business model may be in jeopardy. JL 

Sara Fischer reports in Axios:

For decades, TV networks have relied on new programming to delight consumers in the fall. They've used the pre-scheduled fall season to squeeze advertising dollars out of Madison Avenue months ahead of time. (But) "None of them are going to have a fresh season in the fall. If Netflix is telling you that they can't shoot content in the U.S. — and they've been out aggressively starting production around the world — that means for the networks, it's not happening." (And) If the NFL doesn't return, networks' fall lineups could be in serious jeopardy. Most bank on the NFL for 20% of their annual ad revenue.

The Reason Lyft Is Selling, Not Giving, Masks To Its Drivers

Because if Lyft gave its drivers protective equipment, the company fears it would reinforce the California law declaring them employees rather than contractors as Lyft claims. JL

Kari Paul reports in The Guardian:

The tech company’s move to sell drivers protective gear rather than provide it resurfaces the debate of whether drivers are employees or independent contractors, and to what extent the tech giants carry responsibility for the work conditions of gig workers. The tech company’s move to sell drivers protective gear rather than provide it resurfaces the debate of whether drivers are employees or independent contractors, and to what extent the tech giants carry responsibility for the work conditions of gig workers.

Normalcy Bias - And Why Post-Pandemic Life Will Not Return To Normal Soon

Humans are genetically programmed to believe the immediate future will be like the past because so much of our processing of information (and that of the models we create) is designed to help us survive by depending on learning from the past. It results in what is called normalcy bias.

But in the case of Covid-19's impact and the potential for a 'cure,' the reality is that returning to normal make take far longer than those proclivities would inspire us to believe. JL

Gleb Tsipursky reports in Scientific American:

Prominent business and political leaders downplayed the pandemic in its early stages.  Normalcy bias refers to the fact that our gut reactions drive us to feel that the future in the short and medium term, will function the same as the past: normally. (But) given that only a very small percentage of vaccines make it through trials, it might be not until 2023–24 when we get a safe and effective vaccine. Normalcy bias makes it difficult for us to imagine  that it wouldn’t be until, realistically, 2024–25 that we vanquish COVID-19. This despite clear statements from the best scientific experts to that effect.

Competing Covid Vaccine Tests In Different Countries Release Promising Results

The competing consortia are Oxford University and Astra-Zeneca (UK, Sweden), CanSino Biologics (China), and Pfizer BioNTech (US, Germany). US-based Moderna released its results a week earlier.

The good news is that separate teams using different methods are reaching similar conclusions, which provides hope that a solution is not just possible, but probable. And the diversity of approaches will be helpful given the diverse demographics of those suffering from or vulnerable to the virus, meaning that more than one vaccine will be needed. The urgent question that remains is how long it will be until global distribution is possible, given the surging infection rates in parts of the world. JL

David Kirkpatrick reports in the New York Times:

All of the developers asserted that their vaccines elicited antibody levels similar to those seen in patients who have recovered from Covid-19. More than one vaccine (will) be necessary to address the needs of varying demographic groups.(But) scientists cautioned that no response in a lab test guarantees that a vaccine will prevent a disease. And comparing the immune responses ascribed to the various vaccines is almost impossible because the reports are not standardized.

The Math Shows US Covid Spread Is Not Tied To Testing Increase

High school math: if testing has doubled but the number of positive results has increased seven-fold, the virus is spreading way beyond the influence of the number of tests. JL

Sharon Begley reports in Stat:

The number of cases per thousand, which is independent of the number of tests, has skyrocketed. On May 13, Florida recorded 479 cases; on July 13, it found 12,624. If the prevalence of Covid-19 were the same in July as in May, Florida would have found only 2,098 cases. In other words, 10,526 of the July 13 cases are not due to increased testing, but, to the increased prevalence of disease.“Obviously, if you double the testing but the number of cases increased sevenfold, then the virus is spreading.”

Are Digital Assistants and IoT Anti-Competitive? The EU Is Investigating

The concern is that Siri, Alexa and their 'smart' brethren are creating impenetrable - and anti-competitive - electronic ecosystems.

Which was precisely the point, but big tech has proved adept at sugarcoating its strategies, as Apple's huge recent win on its EU tax liability demonstrates. JL

Adi Robertson reports in The Verge:

The European Union’s antitrust watchdog is investigating whether Apple, Google, Amazon, or other companies are building monopolies with their digital assistants and smart home products. (There are) concerns about products like Amazon’s Alexa assistant, which ties together the company’s vast retail, hardware, and data collection operations. “Voice assistants and smart devices can collect a vast amount of data about our habits. And there’s a risk that big companies could misuse the data collected through such devices.”

How Did the Pandemic Make Celebrity Endorsers Affordable For Small Companies?

B,C and D list celebrities have been forced to quarantine just like peasantry. But unlike their A-list betters, they dont have the financial status to stay quiet indefinitely.

Plus there is a generally captive audience looking for new stimuli. It's a match made...somewhere south of heaven. JL

Rebecca Jennings reports in Re/code:

A new feature from Cameo, the app where people pay celebrities and influencers to record personalized messages for them, soft-launched to offer average companies the chance to hire a Barbara Corcoran or a Lance Bass to vouch for their homemade soda or IT software. Celebrities awere also under quarantine for most of the spring (albeit in far nicer houses), furloughed from film sets, concert tours, and red carpet events and finding themselves with a lot more free time. Shamelessness is heralded as a virtue in “the gig economy for niche celebs”

The Reason Resold Clothing Is A Smart Strategy In the Global Health Crisis

The recession is making people more price conscious while there is a dawning awareness that 'new' clothes may have been tried on many times or even bought and returned, whereas resold items have to be cleaned before being merchandised. JL

Caroline Jansen reports in RetailDive, tip from Meir Kahtan:

Resale might attract more widely as consumers face an economic recession accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. While clothes another person has worn might make a consumer uneasy amid a global health crisis, "new" garments aren't much different. "New clothes can be dirtier. If you buy a new item at a department store, that could have been tried on multiple times, it could have been bought and returned." While resale has been around for years, the digital, mobile-focused platforms took off last year. These initiatives were driven by demand as sustainability became valued among consumers.

How Companies Are Rebooting Data Science After Their Pandemic Pivot

Models designed to predict and optimize cannot work very well when the data on which they are historically based reflects nothing like the present or immediate future.

Companies are responding by monitoring how their models are reacting to real-time data and then making adjustments in time horizon and greater human oversight in order to override the confusion to machine learning, algorithmic and AI models based on now irrelevant data. JL


Jeffrey Camm and Thomas Davenport report in MIT Sloan Management Review:

What happens to data-driven decisions when a global pandemic results in a seismic shift in data? Machine learning models make predictions based on past data, but there is no recent past like today’s present. Regardless of whether the pandemic caused demand to plummet ( apparel) or to spike (toilet paper), there was a shift away from more advanced analytics focused on prediction to descriptive analytics (which) helped companies get a better understanding of what was happening. “Our demand-forecasting automated machine learning models didn’t handle eight weeks of zeros very well.”

Why Stores Are Being Reborn As Warehouses

Retail traffic has been declining for almost a decade. And ecommerce is picking up the slack.

But online merchants need space closer to their customers, often in congested urban locations, which makes the behavioral economics of converting former stores, whether in shopping centers, big boxes or on main street, a cost-efficient solution to the repurposing of wasted space. And this conversion process appears to be creating more jobs than bricks-and-mortar retail is losing. JL

Christopher Mims reports in the Wall Street Journal:

94 new retail-to-industrial conversion projects have (been) completed or are in progress, transforming 14 million square feet of former retail space into 15.2 million square feet for e-commerce distribution. Chains across the globe are using automated micro-fulfillment warehouses within existing stores or adjacent spaces. Welcome to the next phase of the “retail apocalypse.” Retail spaces of all sizes are being converted into e-commerce fulfillment centers. The rate of conversion of retail into industrial spaces has been accelerating. (And) e-commerce has created more jobs between 2007 and January 2020 than bricks-and-mortar retailers lost.

The Guide To Making More Effective Reusable Masks

It's complicated. But even a cotton mask is better than no mask at all. JL

Katherine Foley reports in Quartz:

The World Health Organization recommends that non-medical fabric masks have three layers of fabric, each made of a different material to serve a different protective role. Cotton should trap droplets coming from your nose and mouth. And, because it’s woven it can thwart infectious pathogens. The middle layer should be some sort of material that increases filtration, like the polypropylene used in reusable grocery bags. The outermost layer should made out of some kind of polyester-cotton blend or nylon, like the material used in exercise or rain gear.

KFC Works With Russian 3D Bio- Printer To Make Lab-Processed Chicken Nuggets

Wait. You mean they weren't already 3D printed and lab-processed? JL

Kim Lyons reports in The Verge:

KFC is trying to create the world’s first laboratory-produced chicken nuggets, part of its “restaurant of the future” concept. The chicken restaurant chain will work with Russian company 3D Bioprinting Solutions that will “print” chicken meat, using chicken cells and plant material. Bioprinted nuggets would be more environmentally friendly to produce than standard chicken meat, KFC says. It will seek to replicate the taste and texture of genuine chicken.

Will Covid Undermine Trust In Government?

It already has. And the findings are significant because data show that the countries which have dealt with the pandemic most effectively are those in which the populace has trust in government. JL

Christopher Ingraham reports in the Washington Post:

The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, finds that the experience of the coronavirus and ensuing recession could make people and businesses less likely to resume their previous spending and investment patterns. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, finds that people who endure a pandemic in young adulthood tend to be more distrustful of government institutions for the rest of their lives. The bulk of the economic damage will not come from short-term impacts, such as job losses and business closures, but from behavioral changes between five and six times as large.

How AI Helps Drone Swarms Navigate Unmapped Spaces Like Inside the Body

This may help drones perform complex operations in very small spaces. JL

Jon Fingas reports in Engadget:

A machine learning algorithm lets swarms navigate crowded, unmapped environments. The system works by giving each drone a degree of independence that lets it adapt to a changing environment.Instead of relying on existing maps or the routes of every other drone in the swarm, each machine learns to navigate on its own even as it coordinates with others. This decentralized model helps drones improvise and makes scaling the swarm easier, as computing is spread across many robots.

Why Covid's Economic Impact On Healthcare Won't End With A Vaccine

The decline in profitable non-Covid procedures will severely depress hospital profits, while the expenditures necessary for the pandemic and for preparation for future healthcare crises may drive health spending higher as a percentage of the economy, which may not be the most efficient use of capital. JL

Charley Grant reports in the Wall Street Journal:

Regulatory approval is distinct from the vaccine reaching patients. Scaling up manufacturing to meet demand is a huge challenge. Then there is priority: the military, health-care personnel and other essential workers are likely to receive doses before the general public. 40% of respondents expect the vaccine to be available to all by late 2021, and 36% aren’t expecting that until 2022 or later. U.S. health spending, already 18% of gross domestic product, could become an even larger part of the economy in years to come. (But) as a result of lower patient volumes for non-Covid treatments, hospitals (will) lose $300 billion (by) the end of the year.

Covid Cases Are Rising In 40 US States And Deaths Are Following

That there are only eight American states where Covid infections are not rising suggests that the pandemic is currently out of control in the US. A statistical lull in deaths now also appears to be over and rising subsequent to the increase in infections.

In some states, like Arizona and Florida, with the highest Covid rates, authorities are saying that contact tracing has become irrelevant because the infection is too widespread to make tracking useful. All of which reveals that early bids to reopen may have simply prolonged and expanded the crisis. JL

Lauren Letherby reports in the New York Times:

The death count was initially flat (because) treatment has improved and young people, who are less likely to die from Covid-19, make up a larger share of new cases. (And) more testing means cases are caught sooner, on average. (But) that lag may have come to an end last week, as the number of new deaths began to rise. Many of the states that reopened early are the ones seeing the biggest increases and have the highest positive test rates, as well as soaring hospitalization. High positive tests signals a large number whose infections are undetected