Important Innovations

  New Anti-COVID Pill Could Be a COVID Gamechanger                               Source:  Merck & COVID-19 Images Pending FDA Approval, It Appears To Work & Work Well Merck's experimental antiviral pill has been tested on 754 COVID patients and appears to demonstrate that it cuts in half the chances of dying or being hospitalized from COVID-19.  The data is being hailed by some global health experts as a revolutionary new way to treat the deadly virus that has taken 5 million lives globally and 700,000 lives in the US alone.  The key point is it appears to keep people out of the hospital and treat them from getting severe symptoms while staying at home.  Molnupiravir Pills The medication is called molnupiravir and it works in a very different manner to undermine the potentially deadly effects of the virus once someone is infected by it. The molnupiravir pill creates errors in the COVID virus' genetic code making it less virulent. It essentially undermines the virus'

  COVID Fighting Air Purifiers                                                  Source:  Luft Duo Highly Advanced Air Purifiers with UV Light and Microbiotics The world's biggest Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2021) for the first time will be an all digital forum when it opens in Las Vegas on Monday January 11, 2021.  COVID-19 has forced the show to be held online.  Fueled by the public's need for protection against COVID which spreads in the air, several innovative air purifiers are among the hot new products being introduced.  These products are sustainable, meaning the air filter can be washed.  They are more energy efficient and some are made of sustainable material.  And most importantly, the gadgets are using new, more efficient technology like UV light to eliminate COVID pathogens. Luftqi's Luft Duo An example is the Luft Duo air purifier that is battery powered and highly portable.  You can use it anyplace such as in your car, office and even on a table at a coffee

Closing in on COVID Vaccines Source:  COVID Vaccine R&D EU Historic Stimulus Package Researchers at Oxford University in the UK, along with AstraZeneca, have developed a COVID vaccine that is proving to be successful at building immunity against COVID.  Human trials on more than 1000 patients have proven the vaccine effective.  The vaccine has moved into combined Phase 2 and Phase 3 trials - the last stop to prove it works.  AstraZeneca has a $1.2 billion deal with the US to deliver 300 million doses this fall, if the vaccine is approved. Two More Vaccines Meanwhile, at Moderna Pharma in Cambridge, MA, an experimental mRNA vaccine is in human trials and it is proving to be effective. It has produced antibodies in all the patients involved in the trials And, in China biotech Cansino's vaccine is showing positive antibody responses in a Phase 2 trial.  It is entering Phase 3 trials despite the fact it is not as effective on people over 55 years old.  A safe and ef

Invented by South Korean Doctors Source:  Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials  Collects Patient COVID Samples Doctors and researchers at the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials have invented a remote-controlled robot - the KIMM robot - that performs and collects COVID-19 tests from the noses of potential patients.  For medical personnel, there is no direct contact with the patients.  The robot performs the tests and collects the samples by being remotely controlled by a doctor.  This system reduces the risk of exposure to COVID for the medical staff. Parallel Caregiving The system is based on parallel caregiving where a doctor in one room tells the robot what action to take.  The doctor and patient are connected by audio and video and stay in constant contact.  This is part of a growing trend of robots being put on the front lines of the fight against COVID.  In Boston, Spot robots were used to screen patients remotely using iPads that enabled doctors to sc

More Cars, More Pollution & More New Alternative Vehicles Source:  Stock Image of Public Transit Being Cleaned New Travel World from COVID-19 Americans and many others around the world in urban areas are getting behind the wheel to avoid mass transit. The difficulty of social distancing and feeling secure to avoid COVID-19 in crowded trains, buses and planes is driving the return to cars.  Polls indicate that American plan to avoid trains and buses as the stay-at-home orders lift.  The shift to cars could be a boom for the hard pressed automotive industry.  It could also lead to more pollution and traffic jams. New Issues For Mass Transit Ironically, the effort to avoid public transit and take your car in order to protect yourself from COVID-19 is creating new problems.  Urban experts believe it could lead to increased road congestion, additional carbon emissions and put a major strain on cash-strapped transit systems.  Transit ridership is down 95% in major

COVID-19 Accelerating Autonomous Deliveries Source:  Waymo Big Investor Money Pouring In COVID-19 is accelerating a big shift in the global autonomous driving industry.  Business is booming in the autonomous delivery of packages, not the autonomous driving of people.  Companies like self-driving technology company Waymo are enjoying a huge boom in its business of package deliveries and a big influx of capital from investors. Fresh Capital Big players like Waymo, which is owned by Google's parent company Alphabet, are getting a big jump in funding.  Waymo now has $3 billion in fresh capital after expanding its first funding round.  It just raised $750 million in mid May.  According to Reuters' analysis, investors have poured $6 billion into two dozen companies involved in autonomous deliveries in the past seven months.  The technology ranges from drones to big, autonomous trucks. Global Phenomenon:  Future of Travel.   The growth in autonomous deliveries i

For Apple and Google, Big Health Tech Futures Source:  Stock Image Perspective from Apple CEO Tim Cook Apple and Google are launching their joint coronavirus contact tracing software. They just provided the first version to Android and iOS  developers to test it before a broader consumer launch.  The public launch will happen when Apple and Google approve the final public health version. This is a huge move in tracking the spread of the virus.  Apple alone controls a whopping 50% of the global smartphone market.  The contact tracing over their phones will provide a key means of spotting  and preventing the spread of the coronavirus, while protecting individual privacy. Consumers Opt In or Out It's up to each individual to decide to opt in or opt out of the contact tracing technology.  Both Google and Apple say the system will not disclose the individual's identity.  For those who opt in, there will be easy Bluetooth based contact tracing across iOS and Android smart pho

Two Hotels Are Being Used to Quarantine & Treat Patients Source:  Pepper on Duty at Robot Hotel for COVID Patients with Mild Symptoms Staffed by Robots, Doctors and Nurses For COVID patients with mild or no symptoms, Tokyo has opened two robot hotels to take the load off of hospitals.  The hotels are staffed by robots, doctors and nurses.  With a capacity to handle 2800 patient-guests, they are being used as an innovative means to quarantine and  treat COVID patients. Pepper and Company The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has taken charge of the two hotels.  Very popular humanoid robot Pepper is at the hotels to greet the arriving guests with positive messaging: "Let's bring our hearts together and get through this."  Cleaning robots are deployed to clean what the Japanese are calling "high risk red zones". Safer Than Home The Tokyo government feels it's safer for the mildly ill COVID patients to stay at the hotels, which are loaded with technolog

FDA Okays Gilead's Remdesivir Drug Source:  Gilead Sciences Remdesivir Good News in COVID-19 Fight Finally, some good news to report on the war against COVID-19.  The US Food and Drug Administration has given emergency approval to Gilead Sciences' remdesivir drug to treat  patients with the coronavirus.  President Donald Trump made the announcement. Gilead CEO Daniel O'Day promised that the company is going to donate one  million vials of the drug for treating  patients. Results Tell the Story The FDA emergency order means that doctors can use the drug even though it hasn't gone through the FDA's formal, time-consuming approval process.  The results on this unique drug tell the story. An independent analysis by the US National  Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases showed that COVID patients who took the drug usually recovered after 11 days. That is 4 days earlier than patients not given the drug.   More Compelling Results Gilead's own study s

Lab Scent Detection Dogs Being Trained Source:  UPENN Labs - AP University of Pennsylvania Innovative Program A team of 8 Labrador Retrievers are being trained to sniff out people  carrying the Coronavirus.  This  is an experimental pilot training program  being conducted at the renowned University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine and its Working Dogs Center.  Trained scent detection dogs have been successful in spotting types of cancer and bacterial infections. Search Dogs Trained search dogs work with the military and police departments globally to search out explosives, drugs and humans trapped in collapsed buildings.  They operate on their keen sense of smell. Scientists have discovered that people carrying the coronavirus emit a unique scent.  The dogs are being trained to detect the scent. Potential Uses Include Airport Screenings The Penn scientists believe the dogs would be particularly usefu