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Feluda

CSIR-IGB Lab Develops COVID-19 Test kit Named FELUDA for Faster, More Affordable Testing

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The novel coronavirus is spreading across India quickly, with the last week has added a lot more patients and deaths to India’s toll. However, there might be some good news coming our way. Reports state that an accurate and affordable strip test capable of detecting Covid-19, within an hour, is expected to hit the market in four weeks. Let us take a good look at this new Test kit Named FELUDA, and how it could help us in the fight against the coronavirus.

Also Read: COVID-19 testing kit from an Indian company that needs only 53 seconds!

Feluda to the Rescue

Christened Feluda, the test gets its name from a famous fictional detective penned by the late Satyajit Rai. However, the name is also an acronym for the more technical term – FNCAS9 Editor-Linked Uniform Detection Assay. The test makes use of CRISPR gene-editing technology to identify the genetic material, which makes up the virus Sars-CoV2. It is this virus that causes Covid-19. Senior scientists Dr. Debojyoti Chakraborty and Dr. Souvik Maiti, are being credited for developing this new test. They are top scientists at the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-Institute, under their Genomics and Integrative Biology wing in New Delhi.

Science Behind It

The Feluda testing kit uses CRISPR-based technology, which combines CRISPR biology and the chemistry of paper strip testing. CRISPR stands for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats, which is a genome-editing technique. The Cas9 protein, which makes up the CRISPR system, is identified and marked, and then made to interact with the Sars-CoV2 sequence found in the patient’s genetic material.

A complex consisting of both Cas9 and Sars-CoV2 is then applied to a paper strip. The strip will have two lines, wherein one is the control line and the other a test line. These lines will help identify if the patient has COVID-19. The entire process of diagnosing COVID-19 will roughly take an hour, making it a speedy and agile process. The whole process, which involves everything from identifying the RNA to taking the readout, will be done within this one hour.

Difference Between Old and New Method

In India, presently, most labs are using the PCR method to diagnose COVID-19. Not only is this method more expensive, but it also takes more time to give a result. The paper strip test kit will make the process of diagnosis much more straightforward, faster, and affordable. The test does not require Level 2 or Level 3 biosafety labs, making it much more accessible. As per CSIR-IGB Director, Anurag Agarwal, the test can be done in any regular pathology lab.

Around the World

The US Food and Drug Administration gave the CRISPR-based testing an emergency-use approval on Friday. However, unlike Feluda, US’s CRISPR test can only be done in hi-tech laboratories. The American counter-part to this test was developed by the combined efforts of MIT, Harvard, Ragon Institute, and the Howard Hughes Institute. However, unlike the American test, which uses CAS12 and CAS13 protein, India’s test utilizes CAS9 protein. The test is extremely accurate and accessible as it does not require any high-tech lab, according to the former Director-General of the ICMR, Dr. Nirmal K Ganguly.

The team had been working on this test kit for over two years. Its functionality is not limited to the COVID-19, but rather to assess and detect DNA-RNA mutations. It was by the end of January that the team began focusing on using the test to detect the novel coronavirus. In India, this is the second CRISPR-based kit which has been developed. Feluda has been backed by Tata Sons, who had pledged support for the testing team and division.

The testing protocol is simple, and the results take much less time, making it easy to use this technology to test millions of people, as per Tata Sons. Each of these test kits will cost INR 500, which is a significant improvement from the INR 4500 cost, which the RT-PCR test bore. It will be interesting to see how this new test revolutionizes the way India, and maybe, even the whole world battles the novel coronavirus.

moovit

Intel All Set to Buy Smart-Transportation Start-up Moovit

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The world of smart transportation has been set ablaze by advancements in science and technology. New technologies have paved the way for much smarter tech, which aids in making quick transit possible. In Israel, a lot of activity is going in this field, with several large mergers and acquisitions taking place amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the most prominent mergers being spoken about is that of Intel closing on a deal with Moovit. The chip-making giant is said to be in the final rounds of negotiation when it comes to buying this start-up that utilizes Big Data and AI to provide transit and transportation services. Here’s a look at the deal and the impact it could have on the transit industry.

Big Deal in Place

According to various sources and reports, Intel is all set to acquire Moovit, which is a service provider to over 800 million people. The start-up which uses futuristic technology to make the best decisions when it comes to transportation is a significant player in the field of smart-transit. The deal is said to close in a few days, with experts stating that it could be near $1 billion in terms of valuation. Agencies like TechCrunch have reached out to spokespersons on both sides of the deal to confirm the news. Reports state that the Moovit correspondent did not negate the information, instead saying that they will provide further details later on.

Israel- An Upcoming Automotive Capital

Moovit had made been backed by the investment company by Intel Capital earlier as a part of strategic investment. The deal will help Intel gain a foothold in the smart transport industry, making Israel their headquarters for such operations. Furthermore, Intel already has several facilities in Israel, and this acquisition will add more value to Intel’s Israeli automotive hub. The automotive revolution is spearhead by the company Mobileye.

Intel had acquired this start-up that focuses on autonomous driving, three years ago in a deal that cost them $15.3 billion. However, sources are unclear regarding what role Moovit will have in this ring or hub. Experts believe that the company will be able to provide Intel with actionable, reliable, and real-time data, which will help with intelligent routing.

One of the biggest challenges that autonomous vehicles face is routing to prevent traffic blocks and to achieve efficiency. With a company such as Moovit providing Intel with valuable real-time traffic data, they will able to guide their vehicles with ease and perfection.

Earlier Partnership

Even before the suspected acquisition, Intel had been working with Moovit. Intel had, in fact, led the Series D funding of Moovit, which brought in over $50 million in 2018. Soon after this deal, Senior VP of Intel, who also serves as the CTO of Mobileye, Amnon Shashua, joined the upcoming start-up’s Board of Directors. The sale will help both companies bring in new talent and then integrate this unique talent into an already existing framework. Reports by The Marker and Wadi Ventures state that out of the $1 billion, a portion will go to employees as a 10% retention bonus.

Fast Growth

Moovit, which was valued at $500 million during its Series D funding round, had grown tremendously in the past two years. Their standalone app, which helps with navigation around cities, became a huge success. This was soon followed by integration with cab services like Uber, which led to further popularity and surge in the number of users. By 2018, over 120 million people were using their apps from over 80 different countries. In the last two years, that number grew exponentially to hit 800 million users in over 102 different countries, with services available in 45 languages globally! The company has attracted a lot of attention in recent years, bringing in investors of the likes of Sound Ventures, Gemini Israel, LVMH, and even BMW.

Furthermore, the app has launched several services to help people during the COVID-19 crisis. These included a free service for transit data managers, which enable riders to plan their trips efficiently. Also, it has a real-time service option now to ensure that everyone gets the most accurate data and receives timely alerts. Additionally, Moovit has also come out with an emergency mobilization service, which allows managers to put out buses on routes that essential workers require the most.

The acquisition, if reports are accurate, will prove to be a significant turning point for the field of smart transportation. Already seen as one of the technologies that will soon change the way we live our lives, smart technology is a field that requires some push and investment. Since the COVID-19 has significantly curtailed our movement, the global economy is reeling as an after-effect. All of this has led to a significant slowdown in the automotive world. Therefore, in many ways, this is the best time for smart technology to enter the field. By leveraging these assets, we might be able to ignite some interest in an area that has been severely affected by the global crisis.

Since the COVID-19 has significantly curtailed our movement, the global economy is reeling as an after-effect. All of this has led to a significant slowdown in the automotive world. Therefore, in many ways, this is the best time for smart technology to enter the field. By leveraging these assets, we might be able to ignite some interest in an area that has been severely affected by the global crisis.

snapchat

COVID-19 Leads to Huge Surge in Snapchat Usage, as User Behavior Trends Change

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As the novel coronavirus continues to wreak havoc across the world, people are still confined to their homes. With most schools, colleges and offices still being closed, most people are relying on social media platforms to interact with each other. Therefore, a lot of entertainment and social media websites have seen a spike in usage in the last few months. Snapchat recently released data regarding user behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. Here’s a look at how the epidemic has affected Snapchat usage and what that means for the company.

New User Rush on Snapchat

The first quarter of 2020 has been especially good for Snapchat, which gained 11 million users, bringing the total count of daily users to 229 million. The addition of 11 million new users, or Daily Active Users, is a 20% increase over what their usage was last year. Similarly, with most people being stuck at home, engagement has also risen tremendously. The first quarter saw the creation of over 4 billion snaps every day! With more and more people migrating to Snapchat to stay connected with their loved ones, the company recently released new data regarding user activity. The new look at how user behavior has changed during the COVID-19 lets us understand how the disease has affected people around the world.

User Behavior Changes

The impact of COVID-19 has helped engagement rates hit all-time highs. Furthermore, more and more people are now turning to social media sites like Snapchat to stay connected to their friends and family. Compared to February, March has seen a spike of 50% when it comes to time spent on voice and video calling facilities. Such a trend may also be associated with social distancing rules which came into place in March, forcing people away from one another.

This has led to most people switching to IG, Snapchat, Zoom, and Skype to talk to their loved ones face-to-face. March also witnessed an all-time high with regards to group chat engagement rates, as friends and colleagues started using video calls to stay in touch. Friends have also started sending each other more snaps than ever before to keep them informed of what they are up to during the quarantine period.

Peak Usage and Activity

March has seen an all-new high emerge concerning the number of snaps sent amongst friends. While this number peaks during Christmas and other holiday seasons like that, this year, the peak came in March when the quarantine came into place around the world. More and more people are also spending their time getting accustomed to Snapchat’s new features and additions. As people do not have the luxury of going out to entertain themselves, they are trying to find new ways to stay occupied during this quarantine. That has led to many of them exploring all the options that the app has to offer, as they figure out ways to stay active and occupied. New features such as AR lenses and games have also peaked since March.

The company’s official statement says that Snapchat has seen a significant rise in engagement levels, time spent, number of users, and also with regards to the usage of in-game features such as chats. When compared to February, usage of Snapchat’s lenses has gone up by another 25% in March. Snapchat Shows has also become a massive hit with the crowd, with engagement rate and time spent on Snapchat Shows hit an all-time high. More and more people are tuning in to stream content related to News, Health, and Gaming.

Other User Activities

Snapchat also released data regarding off-platform user activities based on surveys and off-platform location data gathered as of mid-March. The studies show that there is a 73% drop in college and school attendance as predicted. Due to social distancing norms, there is a 29% decrease in bar visits, 22% fewer people are traveling via air, and there’s been a massive 60% drop in people attending concerts. Similarly, gyms are seeing 41% fewer people, and most users are staying home for the majority of their time.

Furthermore, Snapchat data shows that 62% of their users are now streaming more data, while there’s a 21% increase in online shopping. It seems 38% of their users have taken to gaming while another 23% is engaging in online food delivery to beat their quarantine blues. Content consumption has increased considerably, with a 39% increase in people watching the news, while 39% now depend on their TV. Also, social media has seen a 29% increase in user engagement, while ad revenue seems to be on the decline.  

Though Snapchat has achieved all-time highs with regards to engagement, their revenue from ads is down when compared to earlier months. While February witnessed growth in ad revenue of 58%, it dropped to 25% by March due to the COVID-19. According to Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel, most companies have had to cut their ad budget due to the pandemic, resulting in this slump. However, the growth in early Jan and Feb will give Snapchat confidence that they can improve their revenues once the pandemic draws to a close.

Medium

Medium’s Content On COVID-19 Becomes Questionable Because What Can Be Right Today Can Go Wrong Tomorrow

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Every citizen of every nation has become the prisoner of the novel coronavirus. Due to this outbreak, people have started losing their minds and much likely fall prey to misinformation. When every person is suffering due to this pandemic, misinformation is the last thing we wish for. But, how can normal people differentiate between the fact-checked, professionally-curated, verified information and random conspiracy theories? Had it been that simple, the spread of wrong information would have stayed in control. And, the hype for entertaining misleading information accelerates when reputed platforms like Medium publish them. Medium is one of the leading blogging platforms that witnesses both facts verified from experts and welcomes new ideas as well.

What has gone wrong?

Currently, the media is covering the statistics of COVID-19 as well as spreading awareness among people. Many experts have also published articles based on data gathered. But, when it comes to analyzing the seriousness of the coronavirus, a growth hacker and an epidemiologist are not the same. And, it all started getting worse when a Silicon Valley growth hacker, Aaron Ginn analyzed the situation in his way.

Aaron Ginn wrote an article based on his assessment of the coronavirus data. Medium posted the article and it spread like a wildfire. The article had certain hints of treating the deadly pandemic as an overhyped situation until Carl T. Bergstrom debunked it. Carl is an expert on infectious disease and criticized the article by a series of tweets thread.

He tried clarifying most of the misinformation by explaining it point by point. The article tried to dilute the gravity of the situation by explaining that it is following the bell curve. But, Carl said it doesn’t necessarily mean viruses will follow the bell curve unlike most things in nature. The coronavirus outbreak didn’t spread in every nation at the same time. And, speaking of less number of cases, the number of tests conducted varies for every nation and so is the population density. So, Medium removed the article immediately to stop the spread of misinformation.

Spot the correct information

But, amongst the misinformation spreading, Tomas Pueyo, another growth hacker posted a meaningful article on the coronavirus outbreak. The article was posted on Medium. This is one of the most famous articles on coronavirus with over 40 million views. Tomas set that the number of cases is growing exponentially and that it can take bigger shape in the future.

But, Tomas is no medical expert. Whatever he concluded in his article was a result of analyzing data and understanding research papers. A famous psychologist, Steven Pinker also shared his article. But, what is media without critics? Many people raised the question that he isn’t an epidemiologist so why should they support the idea. Tomas was delighted to hear it and said the article needs verification because he isn’t a medical expert. And, this rise in concern about what is right or wrong is what we need at this hour from common people.

Misleading information was taken down

An essayist, A. J. Kay who lives in Arizona started learning about the coronavirus situation. According to her, the experts were calling it highly transmissible which was not the scenario. But, what she failed to understand it testing started lately in the U.S. This means if anybody who was suffering from this disease was reported lately. By then it has already been spread to so many other people.

Without understanding any of this, she dropped an article, “The Curve is Already Flat”. The articles received 275,000 within the first 48 hours. But after a couple of days, she received a mail from Medium that her article was removed from the site. Medium informed her that the contents could have risked the lives of people so the Medium’s Trust and Safety team has reached the decision.

The conclusion

There are two categories of articles that are published on Medium. First, the ones that are fact-checked and written by professional journalists. The experts verify these articles and on the other hand, there are user-generated pieces. Due to the crisis, Medium now marks these user-generated articles is not fact-checked. Because it has the potential to put people’s health at risk. Moreover, the platform has amended “COVID-19 Content Policy”. Any article violating this set of the rule will be taken down without further explanation. Moreover, the figures are jumping exponentially every day. So, what theory might be valid today cannot be valid tomorrow.

Google to Reduce Nest Came Quality to Lessen Load on Internet Networks

Google to Reduce Nest Came Quality to Lessen Load on Internet Networks

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As the COVID-19 continues its rampage across North America and Europe, most people are still confined to their homes. Most of the schools, colleges and offices in America remain shut as people get used to working from their homes. However, with everyone staying at home and relying on video services for communication, bandwidth is getting more challenging to get your hands on. Similarly, thousands of school children now rely on the internet for their education. Therefore, it is safe to say that the COVID-19 has made things difficult for internet service providers, as they scramble to allow all this data transmission. Google has recently come out with their strategies to help such providers by lowering the load on their workstreams. Here’s a look at why Google is downgrading the Nest Cam’s video quality and how it can help.

Helping Ease the Strain

Google will start adjusting the video quality of its Nest security camera stream in a bid to help ease the strain that broadband networks are feeling. Since more people than ever before now rely on the internet for their communication and education, this step will be a welcome one. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic leaving everyone stuck at home, internet usage has skyrocketed as people try to learn, work and keep themselves entertained at home.

Google’s statement said that the company has decided to hear the global call to put learning and working first when it comes to bandwidth. As a result, Google will be making the required changes over the next few days to make it easier to access other forms of content on the web. Furthermore, Google also sent out a mail regarding the same to Nest Cam users around the country.

Nest Cam Video Quality

Therefore, in case you live in the US, and your Nest Cam suddenly starts transmitting mediocre quality video, don’t be frightened. Google has said that it will set camera quality to the default of all the people in the country who had opted for high quality and high bandwidth options. In case your settings are below default, they will continue to run on the same choice.

The company has also made it clear that it will not change any setting other than the video quality and bandwidth one. However, in case a user feels that they need high-quality images, they can reset their settings too high. Google said that this might be required in case the user relies on Nest Cam to survey their home and surroundings. Since a lower video quality will make it difficult to understand precisely what is happening, users have the option to reset it, if they feel the need to do so. Also, in case you leave the settings at default, Google promises to amp them back to high once the traffic recedes.

Other Changes

Google might also make changes to their Ambient Mode slideshows on Nest displays, Chromecast, and other Cast devices. The company is planning to reduce the resolution and rotation interval of the photos in the slideshows. Also, this hasn’t been the only step Google has taken to ease the strain on network bandwidth. The company had on March 24th, reduced YouTube’s video quality to 480p.

Similarly, Netflix, Amazon and Apple have reduced their video quality in Europe to lessen the load on broadband networks. Sony did the same for its PlayStation Network in the US and Europe. So, in case your Nest Ca delivers only mediocre imagery, understand that the step was taken to help in the fight against COVID-19. Once the world regains some normalcy, your feed too will go back to its high-definition quality, but for now, users will have to make do with their default settings.

tracing

Google to update Android phones with COVID-19 contact tracing System using Google Play- Two Tech giants Apple and Google’s initiative to assist in the fight against Coronavirus Pandemic

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Highlights

Apple and Google to work together and will develop a contact tracing tool related to COVID-19 tracking.

This COVID-19 Tracking System then will be available on Android phones by Google play service. But these updates will only available on android phones that use newer android versions starting from Android 6.0, Marshmallow, and other higher versions.

The first phase will be Bluetooth contact tracking which is an outline from next month.

Every industry, every individual is doing their best to fight the situation that arises due to deadly coronavirus. China, South Korea, Italy, and now America became the hotspot of the corona. The world economy is witnessing a downside. As well, the whole world is in lockdown mode. No doubt, the world is under the fear of coronavirus, yet many are working to ease the condition due to this global pandemic. Recently, two tech giants, Google and Apple take the initiative and announced to work together to help the health sector and government against COVID-19 fight.  Both firms announced that they started working on contact tracing technology that claimed to be helpful in the fight against COVID-19. While developing the technology the user privacy will be on top priority and all protections related to this are provided.

Google to update Android Phones For COVID-19 Tracing system

Now, Google gave confirmation regarding updating Android phones with the COVID-19 Tracing system. Google has collaborated with Apple to develop the COVID-19 Tracing System. As per the reports, Google to launch these updates on Android phones directly through Google Play. The company not only rolls out the updates but also will ensure that more android users will use it. However, these updates will be available on Android 6.0 and Marshmallow or above in the initial phase.

Today, after Google announced that Google Play will be used for this purpose. Thus, android users are relieved as Google Play is a feasible system available for getting software updates in a timely manner.

The update system will apply to both phases of Bluetooth Contact Tracing

As per the reports, these update systems will apply to both phases of the Bluetooth Contact Tracing Framework. The initial API rollout framework is due next month and the later stage is related to APIs. However, the second stage will arrive in the upcoming months.

Android Phones in China and Huawei phones could not update their system with COVID-19 Tracing S/M

Most of the android versions can update their systems with COVID-19 Tracing, but nothing is the same in the case of Android phones in China. Also, the Huawei Phone models that sold after the imposition of restriction by the US will boycott from these updates. Because after the US banned Huawei, its phones could not use Google Play, Youtube, and other services of Google.

However, for phones like Xiaomi and other Chinese manufactured phones, or we can say the government of China can decide whether to use this s/m or not that will be the framework by Google. As a matter of fact, this strategy is not new for Google. In 2019, Google used the same kind of strategy for its Project Mainline updates.

It’s a great initiative announced by Google in collaborating with Apple to work on contact tracing technology that claimed to be helpful in the fight against COVID-19. Hopefully, these updates would help to government and health officials in this global Coronavirus pandemic.