TOP JOURNALS: RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS FROM SCIENCE MAGAZINE (AUGUST 13, 2020)

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TOP NEW SCIENCE PODCASTS: NEW COVID-19 TESTING, HOW SPORTS BUILDS BONDS

Staff Writer Robert Service talks with host Sarah Crespi about a different approach to COVID-19 testing that might be useful in response to the high numbers of cases in the United States. To break chains of transmission and community spread, the new strategy would replace highly accurate but slow polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests with cheaper, faster tests that are less accurate but can be administered frequently. 

Such tests cost between $1 and $3 compared with more than $100 for diagnostic PCR tests and give results in less than 30 minutes instead of days. Read all of our coronavirus coverage here. Also this week, Salma Mousa, a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University, joins Sarah to talk about an experiment that added Muslim players to teams in a Christian soccer league in northern Iraq. The goal of the study was to see whether this type of social contact would change how the Christians—a threatened minority in the region—behaved toward Muslims, on and off the field. 

FOOD & AGRICULTURE: “The Robot Producing Crops Of The Future” (WSJ Video)

Arizona has what researchers call “the climate of tomorrow, today.” Scientists are using a 30-ton robotic field scanner in the state to study plant genetics and hopefully develop stress-resilient crops.

Photo: Jesse Rieser for The Wall Street Journal

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Top Innovations: Xiaomi Unveils “Mi TV LUX”, World’s First Transparent TV For Mass Consumer Market

Beijing, CHINA, Aug 11, 2020: Mi TV LUX Transparent Edition is the world’s first mass-produced transparent TV. With an edge-to-edge transparent self-luminous display transmitting images that seem to be suspended in the air, this TV ushers in a new way to consume visual content previously only seen in science fiction films.

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Mi TV LUX Transparent Edition offers a perfect combination of cutting-edge display technology and exquisite industrial design. For Xiaomi, it is also a major exploration of future TV forms. When Mi TV LUX Transparent Edition is turned off, it looks like a mere glass display. The pictures it displays seem to be floating in the air, merging the virtual and the real to bring an unprecedented visual experience.

Unlike traditional TVs that come with a back panel, Mi TV LUX Transparent Edition creatively embeds all the processing units in its base stand, preserving the compact shape of the screen and in the meantime brings about countless technical challenges.

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Morning News Podcast: Facebook Improvements, Kamala Harris & Thailand

NPR Up First podcastNPR Up First reports: Facebook is launching a tool to help users register to vote. Kamala Harris’ ethnicity will be important to voters of color. And, Thai students protest the military’s involvement in Thai politics.

Timelapse Travel Videos: “My Edinburgh 2” In Scotland By Walid Salhab

Filmed and Edited by: Walid Salhab

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe or Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world’s largest arts festival, which in 2018 spanned 25 days and featured more than 55,000 performances of 3,548 different shows in 317 venues.

Edinburgh is Scotland’s compact, hilly capital. It has a medieval Old Town and elegant Georgian New Town with gardens and neoclassical buildings. Looming over the city is Edinburgh Castle, home to Scotland’s crown jewels and the Stone of Destiny, used in the coronation of Scottish rulers. Arthur’s Seat is an imposing peak in Holyrood Park with sweeping views, and Calton Hill is topped with monuments and memorials.

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