Top New Science Podcasts: Reopening Schools Amid Covid-19, Oil Processing
Contributing Correspondent Gretchen Vogel talks about what can be learned from schools around the world that have reopened during the coronavirus pandemic. Unfortunately, few systematic studies have been done, but observations of outbreaks in schools in places such as France or Israel do offer a few lessons for countries looking to send children back to school soon.
The United Kingdom and Germany have started studies of how the virus spreads in children and at school, but results are months away. In the meantime, Gretchen’s reporting suggests small class sizes, masks, and social distancing among adults at schools are particularly important measures.
Also this week, Sarah talks with Kiristie Thompson, a Ph.D. student in the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, about increasing the efficiency of petroleum processing. If all—or even some—petroleum processing goes heat free, it would mean big energy savings. Around the world, about 1% of all energy use goes to heating up petroleum in order to get useful things such as gas for cars or polymers for plastics. These days, this separation is done through distillation, heating, and separating by boiling point. Kirstie describes a heat-free way of getting this separation—by using a special membrane instead. Read a related Insight.
Health Technology Video: “Smart Insulin Pumps” For Diabetes Management
Technology is finally innovating diabetes management. With the advancement in technologies like continuous glucose monitors, traditional insulin pumps are evolving into smarter devices that can automate insulin delivery.
Medtronic and Tandem Diabetes are the only two companies to offer hybrid closed loop systems. A community of diabetics are also hacking pumps to do the same thing. CNBC’s Erin Black just switched from the hacked system to Tandem’s Control-IQ and takes a look at how insulin pumps are getting smarter.
Top New Camper Vans: “Yama Vans – Brooklyn Way” – “Off-Grid Stunning”
Bright, open and modern, Brooklyn Way boasts a truly unique design aesthetic. Brooklyn was built with the perfect balance of modern, comfortable living and functional, off-grid, off-road ability. Brooklyn will take you as far as you’re ready to go and look good while doing it.
Some of Brooklyn’s main features include:
EXTERIOR
Agile Off Road Suspension Package
Aluminess Roof Rack
Aluminess Side Ladder
Flarespace Flares
INTERIOR
Hot water shower and Cassette Toilet
75L Vitrifrigo Marine Grade Refrigerator
Webasto X100 Two Burner Diesel Cooktop
Custom Scheel-Mann Leather Captain Seats
Marine Grade Flooring
3 Skylights
Under Cabinet LED Strip Lighting
Future Of Living Spaces: “Studypod” And “Birdbox” By Livit Design Studio
Science shows that being surrounded by plants, trees and nature improves mental health, productivity and learning abilities. This is why Studypod is designed to be placed in your garden, in the forest or any inspiring environment. With one large window in the front, its like working outside while being sheltered.
Birdbox is a prefabricated room designed to bring you close to nature. It should give you comfort and shelter, at the same time be small and light enough to be placed in unique places with minimal footprint.
Birdbox comes in two versions, Birdbox Mini and Birdbox Medi. Delivered key ready with interior.
A room for imagination
Home office, Yoga studio, hobby room, extra bedroom. With the detachable desk comes new opportunities. Studypod can be used as a affordable on site office solution.
Add extra mobility with heavy duty lockable wheels.
Top New Travel Videos: “Most Beautiful Medieval Towns In Europe” (2020)
When planning a vacation to Europe, some of the first destinations that come to mind will be the teeming cities of Paris, London or Rome. Each of these metropolises is incredible, but they are far from all that Europe has to offer. By exploring some of the small towns across the continent, it is possible to see a more authentic, traditional side to Europe. Here’s a look at the most beautiful medieval towns of Europe:
Morning News Podcasts: Public Health Experts, 2020 Campaign & Hacks
This week, the Trump administration ordered hospitals to bypass the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention send all coronavirus-related data straight to the Department of Health and Human Services. This is just the latest step in President Trump’s war on public health experts.
- Plus, a shakeup on Trump’s 2020 campaign team.
- And, a major Twitter hack Wednesday afternoon left some of the most powerful people on the platform vulnerable to a cryptocurrency scam.
Guests: Axios’ Sam Baker, Mike Allen, and Ina Fried.
New Travel Guide Videos: “Osaka – Japan” (Expedia)
Osaka – Venture to Japan’s third-largest city and discover the rich blend of traditional and modern culture, from temples to anime.
Osaka is a large port city and commercial center on the Japanese island of Honshu. It’s known for its modern architecture, nightlife and hearty street food. The 16th-century shogunate Osaka Castle, which has undergone several restorations, is its main historical landmark. It’s surrounded by a moat and park with plum, peach and cherry-blossom trees. Sumiyoshi-taisha is among Japan’s oldest Shinto shrines.
Travels With A Curator: “Villa Barbaro, Maser” In Italy (The Frick Video)
In this week’s episode of “Travels with a Curator,” join Xavier F. Salomon, Deputy Director and Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator, on an excursion to one of his favorite places in the world, Villa Barbaro in Maser, Italy. Designed in the sixteenth century by Andrea Palladio, the villa is decorated floor to ceiling with magnificent frescoes by Paolo Veronese. The Frick is home to two allegorical paintings by Veronese that he produced in the 1560s, shortly after completing his work on the villa.
New Wildlife Books: “A Lifetime in Galápagos” By Tui De Roy (Princeton)
Featuring hundreds of breathtaking color photos, this stunning book guides you into labyrinthine mangroves to observe nesting herons, to misty cloud forests to glimpse flycatchers and orchids, high onto erupting volcanoes, and into the ocean to swim with hammerhead sharks.
A beautifully illustrated and deeply personal chronicle of De Roy’s lifelong connection with these spectacular islands
Tui De Roy was a year old in 1955 when her family left Europe, boarding a banana boat bound for the Pacific to lead a different sort of life in Galápagos, one of self-sufficiency and living close to nature. She grew up on the islands and returned to them often over the next five decades. Discovering photography at a young age, she has dedicated her life to recording the islands’ natural history in infinite detail. A Lifetime in Galápagos is De Roy’s intimate portrait of one of the most spectacular places on Earth, presenting the wildlife and natural wonders of Galápagos as you have never seen them before.
De Roy’s lens provides up-close encounters with orca and sperm whales, colonies of iguanas, and the giant tortoises of Alcedo Volcano. She paints unforgettable portraits of her childhood in Galápagos―the islands at night under the stars of the Milky Way, sea lions at play and on the hunt, the diverse birdlife of Galápagos, and much more.
Blending striking images with vivid prose, A Lifetime in Galápagos also discusses the threats that global warming and other environmental challenges pose to the archipelago’s unique wildlife and fragile habitats.
Boomers Daily 