A private Florida company, Healthe Lighting is offering a system to disinfecting people who walk through a framed doorway that uses Ultra Violet light. The cleansing takes about as long as going a scan at the airport. For UVC light is a lower spectrum of UV light that can isn’t harmful to humans that was recently developed at Columbia University and holds great promise to kill airborne pathogens such as the COVID-19. See related story entitled: Far UVC Light Kills Airborne Viruses that describes a technology developed at Columbia University. Fox news reporter Liz Clayman. Interviews the co-founder and Chief…
Author: Brett Johnson
Intelligent strategy depends on quality information. The Virus Project is committed to deep understanding on all aspects of the pandemic. We are seeking specific information about those who have succumbed to the disease by getting detailed information as possible. We’re seeking to collect for a two or three day period during the midst data on the following. We expect this to number approximately 400 records. Age. Sex. Underlying conditions. (diabetic, high blood pressure) Occupation. Source of income. Number of dependents. Head of household. Residence. (live alone, with family, single family home, nursing home, apartment, shelter, etc.) Zip code. Suspected source…
The development of a UVC light technology at Columbia could be breakthrough in curtailing spread of COVID-19 in indoor public places. The technology, developed by Columbia University’s Center for Radiological Research, uses lamps that emit continuous, low doses of a particular wavelength of ultraviolet light, known as far-UVC, which can kill viruses and bacteria without harming human skin, eyes and other tissues, as is the problem with conventional UV light. It can be safely used in occupied public spaces, and it kills pathogens in the air before people breathe them in. Scientists have known for decades that germicidal UV light…
There is endless talk about the impending vaccine and its promise to protect the population from Covid-19. In addition to my thought that massive, frequent testing is the most expedient way out of this public health crisis, I strongly believe that waiting for the vaccine is not the best strategy for helping society. Most vaccines take 2-5 years to develop and distribute. The Covid-19 vaccine is being “fast tracked” and scientists all over the world are contributing their efforts. In the event that this vaccine will be available in 12-18 months or even sooner, will that “fast track” compromise safety…
E25Bio, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based biotech startup that develops diagnostic tests for infectious diseases like dengue and Zika, has a new rapid antigen test for Covid-19. The company’s technologies grew out of an MIT lab led by Lee Gehrke, Professor at the Institute for Medical Engineering and Science (IMES), and Irene Bosch, then a research scientist at IMES. The startup recently raised $2 million from investors to specifically develop and manufacture testing kits for Covid-19. E25Bio’s rapid diagnostic test resembles an over-the-counter pregnancy test and provides visual results within 15 minutes by detecting the presence of the virus in the patient sample. As a point…
Top Israeli prof claims simple stats show virus plays itself out after 70 days A prominent Israeli mathematician, analyst and former general claims simple statistical analysis demonstrates that the spread of COVID-19 peaks after about 40 days and declines to almost zero after 70 days — no matter where it strikes, and no matter what measures governments impose to try to thwart it. Prof Isaac Ben-Israel, head of the Security Studies program in Tel Aviv University and the chairman of the National Council for Research and Development, told Israel’s Channel 12 (Hebrew) Monday night that research he conducted with a…
COVID-19 drug development is the research process to develop a therapeutic prescription drug that would alleviate the severity of 2019-20 coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Internationally as of March 2020, some 100 firms, university research groups, and health organizations were involved in stages of vaccine or drug development. The World Health Organization (WHO), European Medicines Agency (EMA), US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Chinese government and drug manufacturers were coordinating with academic and industry researchers to speed development of vaccines, antiviral drugs, and monoclonal antibody therapies. By late March, 536 clinical studies were registered with the World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform to develop post-infection therapies for COVID-19 infections, with numerous established antiviral compounds for treating…
Lack of materials needed to conduct tests gave labs a slow start Testing the right person is a crucial aspect in any pandemic. Apart from saving lives, widespread testing can provide important data required to model the course of the outbreak. Reagents are a critical component of testing. Unfortunately, many US labs have struggled to procure the reagents needed to perform large batches of coronavirus diagnostic testing. COVID-19 testing in the US In the US, the CDC provides the test kits for public health laboratories (PHLs) to perform real-time RT-polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) detection of the novel coronavirus. The CDC…