This Week’s Awesome Tech Stories From Around the Web (Through March 21)

MEDICINE

America Is Finally Testing for Coronavirus in Significant Volumes
Timothy B. Lee | Ars Technica
“On Thursday, the total number of coronavirus tests conducted in America topped 100,000, according to the COVID tracking project. That’s a 10-fold increase from a week earlier. In the coming days, we can expect the pace of testing to continue increasing as more and more organizations—both academic labs and for-profit companies—ramp up testing efforts.”

SCIENCE

Over 24,000 Coronavirus Research Papers Are Now Available in One Place
Karen Hao | MIT Technology Review
“Scientists are rushing against the clock to answer pressing questions about the nature of the virus in hopes of stemming its spread. The database not only helps them consolidate existing research in one place but also makes the body of literature easier to mine for insights with natural-language processing algorithms.”

3D PRINTING

3D Printing May Help Supply More Essential Coronavirus Medical Gear
Shara Tibken | CNET
“The medical supply shortage caused by the novel coronavirus could get some help from an unexpected source: 3D printers. Printer maker HP, teeth straightener vendor SmileDirectClub and various other companies are exploring ways to use their 3D-printing technology to build things like ventilator valves, breathing filters and face mask clasps.”

COMPUTING

Intel’s Neuromorphic Chip Learns to ‘Smell’ 10 Hazardous Chemicals
Christine Fisher | Engadget
“…Loihi learned each odor with just a single sample. That’s especially impressive, the researchers say, because other deep learning techniques can require 3,000 times more training samples to reach the same level of accuracy.”

BLOCKCHAIN

China Launches National Blockchain Network in 100 Cities
Nick Stockton | IEEE Spectrum
“It will be among the first blockchain networks to be built and maintained by a central government. Think of it like an operating system, where participants can use existing blockchain programs, or build their own bespoke tools, without having to design a framework from the ground up.”

NATURE

How Chasing Solar Eclipses Opened Me Up to the Awe of Living
Kate Russo | Aeon
“Totality is the perfect metaphor for life—it is intense, terrifying, awe-inspiring, beautiful, fleeting, and then it is over. Let’s chase these moments that inspire and connect us. Open yourself up to awe, and find meaning in moments that are there for the taking. Make your every second count.”

INTERNET

True Tales of Quarantined Socializing
Caity Weaver, Sanam Yar, Jenna Wortham, Molly Oswaks | The New York Times
“[The housebound are] holding birthday parties and bar mitzvahs over video chat, broadcasting DJ sets and streaming concerts (some from the luxurious confines of celebrity homes), and establishing quarantine movie nights on Twitter for ‘virtual companionship.’ ”

HEALTH

How to Keep Your Sanity When You Feel the World Is Going Crazy
Kate Cox | Ars Technica
“We’re all in this together, for several weeks and months, if not longer, and basically, we need to avoid driving ourselves and each other crazy if we’re going to get through it. That, of course, is easier said than done. To that end, we called up mental health experts to ask what, realistically, we should all be doing to help ourselves and others.”

Image Credit: Isiah Gibson / Unsplash