People over the age of 60 living in the UK and the US who had more virtual contact during the pandemic actually experienced a greater increase in loneliness, new research finds. The study showed a notable increase in loneliness in…
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Immediate skin-to-skin contact after birth improves survival of pre-term babies
Continuous skin-to-skin contact starting immediately after delivery, even before the baby has been stabilized, can reduce mortality by 25 percent in infants with a very low birth weight. This according to a study in low- and middle-income countries coordinated by…
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New tool reveals security and privacy issues with contact tracing apps
Researchers have developed a tool to identify security and privacy risks associated with COVID-19 contact tracing apps. COVIDGuardian, the first automated security and privacy assessment tool, tests contact tracing apps for potential threats such as malware, embedded trackers and private…
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Some allergens that cause contact dermatitis are found in masks that prevent COVID-19
Throughout the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, those able to wear a face mask have been encouraged to do so to prevent transmission of the virus. For some people with skin allergies, wearing a mask can cause further problems. A…
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England’s new contact tracing app fixes privacy problems—whether it will work is another matter
The UK government has begun a trial of its new, revamped COVID-19 contact-tracing app for England, after its previous attempt failed to work as required and raised concerns over privacy. Unlike the previous app, the new version stores information about…
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How to keep your contact lenses clean (and what can go wrong if you don’t)
You’re rushing and accidentally drop a contact lens on the bathroom floor. Should you: run it under the tap and pop it in? spit on it and do the same? use the cleaning solution your optometrist insists you use? replace…
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82% of Irish adults willing to download COVID-19 contact tracing app
The vast majority of Irish adults—82%—are willing to download a contact tracing app to their smartphone to curb the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new research carried out by a team from Lero, the Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Software,…
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UK modelling study finds case isolation and contact tracing vital to COVID-19 epidemic control
In the absence of a vaccine or highly effective treatments for COVID-19, combining isolation and intensive contact tracing with physical distancing measures—such as limits on daily social or workplace contacts—might be the most effective and efficient way to achieve and…
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Bluetooth technology ideal for detecting COVID-19 cases through smartphone contact tracing
A study carried out by researchers at the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) and published in IEEE Access concludes that Bluetooth technology is ideal for detecting possible COVID-19 cases through smartphone contact tracing. The key is the higher precision by…
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