Far UV-C as a method for disinfecting pathogens has many possibilities. But it has also led to some premature and potentially risky uses. Ultraviolet light has a long history as a disinfectant , and the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, is readily rendered harmless by UV light . The question is how best to harness UV light to fight the spread of the virus and protect human health as people work, study, and shop indoors. Read Full Story

With four lighting modes, GPS-controlled warmth, and a 60-year lifespan, this lamp is one of Dyson’s best creations yet. By now we all know that our body clocks and circadian rhythms, which help regulate sleep, are tied to the cycles of natural light . But with people spending so much time indoors—and with a huge sector of the population now working from home and spending even more of our lives behind closed doors—it can be tough to tap into those natural cycles. Read Full Story

The newest sales pitch is for antimicrobial-coated products, but you may not be getting what you paid for. As offices begin to reopen in the U.S.—even as the number of new COVID-19 infections continues to grow in some areas—many companies are hawking antimicrobial building products that purport to help stop the spread of the virus, from antimicrobial door handles to countertops, light switches, and paint with antimicrobial coatings. The problem: There’s no evidence that these products actually help, and a chance that they may worsen health. Read Full Story

Vollebak’s Full Metal Jacket, which retails at a whopping $1,095, is designed to take advantage of copper’s antimicrobial properties. The company sees it as the first step toward creating disease-resistant clothing. Vollebak, the clothing company that made a jacket out of graphene and a T-shirt out of carbon fiber normally used in jet engines and sports cars, has come out with its most ambitious garment yet: a coat made of microbe-destroying copper . Read Full Story

The popular antimicrobial material is now available in phone case form—though experts caution against relying on its protections too heavily. Copper might be the new plastic. As manufacturers race to shill products that might decrease the risk of spreading COVID-19, copper is rising to the top due to its antimicrobial properties. You can now find everything from copper-infused face masks , clothing , and “nasal wands” to hospital equipment . Read Full Story

The one-week time-out was triggered when OAN, a staunch Trump ally and chronic publisher of fake news, published a video about a bogus COVID-19 cure. YouTube has banned One America News Network from posting new videos for a week after OANN posted a video promoting a phony cure for COVID-19, Axios reports . OANN is also barred from profiting from its content on YouTube for the next week. Read Full Story

An extract from the plant may have performed well in the lab, but do not eat the flower in an attempt to get virus-preventing benefits: It’s responsible for cases of accidental poisoning across the globe every year. With COVID-19 cases and deaths rising in the U.S. and globally, identifying new therapies to prevent and combat the virus is a top priority. Natural products from plants are an attractive option in the search for a cure. Approximately 374,000 plant species are on Earth; humans have used more than 28,000 of them as a form of medicine. Read Full Story

Per the Department of Health and Human Services—in underlined font—hospitals should no longer report COVID-19 data to the CDC. Per order from the White House, hospital data on COVID-19 patients will now be sent straight to the Trump administration, bypassing its customary first stop at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Read Full Story

The best option is for doctors to not reuse masks, but during the shortages of the last few months, a team of engineers from Lehigh University helped a nearby hospital come up with a stopgap solution to make reusing masks safer. In a room at St. Luke’s University Hospital in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, sits an octagonal machine, 80 inches in diameter and about 5 feet tall, that glows with the bright blue of UV lights. It’s been nicknamed the “bug zapper,” both because it resembles an oversized one, and because, essentially, it zaps away the bug behind COVID-19. Using powerful UV-C lights, the device can decontaminate about 200 N95 masks with just 15 minutes of ultraviolet light exposure. That works out to about 600 masks per hour. Read Full Story

Sole proprietors, self-employed workers, and independent contractors are being left behind by loan programs meant to provide them with COVID-19 relief. Like many businesses across Ohio, Nathan’s Barber Shop in Marion County was ordered to close its doors amid the coronavirus pandemic. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has since extended the state’s stay-home order until at least May, and Nathan Riddle, the shop’s owner and operator, is running out of options. It’s been more than a week since he filled out the application for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan from the Small Business Administration—but he has yet to hear back from the agency. Read Full Story