Herd immunity. What is it? What can it do for us? Or to us?
It can be our best friend and our worst enemy.
Herd immunity—friend or enemy?
Tag Archives: economy
Scientists are zeroing in on how to treat COVID-19 The world needs an effective treatment right away.
COVID-19 may infect much of population in many countries. From its origins in Wuhan, China, it has proven lethal in a small but alarming fraction of cases. The principal risk is pneumonia in elderly or already ill patients. There will be no vaccine for at least a year. The world needs an effective treatment right […]
An old drug may treat the new coronavirus Low concentrations of two of the drugs tested kill the virus
For those concerned about the new coronavirus—these days who isn’t?—good news may be just around the corner. Here’s what it could mean for you and your family and maybe for your job. Like any infectious disease that can kill people, 2019-nCoV is bad news. But so far, its bark is worse than its bite: the […]
Plain talk about quantum theory: It has no place for space and that’s a problem.
Quantum physics is in trouble. It needs a new strategy. Physics is mostly based around quantum theory. When physics gets in trouble it affects everyone. Physics is the fountain from which our economy springs. Quantum theory seems so esoteric many think they cannot go there. Yet at heart the problem and the opportunity to fix […]
After 117 years this quadrillion-dollar idea is gathering speed. But this golden egg may hatch too slowly.
A recent estimate tells us the next deep new idea in physics could lead to a quadrillion-dollar economic boom. This gives us a huge self-interest in moving new physics along. How does new physics happen? Specifically, what we are waiting for is Planck-scale physics. It deals with what goes on at a scale far smaller […]
Planck-scale physics needs to start with the beginning of the universe just like quantum theory started with the hydrogen atom
Planck-scale physics is not yet in its infancy. It is in gestation. Arranging a successful birth requires a strategic discipline. Walk before you try to run! For some reason (we will get to that) physicists seem doomed to run. Indeed—to milk the metaphor for maybe more than it is worth—they essay hundred-meter sprints before they […]
Planck-scale physics is in line to give a huge boost to the economy
A quadrillion here, a quadrillion there, and pretty soon you’re talking about real money. – With a tip of the hat to U.S. Senator Everett McKinley Dirksen The economy has been sputtering for years; it sure could use a boost. How big a boost could it soon get from Planck-scale physics? A new answer to this question may surprise you. Science Seen […]
Here’s a way to fix a big problem that is holding physics back
Physics has a fundamental problem. In studying space and things in space, it needs to make measurements. To do this it needs some kind of ruler. It’s called a “metric”. There are many useful metrics. So before doing anything physics must choose the metric to use. The problem then is physics is not studying the […]
Major sea-level rise is on the way and entire cities will be flooded.
The world’s last great ice sheet is in the process of collapsing. This is not about climate change. It is about gravity and unstable foundations. The West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) will raise North America’s sea levels ten feet when it goes. It will shift some shorelines inland many miles. A new study sets out […]