An aggressive Covid-19 variant called P.1 has spread from the Amazon to other parts of Brazil and has now been identified in U.S. cases. WSJ’s Paulo Trevisani reports from Porto Alegre’s overwhelmed hospitals, where doctors say young people are getting ill. Photo: Tommaso Protti for The Wall Street Journal
Category Archives: Reviews
Architecture & Culture: Harvard Design Magazine ‘American Paradigm’ (2021)
The latest issue of Harvard Design Magazine reveals full redesign and new editorial model as it assesses the establishment, and reconsideration, of the paradigm of “America”.
Harvard Design Magazine 48: America marks a turning point for the magazine as the first issue under new editorial director Julie Cirelli, featuring Mark Lee and Florencia Rodriguez as guest editors. This issue also debuts a full redesign by Alexis Mark, the Copenhagen-based graphic design firm. Publishing this month, the issue gathers contributions from leading figures across the fields of architecture, design, urban planning, fashion, art, and governance, including Maurice Cox, Shaun Donovan, Michèle Lamy, Sylvia Lavin, and Marc Norman. Join Lee, Rodriguez, and Norman, alongside contributors Paul Andersen, Neeraj Bhatia, and Maite Borjabad Lòpez-Pastor, for a virtual launch event next Tuesday, March 23, 7:30pm ET.
Harvard Design Magazine 48: America reflects on the theme and definition of “America” through lenses of cultural production, racial justice, and architectural and design practice. In the 20th century, a paradigm of America characterized by progress, openness, and democracy was perpetuated—but with an ominous underbelly of exclusion, racism, and inequity left unexamined. While viewpoints on America’s story and history differ, if not reject one other, what is widely shared is a sense of 2020 as a breaking point—or, “a consciousness of an imminent existential threshold,” as write Lee and Rodriguez.
Covid-19: Inside Medicine’s Longest Year (2020 – 2021)
Science: Covid Treatments & Smart Cities Built With Smart Materials (Podcast)
Science Staff Writer Kelly Servick discusses how physicians have sifted through torrents of scientific results to arrive at treatments for SARS-CoV-2.
Sarah also talks with Wesley Reinhart, of Pennsylvania State University’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Institute for Computational and Data Science, about why we should be building smart cities from smart materials, such as metamaterials that help solar panels chase the Sun, and living materials like self-healing concrete that keep buildings in good shape.
TOP JOURNALS: RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS FROM SCIENCE MAGAZINE (MAR 19, 2021)
Covid-19: Israel’s Efforts To Vaccinate Holdouts
Israel is allowing vaccinated citizens to access gyms, restaurants and live concerts. As the country races to immunize all adults against Covid-19 and reopen fully, it is even offering free drinks and pizza to entice those who are hesitant to get the shot. Photo: Tamir Elterman
Future Shopping: Online Retail & Personal Data
The pandemic has upended the way people buy—online retail has soared as high-street shops and malls close. Brands are now racing to exploit one of the most important weapons in the battle for buyers: their customers’ data.
Read special report on the future of shopping here: https://econ.st/2Q8XQC2
Science: Computer AI That Debates, Sea Slugs Regrow Entire Bodies (Podcast)
A computer that can participate in live debates against human opponents.
In this episode:
00:43 AI Debater
After thousands of years of human practise, it’s still not clear what makes a good argument. Despite this, researchers have been developing computer programs that can find and process arguments. And this week, researchers at IBM are publishing details of an artificial intelligence that is capable of debating with humans.
Research Article: Slonim et al.
News and Views: Argument technology for debating with humans
10:30 Research Highlights
The sea slugs that can regrow their whole body from their severed head, and evidence of high status women in ancient Europe.
Research Highlight: Now that’s using your head: a sea slug’s severed noggin sprouts a new body
Research Highlight: A breathtaking treasure reveals the power of the woman buried with it
12:56 Briefing Chat
We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, the next generation of gravitational wave detectors, and why 2020 was a record-breaking year for near-Earth asteroids.
Arts Profile: ‘Cairde – Irish Riverdance Group’ (Video)
Cairde is a dance group that exemplifies Irish dance. As early as several thousand years ago the druids – high priests of the Celts – were said to have performed ritual group dances accompanied with music. This is possibly the root of the folk dances that later developed in Ireland to become part of the island’s cultural heritage. However, Cairde take a less traditional approach to Irish dance, aiming to give it a fresh image. These young men from Ireland have already received millions of clicks on their TikTok dance videos.
Reviews: ‘Can Subaru Hold On To Its Recent Success?’
Subaru started as a small scrappy Japanese brand, brought to the states by a couple of American businessmen in the 1960s, and was quickly met with ridicule. But it persisted, and over the decades has gone from being a small niche player to one of the most successful brands in America.
Subaru has weathered economic recessions far better than much larger competitors, and it is positioned near the top of consumer satisfaction surveys. But the ever-changing auto market presents some challenges for them, and they need to adapt to keep up.
When Subaru entered the United States in the 1960s it was panned by critics, and actually advertised its own cheap ugliness. Over the next several decades it would become a highly successful brand through a combination of offbeat but practical cars and a relentless focus on understanding its own customers.
The scrappy brand enjoyed a 93-month sales increase streak that ended in 2019, and it has found ways to survive during the coronavirus pandemic. But it is not without challenges. The intense demand for its vehicles has at times brought growing pains — quality issues and recalls gave led to an unusual quarterly loss in 2018.
There is also pressure on the company, like all automakers, to develop some kind of electrification strategy. Subaru does have a partnership with the much larger Japanese automaker Toyota, which is expected to soon produce an electric vehicle jointly made by the two companies.
