In recent reports, some dogs have been trained to literally sniff out individuals infected with COVID-19. Now, a tech company is using the power of artificial intelligence to do the same thing with an “artificial nose” handheld device.

In a recent test, BrainChip Inc. and NaNose Medical were able to successfully detect COVID-19 in exhaled breath in much the same way a breathalyzer detects alcohol.  Their COVID-19 testing results are reportedly fast and highly accurate.

BrainChip is a leading provider of ultra-low power high performance artificial intelligence technology. In a press release, the company wrote, “Using the NaNose Medical artificial nose, and Akida’s artificial brain, is a potential breakthrough in accurate, fast, inexpensive, widespread (COVID-19) testing with the potential to control outbreaks and reduce this disease’s death toll.”

This NaNose Medical technology is based on the artificial nose developed at the Technion Israel Institute of Technology, by Prof. Hossam Haick, and has the same sensitivity to minute quantities of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) as a dog’s nose.

While it’s use as an instant or rapid COVID-19 test are new, the device has been used in tests to identify diseases including Parkinson’s, cancers, kidney failure, and multiple sclerosis for several years.

For the recent trials testing COVID-19, NaNose Medical collected samples from 130 patients and used that data to train its Akida neuromorphic processor. The system has now learned to recognize patterns of VOC biomarkers associated with an COVID-19 infection within seconds with a high level of accuracy.

According to a study in China, this type of breath sensor data is more accurate than current COVID-19 tests using the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).

Additionally, sensor testing like this reduces the risk to healthcare workers because the tests does not rely on saliva or mucus samples.

“Artificial intelligence in medicine and healthcare is an emerging field and one in which we are eager to contribute with our edge AI processing solution at the Edge, for the benefit of science and humanity,” said Louis DiNardo, BrainChip CEO.

Both Louis DiNardo, Brainchip CEO and Orit Marom Albeck, NaNose Medical CEO said: “Using the NaNose Medical artificial nose, and Akida’s artificial brain, is a potential breakthrough in accurate, fast, inexpensive, widespread testing with the potential to control outbreaks and reduce this disease’s death toll.”

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Now the XFL is coming back for a third time in 2022 thanks to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, his ex-wife Dany Garcia, and RedBird Capital Partners who acquired it for a cool fifteen million.

Johnson tweeted about it, a video was released, the current XFL president released a statement, and one city has confirmed talks for a return!

Watch the official XFL Returns 2022 video below:

Johnson’s tweet talked about hard work – which will certainly be needed to bring the XFL back.

“It’s an uphill battle,” Johnson tweeted, “but we’re hungry, humble and no one will outwork us.”

Aside from the PR tweet by Johnson and the video, there was actual news confirmed by one of the former XFL host cities that work was underway – even if it was on a very basic level.

The St. Louis Dispatch confirmed that the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission (CVC) was in talks with the XFL. The CVC manages the Dome at America’s Center where the St. Louis Battlehawks played their home games.

CVC president Kitty Ratcliffe told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that they had been in contact with the XFL about the return of the St. Louis XFL Battlehawks.

“We talked with them a couple of weeks ago,” Ratcliffe told the Post-Dispatch according to their reporting. “And they just reached out today to schedule another call. What they were doing with their (first) call is they were contacting each one of the previous venues just to let them know that the new ownership intends to restart in 2022.”

St. Louis averaged 28,000 fans per game, and led the league in merchandise sales, making them the most popular of XFL fanbases. St Louis was the former home of both the Cardinals and the Rams.

The Pandemic shuttered sports around the globe including the XFL. The league folded after roughly two-months of play consisting of five games for each of the ten XFL teams; St. Louis, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Seattle, Tampa Bay, and Washington, D.C.

XFL president Jeffrey Pollack released an announcement indicating that they want to take the rest of 2020 and 2021 to ensure that everything is in place for a return that includes a solid business plan and plans for playing safely with COVID-19 including possible “bubble” play and hopes for a COVID-19 vaccine.

“For the love of football and for the safety of our players and fans, we’ll be back on the field in 2022. The opportunity in front of us, with our new ownership, is simply too big to rush back. We want to do this properly with care and thought for everyone who loves football, especially our players, coaches, partners, and fans.”

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There are concerns that drug companies are being politically pressured to rush vaccines. Because of this political pressure, there is also concern that many people will not trust the vaccines.

Pfizer, however, was one not one of the many pharmaceutical companies that accepted government funding.

Spending billions of it own money on a vaccine, scientists at Pfizer are free from government pressure or meddling with their research and development of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Currently, Pfizer has 30,000 participants in its Phase 3 clinical trials of a vaccine for COVID-19.

Today, the company announced that it has asked the FDA for approval to add another 14,000 people to the clinical trial.

According to Pfizer, the expansion of the trial is aimed at targeting specific groups to improve the diversity of the trial.

The current 30,000 participants already include a diverse mix of ethnicity. However, the expansion is focused on adding more age groups and health diversity.

The current study did not include anyone under the age of 18. As such, the expansion group will add an age group from ages 16-18.

Also, in the expansion, will be individuals with chronic, stable HIV (human immunodeficiency viruses), Hepatitis C, or Hepatitis B infection.

On CBS ‘Meet the Press’ this morning, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla talked about the current trial and the expansion. Bourla said that he believes that a vaccine could be ready by the end of the year.

When asked, he said that it will ultimately be up to the FDA to approve the vaccine for the public.

However, Bourla said that he believes that their trials will be complete in time, and if approved, Pfizer will be ready and able to begin distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine.

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FSD Pharma BioSciences recently submitted an application to the FDA to being phase 2 trials of a new drug that may relieve the deadliest effect of COVID-19, giving patients in hospitals a much better chance at survival.

For most people who contract COVID, the symptoms are mild and often comparable to the FLU or a stomach bug. But for thousands in this pandemic the effects are much more severe. This is due in large part to the body’s reaction, particularly in the lungs.

Inflammation of the small air sacks in the lungs can cause some individuals to suffer respiratory distress – they simply cannot get air into the body from the lungs. This is referred to as a ‘cytokine storm.’ Doctors are left with no choice but to place these patients on a ventilator – and most do not survive from this point.

The new drug from FSD Pharma is called FSD201 (ultramicronized palmitoylethanolamide, or ultramicronized PEA).

It works by stopping this inflammation because of the drug’s anti-inflammatory properties. If successful, this would allow the patient’s lungs to keep working and deliver oxygen to the body while the patient recovers from the virus.

Once they get the FDA approval, FSD will move forward with the phase 2 trial of FSD201.

The clinical trial will consist of random patients across multiple locations using a controlled, double-blind approach which will compare results of the drug vs. patients who receive a placebo and continue to receive the current standard care.

Twenty-five to thirty locations in Canada and the U.S. will participate in the study.

The post New Drug to Treat COVID-19 Patients to begin Clinical Trials appeared first on CitizenNewsWire.

Many companies have opted for bailouts and many are merging. Airbnb’s efforts of twelve years have been destroyed just in a matter of six weeks. So, what does the future hold for travel and how will traveling look like post-pandemic?

Changes In Travel Post-Pandemic

Experts are now weighing in on this and forecasting that travelers may have to present a record of vaccination and an entrance visa. This can be provided in the form of paper or as a mark on their arm that can only be seen in infrared.

Does this technology exist? Yes, micro-needles can be used to give the vaccine and a mark under the skin storing the record of your vaccination permanently only to be discovered by infrared devices.

Apart from that many other safety and health precautions will be taken to ensure cleanliness and sanitation. This is why UV-cleaning devices are in the works. They disinfect everything thoroughly so that no germs are left in the air either.

Such devices will be used in planes, hotels, taxis, and many other places where many people come and go daily. In airports these devices could be used as passengers pass through security points to eliminate germs.

A PhoneSoap is in the works that will disinfect your phone using UV rays so that it doesn’t have any germs on it. In many cases, our phones are dirtier than our toilets and this is exactly what the soap will eliminate.

Emirates has its own testing kits that tell within ten minutes if a person is a carrier of the virus before they board their flight – just further proof that the world of traveling will change dramatically.

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