The drone boat of ‘Shipwreck Alley’ (10 minute read)
Many ships have wrecked along the Thunder Bay, off Michigan's northeastern coast, and some of these ships are still intact, despite being underwater for a long time. Divers flock to Shipwreck Alley each year, and last spring, they were joined by an autonomous boat named BEN. BEN was developed by researchers to make underwater maps. Mapping the ocean requires the use of boats, which usually means maintaining a crew, so our oceans have largely remained unmapped. An autonomous ship would be able to cheaply and efficiently collect data compared to a crewed vessel. BEN is equipped with sonar, radar, cameras, LIDAR, and GPS systems.
Coronavirus: Are there two strains and is one more deadly? (3 minute read)
An analysis of 103 cases of the new coronavirus has revealed that there are two strains of the virus, an L-type and an S-type. Viruses constantly mutate, and there are small changes every time the virus infects a new host. Both are involved in the current global outbreak. The L-type, which is more prevalent and thus probably more aggressive, is likely to have evolved from the S-type. Scientists have not identified differences in the viruses yet other than its infection rates. It is important to know how many strains of the virus exist when developing vaccines, as the vaccines will have to be able to target all strains of the virus. Some scientists say that the changes in the virus have been trivial so far and that there is no evidence that the disease has gotten any worse. It is expected that new strains will evolve as people develop immunity to the old strains.