Tag: coronavirus

Mathematical tools to aid in the interpretation of coronavirus testing

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New mathematical equations co-developed by Puget Sound Institute affiliate research professor Marc Mangel are designed to help health officials interpret coronavirus test results for better risk assessments.  As more people in the U.S. are vaccinated and mask restrictions loosen, public health officials hope that the coronavirus pandemic has reached a turning point. Even so, the virus continues to rage around the world and concerns remain for people who are unvaccinated or may have compromised immune systems. Testing for new infections continues to be a critical tool in the fight against […]

Research in the time of the coronavirus

An endangered southern resident orca leaps out of the water in Puget Sound. Photo courtesy of NOAA.
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As the state’s stay-at-home order drags on, much of the work to recover Puget Sound has shifted online. Funding schedules for the state and federal Strategic Initiatives remain on track and events like the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference are going virtual next week with presentations by video conference. But researchers face an entirely different situation as labs are shuttered and field work is cancelled almost across the board. Megan Dethier, Director of the University of Washington’s Friday Harbor Laboratories calls the situation at her lab fairly typical. Friday Harbor, known […]

The coronavirus has been found in Tacoma sewage. It could help scientists track the pandemic

An illustration of the coronavirus. Image courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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Researchers at a non-profit biotech startup in Tacoma have found traces of the novel coronavirus in the city’s sewage, opening up new possibilities for tracking and monitoring the COVID-19 pandemic. The testing is being led by Center for Urban Waters collaborator David Hirschberg who directs the RAIN biotech incubator in Tacoma, along with RAIN’s principal scientist Stanley Langevin and recent University of Washington Tacoma graduate Ryan Culbert who ran the tests. “We found it,” said Hirschberg, who began collecting samples of raw sewage and sludge from the city’s Central Wastewater […]