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New research to be published in the INFORMS journal Management Science has found popular rideshare platforms exhibit racial and other biases that penalize under-represented minorities and others seeking to use their services. The study, “When Transparency Fails: Bias and Financial Incentives in Ridesharing Platforms,” was conducted by Jorge Mejia of Indiana University and Chris Parker of American University. In addition to finding racial biases persist, similar phenomena were also documented against people who show support for the LGBT community.

Lockdowns implemented in some countries to reduce transmission of the coronavirus were extremely effective at controlling its rapid spread and saved millions of lives, two new studies suggest. Shutdowns prevented or delayed an estimated 531 million coronavirus infections across six countries — China, South Korea, Iran, Italy, France and the United States — researchers from the University of California, Berkeley report June 8 in Nature.

They are the most effective barrier to combat the spread of the SAR-CoV-2 virus. To say they are a hot commodity is an understatement. We’re talking about N95 respirator face masks. A paper that appeared in The Lancet has found them to be the best resource to reduce the risk of spreading the virus based on scientific data.

Defective "taptic engines" slowed the rollout of the Apple Watch. It wasn’t long after pre-orders for Apple’s much-anticipated Watch began that trouble emerged. Reportedly within hours of going on sale on April 10, the wait times jumped by weeks and then months. Some models eventually were listed simply as unavailable.

It's not uncommon for U.S. pharmaceutical companies to pay medical doctors to promote their medications. Questions over possible conflicts of interest have led to introduction of laws that require payment disclosure so that the public can see which pharmaceutical companies are paying which doctors.