New Design Helps N95 Mask Wearers Breathe Easier

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May 26, 2020

Dear Reader, Although N95 masks are good at blocking viral particles, they can also reduce the amount of oxygen available by up to 20 percent. To address this problem, researchers developed a portable device that pumps pure O2 directly to the wearer. Read our main story to learn how it works. In other coronavirus-related news, early data shows that people infected with COVID-19 mount an immune response that includes killer T cells. Health and biology editor Tanya Lewis explains why that bodes well for a potential vaccine. Next up, after decades of speculation, astronomers are getting closer to solving the mystery of what's inside a neutron star—a turning point in the study of some of the Universe's most bewildering objects. Also featured in today's roundup: scientists are studying how bacteria in the gut can be harnessed to help people with food allergies.

Sunya Bhutta, Senior Editor, Audience Engagement @sunyaaa

Medical & Biotech New Design Helps N95 Mask Wearers Breathe Easier The device prevents oxygen deprivation in coronavirus-blocking respirators By Sophie Bushwick

Medicine Early Coronavirus Immunity Data Fuel Promise for a Vaccine Researchers found COVID-19 infection produces a strong T cell response. Here's why they say that is good news By Tanya Lewis

Biology Gut Microbes May Be Key to Solving Food Allergies New therapeutics are testing whether protective bacteria can dampen harmful immune responses to food By Esther Landhuis,Knowable Magazine

Physics The Strange Hearts of Neutron Stars Space observations are poised to reveal more about the centre of one of the Universe's most enigmatic objects By Adam Mann,Nature magazine

Environment Will the Earth 'Remember' the Coronavirus Pandemic? Tree rings, ice cores and sediment deposits could record changes in pollution during the global shutdown By Dave Levitan

Public Health Coronavirus Pandemic Threatens to Derail Polio Eradication--but There's a Silver Lining COVID-19 has stifled the world's largest immunization program. Yet polio's vast workforce is also helping in the fight against the new disease By Peter Schwartzstein

Conservation How to Protect Both Wolves and Livestock New research reveals clear guidance for reducing human-wildlife conflict and restoring wolf populations By John R. Platt

EARTH Because of Rising CO2, Trees Might Be Warming the Arctic Less water loss from plants causes the surrounding air to warm, and currents can transport that heat poleward By Chelsea Harvey,E&E News

The Body Skinny Genes Tell Fat to Burn A gene whose mutated form is associated with cancer in humans turns out to have a role in burning calories over a long evolutionary history. 02:38

Policy & Ethics Visionary Science Takes More Than Just Technical Skills The ability to come up with truly revolutionary ideas is crucial—and extremely rare By Avi Loeb

Space Europa: Three More Clues We have alien worlds right here in our solar system By Caleb A. Scharf

Policy & Ethics Funding Cuts Threaten to Hobble American Science Support for basic research helped to make the U.S. an economic powerhouse, but that's now in danger By Naomi Oreskes

Biology Smell Receptors Activate Ant Aggression Ants will not attack if they cannot smell enemies' precise scents  By Jillian Kramer

Cognition The Boredom Paradox Why lockdown feels less tedious than you feared   By Susana Martinez-Conde

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FROM THE ARCHIVE Meat Mogul Dies Penniless Searching for Sunken Treasure Originally published in August 1906 | May 2020

QUOTE OF THE DAY "People who wear N95s for long periods of time either feel like they're overheating [or] almost like they can't breathe because the mask fits so tightly and occupies such a large surface area of the face." Yousi "Josey" Oquendo, medical student and robotics engineer at Stanford University

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