Get smart fast: Your top research stories of the week Sept. 4
Here’s some CU news you can use: What we flush down the toilet can contain the virus that causes COVID-19; researchers take the ultimate Earth mirror selfie; andÌýwhy face coverings are important even outdoors.Ìý
How sampling campus wastewater aims to keep COVID-19 in check
What we learned:
- ​What we flush down the toilet can contain the virus that causes COVID-19, SARS-COV-2.
- A new network of sampling stations on campus will anonymously monitor the wastewater leaving residence halls.
- This system can provide an early warning, detecting infections almost a week before someone with COVID-19 might exhibit symptoms and need to seek medical attention.Ìý
Researchers take the ultimate Earth selfie
What we learned:
- Researchers used the Hubble Space Telescope to view Earth as if it were an exoplanet, or a world orbiting a star many lightyears away.
- The group recorded the properties of sunlight that had filtered through the planet's atmosphere, then bounced off the surface of the moon during a total lunar eclipse.
- The researchers were able to detect the signature of the ozone in Earth's atmosphere—a molecule that is a potential "biosignature" for the presence of life.Ìý
Even outdoors—why face coverings are important
What we learned:​
- Face coverings work. Basically, face coverings reduce how many viruses an infected person puts into the air, and they also reduce how many viruses a susceptible person will inhale. They reduce both.
- You don't want to be talking to someone in close proximity without a face covering. The approach that is closest to a silver bullet of prevention is being outdoors, distanced and with face coverings.
- Make sure your face covering fits well.
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