New estimates suggest that mass gatherings during an election in the Malaysian state of Sabah directly caused 70 percent of COVID-19 cases detected in Sabah after the election, and indirectly caused 64.4 percent of cases elsewhere in Malaysia. Mass gatherings of people pose high risks of spreading COVID-19. However, it is difficult to accurately estimate…

A new statistical model suggests that an infected student returning home for Christmas would, on average, have infected just less than one other household member. Professor Paul Harper and colleagues defined an equation to predict the number of secondary household infections using variables for prevalence of the virus, the probability of secondary transmission, the number…

Cyberbullying — bullying online rather than face to face — is linked to various types of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, both for victims and perpetrators, suggests new research. Their findings prompt the researchers to suggest that asking about cyberbullying should become a routine part of any children’s mental health or psychological assessment. The…

With the addition of just a small number of autonomous vehicles (AVs) on the road, traffic flow can become faster, greener, and safer in the near future. Researchers present a simple set of guidelines and regulations for achieving the self-organization of AVs into constellations that dynamically control the entire traffic flow even when fewer than…

Researchers used Seattle as a case study to find the association between TNC trips and on-street parking occupancy. They found that up to a certain point, more Uber trips meant more parking occupancy. But model predictions show that once TNC trips reach about three times what they were in 2016, parking revenues will likely decline.…

Researchers have developed a world-first flow model that could cut public transport commuter times on busy roads by identifying and removing bottlenecks. Case studies have shown commuters saved close to 2000 hours (between 7am-9am) and about 11,000 hours of passenger travel time during a normal weekday. When this flow model was implemented to improve the…

When traffic is clogged at a downtown intersection, there may be a way to reduce some of the congestion: Eliminate a few left turns. According to Vikash Gayah, associate professor of civil engineering at Penn State, well-placed left-turn restrictions in certain busy intersections could loosen many of the bottlenecks that hamper traffic efficiency. He recently…

Events of the past year have exposed the crisis of the digital divide in the U.S. To tackle this problem, researchers have developed a new tool to smooth the collection of federal broadband access data that helps pinpoint coverage gaps across the US. To tackle this problem, Michigan State University researchers have developed a new…

Researchers have developed the interactive web-based Maladaptation Game, which can be used to better understand how Nordic farmers make decisions regarding environmental changes and how they negotiate the negative impacts of potentially damaging decisions. Methods employed to tackle climate change, such as, for example, improving drainage systems to cope with increased levels of precipitation, are…

Study authors note multiple health issues including blurred vision from excessive screen time, neck and back pain from poor posture, carpal tunnel syndrome from repetitive motion, metabolic dysregulation from prolonged sitting and high consumption of caffeine and sugar, and depression and anxiety resulting from internet gaming disorder. Well beyond casual gamers, esport athletes practice three…