Coronapod: The race to expand antibody testing

Benjamin Thompson, Noah Baker, and Amy Maxmen discuss the role of antibody tests in controlling the pandemic, and how public-health spending could curtail an economic crisis. Also on the show, the open hardware community's efforts to produce medical equipment.In this episode:02:08 Betting on antibodiesAntibody tests could play a key role in understanding how the virus has spread through populations, and in ending lockdowns. We discuss concerns over their reliability, how they could be used, and the tantalising possibility of immunity.News: The researchers taking a gamble with antibody tests for coronavirus10:25 Economy vs public health, a false dichotomyJim Yong Kim, former president of the World Bank, argues that strong investment in public health is crucial to halt the ongoing pandemic and to prevent a global financial crisis. We discuss his work with US governors to massively increase contact tracing, and his thoughts on how researchers can help steer political thinking.News Q&A: Why the World Bank ex-chief is on a mission to end coronavirus transmission19:00 One good thing this weekOur hosts talk about staying positive, and pick a few things that have made them smile in the last 7 days, including a tiny addition to the team, a newspaper produced by children in lockdown, and a gardening update.Six Feet of Separation, the newspaper staffed by kids22:51 Open hardwareResearchers are stepping up efforts to design and produce ventilators and personal protective equipment for frontline medical staff. We hear how the open hardware movement is aiding these efforts, and the regulations that teams need to consider if their designs are to make it into use.Technology Feature: Open science takes on the coronavirus pandemicSubscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.