Now on bbc news, we simply dont have mass Testing Available for the population now its time for click. And theres a big effort going on to try and get that this week the race in place as quickly as possible to trace the coronavirus. To be able to manage this. The pop up groups trying to help us all to get through it. 00 01 16,001 2147483051 37 22,715 and breathe helping children 2147483051 37 22,715 4294966103 13 29,430 to use their inhalers. Were in negotiations today to buy a so called antibody test, as simple as a pregnancy test, that can tell whether you have had the disease. There are two types of test being worked on. Diagnostic tests, which identify people who currently have coronavirus, and antibody tests these look for antibodies in the blood to see if a person ever had the virus in their system and if they did, when. The diagnostic tests are primarily based on a technology called is pcr polymerase chain reaction. This is a standard molecular technique that identifies the genetic material of the virus from a throat or nose swab. Special emergency use authorisation from the American Food and Drug Administration has enabled two companies to ramp up commercial testing efforts in the us. One is swiss company, roche, which uses these machines already in many hospitals across the country to increase the amount of people who can be tested at once. The other is Thermo Fisher which uses its applied biosystem pcr instruments. The company aims to produce 5 million tests for these machines by early april. But its notjust Big Companies getting involved in testing efforts. In west london, a community of open source scientists, engineers and microbiologists working out of shipping containers in the open cell bio village are trying to help. There are 70 shipping containers here with labs looking at a range of biotech challenges, from personalised medicine and dna sequencing, to bioelectronics and biomaterials. Its shared Molecular Biology Lab has been transformed to experiment with expanding Testing Capacity while also designing a portable lab solution built out of a shipping container that could be easily transported. Were trying to use these automative methods to speed up the testing kit because in order to test large populations, we need millions of covid i9 testing kits. Us company opentrons has donated two of its liquid handling machines to the lab for their work. These plates can test up to 96 samples at a time. These are also pcr diagnostic tests, like the ones we saw with other companies. But these are open source rather than proprietary and they say they would like to get the cost of testing down to £5 £io per test. Here in the uk, i think its really about getting into that nhs pipeline, being able to augment someones existing pathology department. And being able to say, look, heres the molecular biology kit with high throughput. So, the same one person could do 96 tests when they are doing one anyway. If it receives regulatory approval, the lab could theoretically be set up with just three machines inside a shipping container. As well as being able to augment existing pathology labs around the country, a shipping container set up could help people in places with far less access to medicalfacilities. Its not only useful for the uk but it will definitely be useful for other countries. And it is also something that can be reused in case anything like that happens again. Theres also a long term value there, really. There are other test being developed in the uk. The university of leicester is working on a face mask test, using money from Research England and partnering with the nhs to repurpose a test they were using for tuberculosis. By wearing a face mask for 30 minutes with 3d printed strips inside, it can show whether the person is breathing out the virus. Scientists at the university of oxford say they have developed an ultrasensitive test which can work in just 30 minutes. They say it doesnt need the kind of machines used in the other tests and can be deployed to rural or remote areas quickly. They also say its sensitivity means it can detect when someone is in the early stages of the virus, which could help slow down transmission. Detecting the virus in the early stages and in asymptomatic carriers could indeed be Game Changing in halting its progress. Getting more tests out to as many people as possible as soon as possible could provide the data needed to accurately track the virus. That wasjen and it will be fascinating to see how that story develops. Pretty quickly, i would imagine. Now, with countries around the world battening down the hatches and locking down huge swathes of the population, everyone is having to make a plan for how theyre going to live through this. Technology will play a massive part and Stephen Beckett has been meeting the pop up groups who are trying to do their bit. Following in the footsteps of china and other countries around the world, many people in the uk are now being asked to stay at home or self isolate entirely particularly if theyre in an at risk group. That isolation poses its own challenges, from getting access to the basic necessities, to looking after your mental health. Well, last week, pop up online communities have appeared to try and help solve some of those problems. This is the covid mutual aid network. Each one of those pins is a local group pledging to help people in their community isolated by covid i9. And believe it or not, just a few days ago, none of them existed at all. In less than a week, the movement has snowballed into an entire improvised volunteering infrastructure. Im so surprised by how much it has grown since then. Now there are more than 7,000 or 8,000 local people involved. Every single ward in london seems to be covered by a Whatsapp Group where folks are looking to volunteer or connect with other people who need help, so its phenomenal. At the moment, the real heart of all of this is something quite basic, its groups on whatsapp. These are just a few of the ones ive joined in the last few days and already theyve got hundreds and hundreds of messages from people offering their help and trying to get involved. Now obviously, this isjust around me but im told similar groups are popping up all across london and in some places around the uk. Beyond whatsapp, groups are using open access tools like google docs, sheets, and forms to bootstrap a whole volunteering infrastructure out of nowhere. And all of that organisation is essential if the groups are going to reach more people in the community who may not be looking for support online. Its about 9am and im in an estate in Central London just waiting for a few members of the local group. Theyre planning to flyer this entire estate, every single house, this morning. And the idea is if anyone needs help, maybe some supplies brought to their door, or even someone to talk to for a bit of support, then they know they have someone they can call. I think this is a really scary and anxious time but i think the best way forward is everyone coming together. And what an amazing time to discover your neighbours in this time were going to be shut up in our neighbourhoods. I think its grown so quickly because, actually, everyone feels a little bit at a loss of what to do and how they can help right now. I think everyones kind of thinking, well, we feel 0k perhaps, but what about the others who are struggling . Social media has pros and cons. This is one massive pro, so were actually now able to unite online. And given social distancing, we can now co ordinate and plan remotely and get together and also give each other support. Its really important that we dont feel isolated at the moment, although we are physically. Actually connecting via social media and bringing the Community Together is really helping to combat loneliness. The wider group are clear to point out that they are not medical professionals, nor is it an official charity. This is a volunteer Community Effort trying to do small things to help. Does that mean the goodwill could be exploited 7 i think its still a little bit tricky and dangerous at times, because the wrong messages can be sent and we are struggling with that a little bit as well. Like some misinformation or fake news being passed around which is just not helpful. Its such early days for projects like this, so its not clear yetjust how much impact pop up volunteering communities could have. But done safely, it feels to me like a good idea and some welcome good news. Hello and welcome to the week in tech. It was the week amazon stopped stocking all non essential items from its warehouses following the demand for household necessities during the coronavirus pandemic. Apple was served a record breaking 1. 1 billion euro fine by the French Competition Authority for anti trust practices. The company was found to have an unfair agreement to control prices with two french wholesalers. And the Us Department of health and Human Services was hit by a cyberattack in an attempt by hackers to slow down its response to the coronavirus pandemic. How would you feel if your favourite social media account called you ugly . It was revealed this week by the intercept that video sharing app, tiktok, instructed moderators to suppress posts created by users it deemed too ugly, poor or disabled. Tiktok said its initial goal was to prevent bullying and that guidelines have changed. If you thought gaming and reading were incompatible activities, think again. The Uncensored Library was created on minecraft by Design Studio blockworks and contains censored journals and articles which are banned in several countries as a way of avoiding press censorship. And finally, if youre concerned about whos preparing your lunch, theres a robot to help with that. This robochef in tokyo, japan, has been cooking up noodles for customers. However, the kitchen bot does need a little human help to combine the needles with broth and veggies. Ramen to that. Over a million children in the uk are suffering from asthma. A recent report suggests that 94 of all sufferers arent using their inhalers correctly. But it seems there could be some technology thats coming to the rescue in the form of an augmented reality app. Ive come to crawfords church of England Primary School in suffolk where theyve been trialling the app on both pupils who do and dont suffer from asthma. Lets press play the aim of myspira is to create a fully immersive experience to learn about asthma and the triggers, and at the same time, it gamifies improving inhaler technique. And its centred around two inhalers here both providing treatment, one of them preventative and the other to be used in the case of an asthma attack. Hello im here to talk to you about asthma. Someone who has asthma will have symptoms like coughing and wheezing. What we need is a rescue inhaler, otherwise known as a reliever. I was quite enjoying that. But more importantly, im joined here by a few of the first users of the app. Weve got freddie, jasmine and john. This looks like a game of pairs, what are you learning from this element . So this is each card will have something that could happen if you dont use your inhaler. So this one says coughing. Ive learnt how to use the inhaler and what the different inhalers are called, and what can happen if you dont use the inhaler. Well done, you found all the cards the issues with not using inhalers properly is that we see a much higher incidence of emergency admissions with acute asthma attacks, and also chronic infection occurring and actually asthma deaths still happening. How useful do you think this is to somebody who doesnt actually suffer from asthma . Well, i think it can be very helpful in case, lets say, youre with a friend, a Family Member and theres no one else there, and they have an asthma attack. You could find their inhaler and help them out with it. And how about you, jasmine . Because you do have asthma, i know, and how useful have you found it . Um, it really helps, if you want to learn how you use your inhalers. If you dont use your inhaler properly, then your chest will go funny. One of the issues is that children will inhale if they use the inhaler directly to their mouth they will inhale it too quickly. If the inhaler technique is poor, effectively, you may as well spray it up in the air and take a big breath in. Fa ct asthma symptoms are often worse at night and also during exercise. John, what do you think of the app . Like freddie said, its great for people with or without asthma because you could get it at any point of your life. So even if you dont have it now, you could have it later. The interactive part of the app is whats key here, and the gamification. We know that children learn through technology now. Thats the way it is. During an appointment, wed love to have more time to be able to spend with them but actually, what they can do with the app is take it home, learn in an environment theyre comfortable in and also learn at their own pace. I cant really question how immersive this is because all three of them looked totally glued to the tablets. The knowledge gleaned from this ar game could prove life saving. I hope youve enjoyed the video thats all i have to show you for now that was lara with a remainder that there are other conditions which also need managing. Lest we forget. So, earlier, we looked at how social media was allowing people to come together to try and help us all to get through the covid i9 outbreak. We have a different tale now of how tech can, in small ways, help chip away at poverty and hunger. David reid has been to mumbai to see an app which is co ordinating deliveries of free food to the citys poor. Mumbais dabbawalas mastered food delivery almost a century before mobile phones and apps were even invented. Theyve been studied by Business Schools and featured in movies. Now theyre among the lead actors in another story centring on an app to feed mumbais hungry. A fascinating enough tale on its own, but for the extraordinary life stories of the other people behind the app. I met up with navin who, eight years ago, had an appalling car accident in hong kong. I had a crash, and i didnt even know i had a crash. He lingered in a coma for months. When he finally woke up, his outlook on life had changed. After spending five months in the hospital, i was given the chance to live again. And i had to ask myself the question, what is the difference i have made as a human . Navin put his head towards one of the biggest issues of our time inequality. His aim was to somehow get those with too much to give to those with not enough. A place like mumbai has very visible disparities of wealth. What is less easy to see is how do you get that oversupply, that excess, into the hands of those who really need it . Navin teamed up with someone else whod cheated death, cancer survivor and app developer darshan. They put together an app that lets people pinpoint a need and find someone to meet it. You find some person who is in need of some food. You go ahead and take a photo of that person or that location. Then you can target that location and broadcast that within the group, with people who are in your vicinity. The need can be food, clothes, shelter anything. The tag also carries other details local landmarks, how many live at the address, that kind of thing. Now, you can meet the need yourself or be like the dabbawalas and find someone on the app whos got something to give. Shree ganesh restaurant cooked a little too much this lunchtime. Theyve put it on the gift a deed app, so food that would otherwise go to waste is picked up by the dabbawalas. They scan the app for someone nearby who needs it, and hit the road. Manisha has six mouths to feed. She says they usually eatjust once a day, so shes super happy to have an extra meal today. Oh, and she says the kids loved it. Incidentally, the geotag for the need can only be removed by someone at that location. So once the need is met, the flag comes down. Its kind of like pokemon go giving is becoming a game. The gamification starts from the time you start identifying a need. The app awards points to the users and the dashboard also reflects which are the top taggers in the city. So its sort of like competitive philanthropy . I wouldnt even call it competitive but i would call it encouraging and rewarding people to see at any time the good they have done, so that they can do more good. To be contagious goodness can be contagious. The apps onlyjust off the ground but theres already been thousands of meals delivered. The developers envisage tweaking the app to track Disaster Relief and aid deliveries. If so, with their brushes with death, darsha and navin could end up even saving the lives of many others. That was david reid in mumbai. Right. Whos up for a big dollop of escapism . Yeah . Uh huh . I thought so. Well, the movie Avengers Endgame is pretty hard to beat in that respect. And weve been behind the scenes with visual effects supervisor matt aiken to see how they brought the films climactic battle to life. Warning this will contain spoilers. But if you havent seen it yet, well, i imagine you would be streaming in the next few weeks, actually. Thanos did exactly what he said he was going to do. He wiped out 50 of all living creatures. Our work on the end battle was kind of encompassed all the different aspects of modern Digital Effects work. We had lead digital characters, we had giant battle scenes with entirely digital armies, the battles taking place in an environment thats almost entirely digital. Lots of complex simulation work with destruction events and fire and complex you know, all the superpowers often involve simulation work. Digital doubles of, like, 47 lead marvel characters for those wide battle shots. So, you know, a fantastic space to be working in. I think the way that marvel they way they really make it work is that they keep these vast battles, they keep them personal. So even though youve got these huge, wide, epic shots of the armies clashing, those are actually few and far between. We dont spend a lot of time in that sort of space and we quickly drill into the individual conflicts, battles, all the emotional lines that are playing out with all of these these multitude of heroes that are coming together on this battlefield. Chunks of it could be blocked out quite early on, but there are pieces of the puzzle that were about