Beta Bytes: Week of February 6th, 2021
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Snippets of breaking news calibrated to science, technology, and engineering topics as well as our clients’ interests.
2021 Top Ed-Tech Trends Parents Should Know
A recent study found that millennial parents want more help from media and tech companies when it comes to digital parenting.
As many parents reassessed their roles when school began to close, media and tech companies jumped in to help. We can expect more supportive resources to bridge the learning gaps many of our children faced during the pandemic.
These resources include the development of VR headsets, immersive web experiences that do not require specialized apps, 3D scanning with lidar technology, and augmented reality (AR) glasses.
From Verizon
Qualcomm Announces Q1 FY 2021 Earnings
On a conference call on Wednesday, February 3rd at 1:45 PM ET Qualcomm released their most recent earnings report.
Adjusted earnings beat expectations but Qualcomm’s sales were slightly lower than investor expectations.
Qualcomm’s earnings were $2.17 per share, adjusted, versus $2.10 estimated and revenue was $8.23 billion, adjusted, versus $8.27 billion estimated
From Qualcomm Investor Relations
Jeff Bezos Stepping Down as Amazon CEO
Amazon reported more than $100 billion in quarterly revenue for the first time in the fourth quarter of 2020 and has grown over 27 years into a $1.7 trillion behemoth.
Bezos has been reducing his responsibility in day to day operations of the company for the past year, and instead focusing on The Washington Post (which he purchased in 2013), and Blue Origin, his space travel company that costs him over $1 Billion a year.
Andy Jassy, the chief of Amazon’s cloud computing division, will become chief executive, while Mr. Bezos, the company’s founder, will become executive chairman.
From The New York Times
The Second COVID-19 Shot Is a Reawakening for Immune Cells
The two COVID-19 vaccines cleared for emergency use in the United States, made by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna have reputations for raising the hackles of the immune system as in both companies’ clinical trials, at least a third of the volunteers ended up with symptoms such as headaches and fatigue;=.
Dose No. 2 is more likely to pack a punch—in large part because the effects of the second shot build iteratively on the first.
But much like any other learning process, in this one repetition is key. When hit with the second injection, the immune system recognizes the onslaught and starts to take it even more seriously. The body’s encore act, uncomfortable though it might be, is evidence that the immune system is solidifying its defenses against the virus.
From the New York Times
Information provided in this report is not intended to be, and should not be construed as, investment, legal or tax advice; and does not constitute an offer, or a solicitation of any offer, to buy or sell any security, investment, or other product.