SWC’s Fast Five
People are getting paid before payday, we’re no longer dependent on Russia for space flight, the science behind these vaccines is good news for COVID and other disease, economists’ forecasts look good post vaccine and you can act the fool on one social channel and shrug it off. Some good news for you as we head into Thanksgiving week.
So, here’s this week’s Fast Five:
1 Moderna and Pfizer vaccine technology starts with COVID, could also provide new treatments for cancer, heart disease and more
With mRNA, vaccine development becomes an engineering issue, rather than a scientific challenge. Companies can design mRNA vaccines relatively quickly once they know the genetic sequence of the pathogen. Researchers use the genetic sequence of a targeted virus to program the mRNA that can fight it.
2 SpaceX, why it matters
The SpaceX Crew Dragon is the first commercially developed spacecraft ever certified by NASA and the FAA to carry astronauts to and from low-Earth orbit. It is the centerpiece of a NASA drive to end the agency’s post-shuttle reliance on Russia for ferry flights to and from the space station at up to $90 million a seat.
3 More employers are paying employees before payday
PayPal is one of many U.S. employers looking for ways to help staff build their savings and avoid borrowing from pricey payday lenders. The company uses Even Responsible Finance’s app which includes an “Ok to spend” balance to help users avoid busting their budgets.
4 Vaccine could return U.S. economy to near normal by end of 2021
University of Michigan economists see encouraging signs for the coming year, depending on how readily a vaccine becomes available. The U-M call is close to the view of economists elsewhere.
5 No regrets. Now you can be an idiot on Twitter and not have to explain yourself later.
Twitter launched Tuesday a new Fleets feature for users who want to tweet something less permanent. You cannot retweet a fleet but the company says there will be no indicator if someone screen shots a fleet. So, there’s that.
