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There are a number of ways to make the bendable nose piece for the face mask. Let’s cover the best ones:

1. Crafting wire

Using a wire cutter cut 7 inches of thin crafting wire or floral wire. Curl in the ends of the wire to prevent the edges from piercing through your fabric. Curl either side about half an inch inwards.

2. Folder fastener

Prong fasteners such as those from office files are just the right length.

TIP: If there any sharp parts, you might want to cut them and / or curl them inwards. I prefer using mini wire cutters and bent nose pliers over larger multi-purpose pliers, but according to my husband you can and should use whatever you already have at home. 

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Never before, scientists say, have so many of the world’s researchers focused so urgently on a single topic. Nearly all other research has ground to a halt.

Using flag-draped memes and military terminology, the Trump administration and its Chinese counterparts have cast coronavirus research as national imperatives, sparking talk of a biotech arms race.

The world’s scientists, for the most part, have responded with a collective eye roll.

“Absolutely ridiculous,” said Jonathan Heeney, a Cambridge University researcher working on a coronavirus vaccine.

“That isn’t how things happen,” said Adrian Hill, the head of the Jenner Institute at Oxford, one of the largest vaccine research centers at an academic institution.

While political leaders have locked their borders, scientists have been shattering theirs, creating a global collaboration unlike any in history. Never before, researchers say, have so many experts in so many countries focused simultaneously on a single topic and with such urgency. Nearly all other research has ground to a halt.

Normal imperatives like academic credit have been set aside. Online repositories make studies available months ahead of journals. Researchers have identified and shared hundreds of viral genome sequences. More than 200 clinical trials have been launched, bringing together hospitals and laboratories around the globe.

“I never hear scientists — true scientists, good quality scientists — speak in terms of nationality,” said Dr. Francesco Perrone, who is leading a coronavirus clinical trial in Italy. “My nation, your nation. My language, your language. My geographic location, your geographic location. This is something that is really distant from true top-level scientists.”

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As the demand for face masks has been going through the roof in Japan, DIY face masks are trending on social media with instagrammers and vloggers sharing ideas on how to make alternatives to surgical masks. 

After we introduced a template and tutorial on how to sew a face mask last week, the article has received a huge traffic with comments asking for advice. Most of our regulars were seasoned crafters to whom a little sewing project would be a breeze, but we came to realize that at times like these, we can help more people by sharing tutorials that anyone can easily take advantage of.

This week, we are sharing the simplest, easiest and useful mask tutorial. No cutting or sewing is required. (Yes, it’s true!)

This mask is not meant to replace surgical face masks, but when you must go out, something to cover yourself is better than nothing, and at the very least, it will remind you to not touch your face.

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When a call went out to researchers at Michigan State University to search their labs for medical supplies such as face masks and donate them to medical workers battling COVID-19, assistant professor Nathan Tykocki and his colleagues started talking about how else they could help. They had 3D printers on hand. How could they put them to use?

As many other researchers and home hobbyists have discovered, the most promising answer turned out to be face shields. Simple in design, face shields can be produced and assembled by hobbyists on home 3D printers. If you are searching for a way to help medical workers and already have a 3D printer (or even a laser cutter) at home, you might be able to join an organized effort near you.

What is a face shield, and what does it do?

When a call went out to researchers at Michigan State University to search their labs for medical supplies such as face masks and donate them to medical workers battling COVID-19, assistant professor Nathan Tykocki and his colleagues started talking about how else they could help. They had 3D printers on hand. How could they put them to use?

As many other researchers and home hobbyists have discovered, the most promising answer turned out to be face shields. Simple in design, face shields can be produced and assembled by hobbyists on home 3D printers. If you are searching for a way to help medical workers and already have a 3D printer (or even a laser cutter) at home, you might be able to join an organized effort near you.

What is a face shield, and what does it do?

There are many types of face shields, but the type most medical workers are seeking is a piece of clear, curved plastic suspended in front of the wearer’s face by a headband. It helps stop bodily fluids and droplets, whether from a patient’s cough or a medical event such as a birth, from reaching the wearer’s eyes, nose, or mouth. A shield is usually meant to provide secondary protection when used with a primary piece of personal protective equipment (PPE) such as a face mask.

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In times of insecurity, we return to the basics, such as being with those we love, cooking with staples or growing food. While a garden takes time to grow, and it won’t fully feed your family, it can definitely increase your sense of calm and provide some help with groceries.

Fortunately, among the fastest crops, and the most useful right now, are leafy greens. They can provide something fresh and clean in a time of limited shopping. While there have been no reports of COVID-19 spread by food, there is peace of mind in cutting fresh greens you grew yourself. A garden is also a fine activity for schoolchildren home during this crisis. They will have fun while learning a garden’s usual lessons of consistent nurturing and patience.

There will be some limitations to gardening during this period of coronavirus concern. Most nonprofit vegetable plant sales have been canceled, and we are hesitant to shop at all, although San Francisco’s shelter-in-place order exempts activities related to food gardening. Many nurseries are open, though they might have shortened hours and could have shortages of particular plants, seeds or other supplies.

Remember that hardware stores, which are also allowed to stay open, carry some garden plants and seeds. To protect their workers, stores might allow only curbside pickup of orders. Mail-order seed and garden-supply companies are mostly operating normally but might be a bit slower to deliver due to higher demand. To learn of current conditions at local or mail-order sources, start with a look at their websites. You might be able to call them, but don’t be surprised if you get a recording because their workers are too overburdened to answer phone calls.

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A San Francisco doctor known for his research into a universal flu vaccine says that his lab has a potential treatment in the works for COVID-19 using SARS antibodies. If all goes well and human trials of the antibody treatment can occur quickly, he says it could be ready for a public rollout by September — and it could also serve as a temporary vaccine as well.

Dr. Jacob Glanville is the founder and CEO of biotech firm Distributed Bio, and a Scientific Advisory Board member for UCSF’s biotechnology program, and he was featured on the Netflix documentary Pandemic — which, somewhat uncannily, was released just a few weeks before the coronavirus officially became a pandemic, and before it was seen as a worldwide threat.

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