TLDR 2020-04-30

TikTok was downloaded 315 million times during Q1 2020, officially crossing 2 billion total downloads across iOS and android. The company has generated $435.3 million in lifetime revenue from user spending on iOS and $21.4 million in revenue on Android. China is the top source of revenue for TikTok, followed by the US. A chart showing TikTok’s growth per quarter since 2017 is available.

Ride-sharing companies have taken a big hit to revenue in recent months. Some companies, like Uber, have been able to counter their losses through food and grocery delivery services. Lyft hasn’t adapted its business model, and now the company has announced that it will lay off 982 employees and furlough and additional 288. Those that remain at work will see sizable salary cuts for 12 weeks, with Lyft’s leadership team receiving up to 30 percent pay cuts.

Scientists have discovered that collectives of bacteria feature a robust capacity for memory. The scientists stimulated the bacterial cells with light. Hours later, the bacteria were still able to remember the exposure, and the process was able to be manipulated so that memory patterns emerged. The study might give clues to how neurons in brains work, and the results open up the possibility of creating basic computer systems with living organisms.

There are more than 90 vaccines being developed against SARS-CoV-2, with at least six already in human trials. Virus vaccines use a weakened or inactivated form of the virus, similar to those used against measles and polio. Viral-vector vaccines use a genetically engineered virus to produce coronavirus proteins in the body. Nucleic-acid vaccines inject DNA or RNA for producing a coronavirus protein that prompts and immune response into human cells. Protein-based vaccines inject coronavirus proteins directly into the body. With accelerated steps, researchers are hoping to have a vaccine ready in 18 months.

LineClipper is a Chrome Extension that optimizes a developer’s flow between the browser and the IDE when executing file retrieval. It copies files paths with their respective line numbers to your clipboard when clicking on specific line numbers on GitHub. Example images are available.

This article discusses tips and tricks for using SSH more effectively. It covers how to add a second factor to your SSH login, use agent forwarding safely, exit from stuck SSH sessions, keep a persistent terminal open, and share a remote terminal session with a friend.

Medical researchers have had more than half a century’s experience with coronaviruses, with the first human version being identified in 1965 and multiple animal coronaviruses known before then. Four coronaviruses cause the common cold, and more serious variants have been identified recently, such as SARS in 2003, and more recently, SARS-CoV-2. Other coronaviruses can help confirm some information about SARS-CoV-2, such as whether it causes gastrointestinal issues and loss of the senses of smell and taste. They can also give clues to how the virus might behave so we can develop strategies to prevent its spread.

Reddit is adding a new chat tool that allows users to start small group chats from within popular subreddits. ‘Start Chatting’ randomly matches small groups of up to seven users in a subreddit who want to chat, creating a group thread where they can exchange messages. The feature has been testing in a handful of subreddits but it has been pushed to release sooner due to an uptick in its use since the beginning of the year. It will be available to around 16,000 SFW subreddits soon, with more available in the coming weeks.