How the tech industry is innovating to keep homes free of germs amid the coronavirus pandemic, why some men refuse to dress casually while working from home, and more.

Ben Palmer's reads

Will dogs and cats need their own Covid-19 vaccines? As of now, scientists don't think animals play a significant role in transmitting the novel coronavirus, even as cases of Covid-19 have been identified in cats, dogs, gorillas, and minks. However, animals at some point may need their own Covid-19 vaccines to prevent the virus from mutating more than it already has, some researchers say. Writing for LiveScience, Rachel Rettner explains how the virus eventually could evolve in animals and why they might need vaccines in the future.

A new elevator button in the age of Covid-19. Touching surfaces in public is something many people are avoiding amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. That's why Stuck Labs in Singapore has developed the Kinect Touchless elevator button—a touchless way to select your destination floor in an elevator. When you walk up to the elevator plate, you hold your finger up to your desired floor number without touching it, and the number lights up to register your choice. Then, you mime pressing the button, and the button sinks into the wall.

José Vasquez's reads

How Covid-19 inspired the tech industry to redesign household goods. In response to Covid-19, the tech industry developed new innovations intended to curb the spread of viruses, germs, and other particles in our homes, Cindy Schweich Handler writes for the Bergen Record. Schweich spoke with industry professionals and home-goods retailers to round up some of most helpful, new innovations for keeping your home germ-free, including a touchless kitchen faucet, germ-resistant fabric, and easy-to-clean surfaces.

Why some men won't dress down to work from home. As many Americans traded their workplace offices for makeshift workspaces at home amid the country's coronavirus epidemic, a lot of them swapped their usual office formal wear with more casual clothes. But a small share of men who work from home have refused to hang up their blazers, neckties, and suits, because they feel "they must maintain some level of decorum even from home," among other reasons, Jacob Gallagher writes for the Wall Street Journal.