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In the course of the research conducted by the crisis sociology team of the University of Tartu Institute of Social Studies, representatives of Estonian care facilities and nearly 60 clients of homeless shelters, soup kitchens and rehabilitation centres were interviewed to find out about their experiences during the coronavirus crisis.

The crisis sociology research group of the University of Tartu Institute of Social Studies and the Estonian Rescue Board have designed a tool helping to target rescue services and social assistance, as well as information, more effectively before and during emergencies.

Today, the world’s first autonomous hydrogen vehicle, created by the Estonian enterprise Auve Tech in cooperation with University of Tartu researchers, was presented to the public for the first time in Tartu. The first passenger on the hydrogen vehicle was the President of Estonia Kersti Kaljulaid.

Many personality traits are associated with health indicators, such as body mass index. Although personality traits are often believed to affect body mass index, there is little concrete evidence to that effect. Researchers who began to study such associations have come to quite unexpected conclusions.

On 7 July, the government of Estonia approved an order pursuant to which foreigners from countries with a high risk of infection outside the European Union can enter Estonia only if they take a coronavirus test before arriving in Estonia and the result is negative.

To encourage researchers to apply for European Research Council grants, the Grant Office has developed and is piloting a 10,000-euro UT ERC Incentive Grant. Its purpose is to free up the applicant’s time for writing a research grant application. The first call for applications takes place in the autumn already and will involve up to 20 researchers.

The latest results of the waste water monitoring study led by the University of Tartu confirm the decrease in coronavirus amounts in waste water all over Estonia. This week’s map shows no places marked with very high virus concentration.

The presentation of the first autonomous hydrogen vehicle in the world, created by the Estonian enterprise Auve Tech in cooperation with University of Tartu researchers, takes place in front of the main building of the University of Tartu (Ülikooli 18) on Monday, 5 July at 11. At about 11:30, President Kersti Kaljulaid will take the first ride on the hydrogen shuttle bus.

Starter Tartu spring programme comes to an end with the spring semester. This semester was a challenge for both the Startup Lab and the students, because instead of physical meetings, all activities were organised online. Nevertheless, a large number of enterprising students completed the programme.

Milrem Robotics secured a European Space Agency (ESA) contract to start applying its autonomy capabilities towards planetary rovers with Tartu Observatory. The current project, planned as the first in a series of projects, aims to map the current state of the art of planetary rovers and develop tools to increase planetary rover autonomy using the methods Milrem Robotics is currently applying in its terrestrial ecosystem of products. The agreement was signed last week.

Research news give hints of some of the interesting studies conducted in different fields. Social Sciences How to teach children to understand a text?

The Guild voices its concerns regarding the existing regulatory frameworks on health data which are putting medical research in Europe under a threat. Access to a large volume and diverse range of data is crucial for the improvement of diagnostic techniques and treatments, and for preventive and health strategies.

The map of the results of this week’s wastewater monitoring study shows few settlements with high and very high coronavirus readings to a predominantly green background. Compared to the index representing the average situation in Estonia, virus readings are slightly higher in Harju County, Ida-Viru County and in central Estonia.

The results of the last, recently ended stage of the coronavirus prevalence survey led by the University of Tartu show that the percentage of infectious adults in the population has decreased to 0.05%, while the proportion of adults with antibodies has grown to nearly 70%.

University of Tartu Narva College and Swedbank have concluded a cooperation agreement to support the development of IT and entrepreneurship in Ida-Viru County. Within the cooperation, experts from Swedbank will be involved in teaching the curricula “Entrepreneurship and Digital Solutions” and “Information Technology Systems Development” of Narva College.

The Estonian autonomous vehicle manufacturer Auve Tech and the University of Tartu have collaborated to develop the world's first autonomous hydrogen vehicle, which has now driven its first test kilometers and passed the test of Estonian Road Administration in order to start operating on public roads. The world premiere event introducing this shuttle bus created in Estonia will take place on 5 July in Tartu, Estonia.

The beginning of the new academic year is two months away and a lot may happen in this period. We hope that Covid-19 vaccination is progressing smoothly but we still have to be prepared for the spreading of new virus strains and for new waves of the pandemic.

This week’s results of the wastewater analysis led by the University of Tartu confirm a continuous decline of coronavirus. According to the lead researcher of the study, Professor of Technology of Antimicrobial Compounds of the University of Tartu Tanel Tenson, two thirds of the samples taken this week contain small amounts of the virus.

In the new funding period of the KoroGeno-EST project, medical researchers of the University of Tartu are planning to sequence and analyse up to 6,500 full-genomic sequences of SARS-CoV-2 in Estonia. An interactive environment to display the most important results of KoroGeno-EST-3 is also being created.

The recipients of this year’s 6,000-euro young talent awards of the L’Oreal Baltic For Women in Science Programme are University of Tartu researcher Kaija Põhako-Esko and doctoral student Mari-Ann Lind. With the help of the fellowship they try to help people with innovative soft robotics solutions and improve the living conditions of animals through microbial research.