Reporting for USA Today, Karen Weintraub spotlights how researchers from MIT and 3M are collaborating on a rapid, low-cost diagnostic test for Covid-19. "The world needs as many useful tests as possible as fast as possible," says Prof. Hadley Sikes.
Reporting for CNN, Scottie Andrew highlights how researchers from MIT and Brigham and Women’s Hospital developed the iMASC, a silicon mask that can be reused and sterilized multiple times. Andrew notes that the mask is “a promising step toward addressing the critical healthcare supply shortages.”
In an article for Bloomberg Businessweek about the best online activities to help kids engaged during the shutdowns caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, Arianne Cohen spotlights Scratch. Cohen writes that Scratch, “is a simple coding language designed by MIT that lets kids create animations, write stories, and play games while learning how to solve problems.”
Prof. Sangeeta Bhatia and senior postdoctoral associate Leslie Chan discuss their work developing a synthetic biosensor to diagnose lung disease. Chan explains that “instead of relying on naturally occurring breath volatiles, we wanted to be able to engineer the breath signal that we could use to monitor lung disease.”
Washington Post contributor Anna Leahy spotlights Prof. Sasha Costanza-Chock’s book, “Design Justice.” Leahy notes that in the book, Costanza-Chock, “encourages a bolder approach that calls for the world to be redesigned based on an expansive view of people’s bodies and cognitive abilities.”
Writing for The Washington Post, Prof. Robin Wolfe Scheffler underscores the importance of not only pursuing coronavirus vaccine development initiatives, but also “addressing the social and political factors that exacerbate disease and limit the access of many Americans to basic medical care.”
Bhaskar Pant, executive director of MIT Professional Education, writes for The European Business Review about how cultural differences are influencing the varying responses to the Covid-19 pandemic. “In an increasingly globalized business world, effectiveness in communication and action requires a solid foundation in cultural awareness and cultural competence,” writes Pant.
Quanta Magazine reporter Thomas Lewton writes that a new study co-authored by Prof. Frank Wilczek explores how gravitons may create “noise” that could be identified by gravitational wave detectors. “There’s a kind of default consensus that it’s a waste of time to think about quantum effects and gravitational radiation,” said Wilczek. “There’s nothing like actual experimental results to focus the attention.”
TechCrunch reporter Zach Whittaker writes about Butlr, an MIT startup that has developed passive infrared sensors that use a “mix of wireless, battery-powered hardware and artificial intelligence to track people’s movements indoors without violating their privacy.”
Fast Company reporter Kristin Toussaint writes that a study by MIT researchers finds shutdowns and lockdowns caused by the coronavirus pandemic led to clearer skies and increased solar output in Delhi. “I think we’ve been able to get a glimpse of how the world can look like if we actually have clean air,” says research scientist Ian Marius Peters.
MIT President L. Rafael Reif and Michael McRobbie, president of Indiana University, call for new U.S. investment in science and technology. “Even as America grapples with today’s urgent and interlocking crises, we must invest in our ability to innovate,” they write. The Endless Frontier Act is "the kind of approach needed to meet today’s challenges.”
Writing for The Boston Globe, Prof. Carlo Ratti explores the importance of public spaces in bringing people together. “Public space is performing its primordial function: revealing fault lines in our society and helping to reconcile them,” writes Ratti. “This is a particularly important activity today, as the growth of digital communication is leading to increased polarization.”
A study co-authored by MIT researchers finds that the Paycheck Protection Program saved between 1.5 and 3.5 million jobs, reports David Leonhardt for The New York Times. “The study adds to the mounting evidence about one kind of economic stimulus that seems to have worked especially well during the pandemic: direct subsidies to businesses, to keep people employed.”
MIT researchers have found that the Paycheck Protection Program helped protect around 2.3 million jobs, reports Jonnelle Marte for Reuters. “The researchers compared hiring trends at companies that were eligible for the program to those that were too large to qualify,” writes Marte. “They found that hiring at eligible companies rose after the launch of PPP when compared to companies that did not qualify.”
Bloomberg reporter Maeve Sheehey writes that a new study co-authored by MIT researchers finds that the Paycheck Protection Program helped to boost employment by 2% to 4.5%. “The research suggests that providing money directly to companies helped curb job losses during the pandemic,” writes Sheehey.