TechCrunch reporter Darrell Etherington writes that researchers from MIT and 3M are working on creating a new diagnostic tool for Covid-19 that can be manufactured cheaply and in large volumes for mass distribution. “The goal is to create a test that detects viral antigens,” Etherington explains, adding that the tests “provide results much faster than the molecular PCR-based test.”
In response to a lawsuit filed by MIT and Harvard, the Department of Homeland Security rescinded a directive that would have prevented thousands of foreign students from studying in the U.S. “It’s a huge relief,” graduate student Angie Jo told The Boston Globe. “I’ve really put down roots here. It would be like leaving home for me.”
WBUR’s Max Larkin and Shannon Dooling report that the Department of Homeland Security has agreed to withdraw its July 6th policy. "Lawyers from across the United States had swarmed behind Harvard and MIT as they challenged the policy,” note Larkin and Dooling. “As of Tuesday morning, the docket showed over a dozen amicus briefs filed in the case’s weeklong history.”
AP reporter Collin Binkley writes that the Department of Homeland Security rescinded a rule that would have barred foreign students from studying in the U.S. “This case also made abundantly clear that real lives are at stake in these matters, with the potential for real harm,” said MIT President L. Rafael Reif. “We need to approach policy making, especially now, with more humanity, more decency — not less.”
In an op-ed in The New York Times, MIT President L. Rafael Reif writes that it is “self-defeating” for the U.S. government to signal that it wants foreign students to stay away. “Precisely at a time when we face sharp economic rivalries, we are systematically undermining the very U.S. strength our competitors envy most,” he cautions.
Dean Hashim Sarkis speaks with Washington Post reporter Philip Kennicott about his new book, “The World as an Architectural Project” and the role of architecture in a post-pandemic world. “As architects, we are condemned to optimism,” says Sarkis. “Our field is necessarily about proposing and imaging new things, what the world could be through making a part of it better.”
TechCrunch reporter Darrell Etherington writes that CSAIL researchers have built a new two-fingered robotic gripper. The researchers “equipped their robotic gripper with fingertips that are not only made out of a soft material, but that also have embedded sensors which help it continually detect the position of a cable between the grippers to better control holding and manipulating them while performing simple tasks like detangling.”
Prof. Giovanni Traverso speaks with CBS Boston about a new silicon mask with N95 filters that can be reused and sterilized. “We recognize that not everybody has the sophisticated sterilization equipment but we also recognize that many folks around the world would have access to some kind of an oven or perhaps a solution of chlorine,” says Traverso.
Axios reporter Ashley Gold writes that Google, Facebook, Microsoft and a number of other tech companies are joining the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in submitting an amicus brief in support of a lawsuit filed by MIT and Harvard. The suit challenges a new visa policy that would prevent international students from entering the U.S. if they are taking a full online course load during the Covid-19 pandemic.
A growing number of colleges and universities have “backed Harvard and MIT in their legal challenge to a July 6 directive from the Trump administration requiring international students to take fall classes in-person amid the COVID-19 pandemic to remain in the country, even though many schools have announced plans to hold classes online,” reports Travis Anderson forThe Boston Globe.
More than 200 colleges and universities have backed a legal challenge by MIT and Harvard to a new visa policy that would bar thousands of foreign students from studying in the U.S., reports Collin Binkley for the Associated Press. “These students are core members of our institutions,” the schools wrote. “They make valuable contributions to our classrooms, campuses and communities.”
A new study by MIT researchers estimates that leaving the middle seat on airplanes empty could help reduce the risk of spreading Covid-19 by half, reports Carlie Porterfield for Forbes. “The airlines are setting their own policies but the airlines and the public should know about the risk implications of their choices," says Prof. Arnold Barnett.
A study co-authored by MIT researchers finds that asking social media users to evaluate the accuracy of news headlines can reduce the spread of Covid-19 misinformation. “Asking users to rate content gets them to think about accuracy and generates useful input for the platforms,” explains Prof. David Rand.
Fast Company reporter Kristin Toussaint writes about a new study by Prof. David Autor that finds middle class jobs for non-college grads are disappearing, particularly for Black and Latino workers. Autor suggest that higher minimum wages “are surprisingly effective at improving the incomes of workers in low wage jobs,” adding that “they don’t seem to have noticeable adverse effects on employment.”
WBUR’s Carey Goldberg explores how MIT researchers developed a new CRISPR-based research tool that can be used to detect Covid-19. "A lot of things that we try fail," says research scientist Jonathan Gootenberg. "And that’s OK. Because sometimes you find these things that are really, really awesome."