A study by MIT researchers finds that that the true number of Covid-19 related cases is likely 12 times higher than the official count, reports Jonathan Saltzman for The Boston Globe. The researchers found, “tougher policies to reduce transmission of the disease after WHO declared it a pandemic on March 11, along with extensive testing, could have prevented 197,000 deaths, nearly a third of the estimated fatalities.”
MIT researchers have developed a new robotic system that uses a UV-C light fixture to disinfect surfaces at the Greater Boston Food Bank’s warehouse staging area, reports Matt Reed for WCVB. Research scientist Alyssa Pierson explains that the ultraviolet light "breaks apart the kind of outer incasing or shell of these pathogens."
A new robotic system developed by CSAIL researchers uses UV-C light to kill viruses and bacteria on surfaces and aerosols, reports Darrell Etherington for TechCrunch. “Via cameras and sensors, the robot can map an indoor space, then navigate designed waypoints within that mapped area and disinfect as it goes, keeping track of the areas it has to disinfect,” writes Etherington.
WHDH reporter Emily Pritchard spotlights how CSAIL researchers have developed a new robotic system that is being used to help disinfect the Greater Boston Food Bank during the coronavirus pandemic. “We believe that is one piece of the puzzle in figuring out how to mitigate the spread of coronavirus,” says research scientist Alyssa Pierson.
MIT Press and the University of California at Berkeley are launching a journal that will offer peer reviews of Covid-19 research, reports Paul Baskin for Times Higher Education. “We want to align with what the research community is doing and what it wants,” says Amy Brand, director of MIT Press. “But we also want to build in more quality control and more accountability.”
Popular Mechanics reporter Caroline Delbert writes that MIT researchers are looking to “make molten salt reactors a little more practical by fine-tuning how they behave under extreme heat and pressure.”
A new study by MIT researchers explores how cellular guides in planarians appear to provide a roadmap for regeneration, reports Veronique Greenwood for The New York Times. Greenwood notes that the findings “may someday help scientists interested in helping humans regenerate injured neurons.”
WBZ News Radio’s Art Cohen reports that a study by MIT researchers finds 70% of market-rate evictions in the City of Boston are in communities of color.
Karilyn Crockett, a lecturer in MIT’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning, has been named the new Chief of Equity for the City of Boston. “Do we have the will and the courage to dream new dreams for populations long denied what we actually deserve?” says Crockett. “I believe we do.”
Stuart Schmill, dean of admissions and student financial services, discusses the statement by admissions deans aimed at assuaging the anxieties of college applicants during the Covid-19 pandemic. “I believe that the most important thing for students to do right now is to take care of themselves and those around them, and not to overworry about how this will all affect their college application,” says Schmill.
STAT reporter Sharon Begley writes that MIT Press and the University of California at Berkeley are starting a journal that will publish reviews of Covid-19 research. “Preprints have been a tremendous boon for scientific communication, but they come with some dangers,” said Nick Lindsay, director of journals at the MIT Press. “We want to debunk research that’s poor and elevate research that’s good.”
MIT Press and the University of California at Berkeley are launching a new Covid-19 journal that will peer-review popular preprint articles, reports Lindsay McKenzie for Inside Higher Ed. “We want to ensure that clinicians and researchers have trusted information they need to make crucial decisions,” says Nick Lindsay, director of journals and open access at MIT Press.
Boston Mayor Martin Walsh named Lecturer Karilyn Crockett, “a brilliant innovator and change maker,” as the head of Boston’s new Equity and Inclusion Cabinet, reports CBS Boston. “I need everyone standing here with me, and within the hearing of my voice, to be bold and move beyond what we may individually think is possible,” said Crockett.
Karilyn Crockett, a lecturer at MIT, has been named to head Boston’s new equity and inclusion office, reports Erin Tiernan for The Boston Herald. “She will apply an equity lens to make sure everything our city government does is dismantling systemic racism and creating fair opportunity for all Bostonians,” said Boston Mayor Martin Walsh.
Wall Street Journal reporter David Harrison writes that a study by MIT researchers provides evidence that use of public transportation is associated with a higher Covid-19 death rate. The researchers found “a 10% increase in the share of a county’s residents who use public transit versus those who telecommute raised Covid-19 death rates by 1.21 per 1,000 people when looking at counties around the U.S.”