Los Angeles Times reporter Deborah Netburn spotlights how a team of researchers, including MIT scientists, have detected phosphine on Venus. “There are two possibilities for how it got there, and they are equally crazy,” says Prof. Sara Seager. “One scenario is it is some planetary process that we don’t know about. The other is there is some life form living in the atmosphere of Venus.”
Verge reporter Loren Grush explores how researchers from MIT and other institutions have uncovered phosphine on Venus, a potential sign of life. “That’s why this is such an extraordinary detection, because it has to come from something completely unexpected,” says research scientist Clara Sousa-Silva. “At some point, you’re left with not being able to explain it. Except we do know of a strange way of making phosphine on terrestrial planets — and that is life.”
Scientists from institutions around the world, including MIT, have found detected phosphine gas in the clouds of Venus, reports Tom Metcalfe for NBC News. “If this signal is correct, there is a process on Venus we cannot explain that produces phosphine,” says research scientist Janusz Petkowski, “and one of the hypotheses is that it’s life in the clouds of Venus.”
Axios reporter Miriam Kramer writes about a new study co-authored by MIT researchers that details the detection of phosphine, a possible signal of life, in the atmosphere of Venus. “We've done everything we can, which is go through all the things that it isn't,” says research scientist Clara Sousa-Silva. “We've thought of every possible mechanism, plausible or implausible, that could make phosphine and we cannot come up with any."
Writing for Fortune, graduate student Jenny Blessing and alumni McCoy Patiño, Tran Nguyen, and Julian Gomez explore how providing tracking options for mail-in ballots could help mitigate the risks of mailing delays. “Mail tracking capability increases accountability of the USPS and boosts public confidence in voting by mail,” they write.
Writing for Forbes, AgeLab director Joseph Coughlin examines the impact of the increasing number of adult children who are living with their parents. “This evolving trend is not just about the changing definition of young adulthood, it is also about the changing definition of life stages across the life course, including retirement,” writes Coughlin.
Third-year student Emily Rabinovitsj speaks with Boston Globe correspondent Mike Kotsopoulos about her quest to complete the virtual Boston Marathon and raise funds for 15-40 Connection, a non-profit dedicated to educating people on how to detect early-stage cancer. “I got this gift of being able to have a full life after a diagnosis and I feel like I have a responsibility to take advantage of that opportunity and help others have this same opportunity,” Rabinovitsj said.
Sonia Raman, the MIT women’s basketball coach, has been hired as the new assistant coach for the Memphis Grizzlies, reports Evan Barnes for USA Today. “I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to be part of the Memphis Grizzlies coaching staff. I can’t wait to get to Memphis and get started with Taylor, his staff and the team’s emerging young core,” said Raman. “I must also give a truly special thank you to MIT and the women I’ve had the honor of coaching for the past 12 years.”
In an excerpt from his new book published by The Boston Globe, Prof. Sinan Aral explores how to combat the spread of misinformation on social media platforms ahead of the 2020 election. “No matter who you support in the upcoming election, when it comes to protecting our democracy, we’re all in this together,” writes Aral. “And right now, during one of our fragile democracy’s most vulnerable moments, it’s all hands on deck.”
Prof. Lisa Piccirillo, The Engine CEO Katie Rae, and several MIT alumni are among the community members honored as part of Wired25, an annual list compiled by Wired that spotlights people who are working to make the world a better place.
Quartz reporter Ananya Bhattacharya spotlights a new study co-authored by Prof. Pierre Azoulay that examines the role of immigration in entrepreneurship, and finds that immigrants in the U.S. act more as “job creators” than as “job takers.”
MIT researchers have developed a new model that helps quantify a company’s security risk, and estimates possible financial losses, reports Catherine Stupp for The Wall Street Journal. The tool “collects encrypted data from companies about recent incidents and analyzes the anonymized information to determine the probability of different kinds of attacks more broadly,” writes Stupp.
In an article for Inside Higher Ed, Prof. Kerstin M. Perez writes about the importance of fostering a sense of belonging in the STEM fields.
Washington Post reporter Rachel Lerman highlights how MIT researchers developed a robotic system that uses UV light to disinfect spaces. “By knowing the geometry of the space — usually represented as a map — the robot can compute a patrolling trajectory and speed to expose all surfaces to the dosage that neutralizes the pathogens,” explains Prof. Daniela Rus, director of CSAIL.
In an article about capitalism and climate change, Bloomberg reporter Akshat Rathi spotlights principal research scientist Andrew McAfee’s book, “More from Less.” McAfee makes the case that “it is in capitalism’s nature to increase inequality,” writes Rathi, “and it is a responsive government’s job to reign in that excess.”