MIT researchers have transformed the protein structure of the novel coronavirus into music as part of an effort to better understand how the pathogen functions, reports Reuters. “You would need many different images, many different magnifications to see with your eyes, what your ears can pick up with just a couple of seconds of music,” explains Prof. Markus Buehler.
TechCrunch reporter Darrell Etherington writes that the Spiro Wave emergency ventilator, which is based on a design developed by MIT researchers, has been approved by the FDA. The prototype design was developed at MIT “as one way to alleviate the shortage that resulted from the COVID-19 crisis,” Etherington writes.
Members of a robotics team in Afghanistan are working to design a prototype ventilator with locally available components, and using a blueprint from MIT researchers to help inform their work, reports Tameem Akhgar for the Associated Press. “It will be excellent to see it tested and locally produced,” says Prof. Daniela Rus of the team’s effort.
The New York Times spotlights Prof. Kerry Emanuel’s book, “What We Know About Climate Change” in a roundup of recommended reading on climate change. “Emanuel sounds the alarm in a measured and scientifically sound way, making clear what we know and what we don’t know,” notes The New York Times.
Research affiliate Mohammad Haft-Javaherian speaks with PC Mag reporter Ben Dickson about how he was inspired during MIT’s Green AI Hackathon to consider the carbon footprint of the AI systems he was developing. “I changed my plan and stayed for the whole hackathon to work on my project with a different objective: to improve my models in terms of energy consumption and efficiency,” says Haft-Javaherian,
Profs. Simon Johnson, Kate Kellogg and Retsef Levi write for The Boston Globe about how to help protect both residents and staff at long-term care facilities from Covid-19. The authors note that testing must be immediately expanded, personal protective equipment must be supplied to front-line staff and increases in staffing and wages are needed to help reduce deaths.
Science reporter Warren Cornwall spotlights Prof. Lily Tsai’s research examining the most effective methods for encouraging people to follow public health guidelines. Tsai is currently working in Sierra Leone on developing a dynamic map “showing potential hot spots where cooperation could be difficult, and what kinds of actions are likely to help ease acceptance of physical distancing and other measures.”
Research fellow Christopher Barrett speaks with STAT reporter Elizabeth Cooney about new findings suggesting that some Covid-19 patients develop widespread blood clots and that blood thinners could be a potential treatment.
WCVB-TV spotlights how MIT has opened a new treatment facility that will provide care for Covid-19 patients who are members of the MIT community and individuals from the broader Cambridge community. “The Sean Collier Care Center will be funded by MIT and staffed by MIT Medical. The facility is designed to alleviate the anticipated hospital bed shortage in Massachusetts as COVID-19 cases begin to approach peak levels.”
During a virtual conference, MIT researchers brought together experts from around the world to discuss efforts to develop digital contact tracing efforts to track the spread of Covid-19, reports Hiawatha Bray for The Boston Globe.
TechCrunch reporter Darrell Etherington writes that MIT researchers have developed a machine learning model that can help predict the spread of Covid-19. The researchers found “any immediate or near-term relaxation or reversal of quarantine measures currently in place would lead to an ‘exponential explosion’ in the number of infections.”
Prof. Parag Pathak speaks with Stephen Dubner of Freakonomics about allocating medical devices, like ventilators, during a pandemic. “Our proposal here is to think about an enhanced priority system where you take the ventilators and you split them into categories, or what we call reserves, where a fraction of reserves can have one priority order,” says Pathak. “The remaining ventilators can use another priority order.”
Writing for The Wall Street Journal, Senior Lecturer Robert Pozen argues that Congress “should approve substantial appropriations for local governments in the next stimulus package rather than hidden subsidies through the Fed. Legislative appropriations would be in plain view of American voters, who could then hold cities and states accountable for how they use federal funds.”
Writing for The Washington Post, Prof. Charles Stewart III examines voter turnout in the Wisconsin primaries. “The surprisingly high turnout,” writes Stewart, “is a sign that we should not underestimate the commitment of those who voted — or of the poll workers who served them.”
MIT Press and Candlewick Press are launching two new imprints as part of an effort to provide engaging STEAM books for children and young adults, reports Katherine Ouelette for WBUR.MIT Press and Candlewick Press are launching two new imprints as part of an effort to provide engaging STEAM books for children and young adults, reports Katherine Ouelette for WBUR.