Hojun Li, a clinical investigator at the Koch Institute, speaks with Juli McDonald on CBS Boston about his efforts to develop a test that can determine a person’s Covid immunity. “We wanted to develop a way in which we could very quickly and easily assess whether [immunocompromised people] were still protected from that vaccine or that previous infection they had,” said Li.
Daily Beast reporter Tony Ho Tran writes that a new paper test developed by MIT researchers could be used to help determine a person’s immune response to Covid-19. “The researchers believe that the new test can not only help folks find out if they should get boosted,” writes Tran, “but also help the most vulnerable populations make sure they’re protected against the coronavirus, and help people make more informed decisions on what kinds of activities they should feel safe doing.”
Boston.com reporter Madeleine Aitken writes that MIT researchers have created a new blood test that can measure immune protection against Covid-19. The new test measures the “level of neutralizing antibodies in a blood sample, using the same type of ‘lateral flow’ technology as antigen tests,” writes Aitken.
Researchers from MIT and Harvard have developed a “3D-printed ‘lab-on-a-chip’ that could detect Covid-19 immunity levels and Covid infections from saliva within two hours,” reports Ben Leonard and Ruth Reader for Politico.
Boston Herald reporter Rick Sobey writes that MIT researchers have developed a blood test that can predict Covid-19 immunity. “The MIT researchers created a paper test that measures the level of neutralizing antibodies in a blood sample, which could help people decide what protections they should take against infection,” writes Sobey. “Their test uses the same type of 'lateral flow' technology as most rapid antigen tests for Covid.”
Researchers from MIT and other institutions have developed a postcard-sized test that can detect a Covid-19 infection and the presence of antibodies resulting from an infection, reports Maddie Bender for the Daily Beast. “What excites me about this diagnostic device is that it combines a high level of accuracy with a flexible design that could make it a major tool in our arsenal for addressing future pandemics,” explains Prof. James Collins.
Institute Prof. Emeritus Peter Diamond speaks with Boston Globe reporter Scot Lehigh about the Fed’s attempts to control inflation. “My message to the Fed would be, yes, we need to cool the economy, but we need to go slowly in doing so, and see how this plays out, because we shouldn’t have confidence in our predictions,” says Diamond.
Scientists at MIT are developing a self-boosting vaccine that can provide multiple doses of a vaccine via a single injection, reports Darko Manevski for Newsweek. The technology “could be particularly useful for administering childhood vaccinations in regions where people do not have regular access to medical care,” writes Manevski.
MIT scientists are developing self-boosting vaccine technology that could allow people to receive all of their vaccine doses in one shot, reports The Economist. This technology “would be a game-changer, not only for future pandemics but also for vaccination programs in remote regions where it is harder to deliver boosters,” The Economist notes.
Principal Research Scientist Leo Anthony Celi oversaw a study which found that people of color were given significantly less supplemental oxygen than white people because of inaccuracies in pulse oximeter readings, reports Nancy Lapid for Reuters. “Nurses and doctors make the wrong decisions and end up giving less oxygen to people of color because they are fooled [by incorrect readings from pulse oximeters],” says Celi.
MIT celebrated the Classes of 2020 and 2021 during a special ceremony on May 28 that featured an address by Kealoha Wong ’99, Hawaii’s first poet laureate, reports Laura Crimaldi for The Boston Globe. “We may make some esoteric discovery or some small contribution to our industries, but most likely, our most significant impact will be in our communities and in our families,” Kealoha said. “Our impact will be felt in the way that we treat others and the way that we treat ourselves.”
Kealoha Wong ’99, Hawaii’s first poet laureate, shares his excitement at being selected to deliver the keynote address at the graduation celebration for the classes of 2020 and 2021. “It’s a huge honor, I never would have thought in a million years that something like this would happen,” says Kealoha. “I feel as if I am ready to let these words fly.”
Lecturer John Liu and Mary Ellen Wiltrout, director of online and blended learning initiatives in the Department of Biology, share how the pandemic has transformed the way in which universities approach digital teaching. Liu noted that the pandemic had “forced [universities] to rethink community and support…on a class level but maybe on a program level” as well as to refocus on how teaching modes best served learning objectives,” reports Times Higher Education.
A new study by researchers from MIT and other institutions finds that the number of suicides among adolescents ages 10-19 increased in five states during the Covid-19 pandemic, reports Kristen Rogers for CNN. Graduate student Marie-Laure Charpignon notes that “the findings highlight the need to pay attention to any behaviors adolescents show that can signal suicidal thoughts,” writes Rogers.
Graduate student Marie-Laure Charpignon led a study which found the proportion of overall suicides that occurred among young people increased by 10% in 2020 compared to the average share over the pre-pandemic period, reports Steven Ross Johnson for U.S. News & World Report. “Charpignon says her study’s findings, as well as previous research, raise questions as to whether more suicide prevention and intervention resources dedicated toward helping adults should be reallocated to address mental health issues among youth,” writes Johnson.