| Small Start, Big Goals | | | | | | A childhood peanut allergy first sparked senior Ayesha Ng’s fascination with the human body: “To see this severe reaction happen to my body,” the biology and brain and cognitive sciences double-major says, “made me a lot more curious about biology and living systems.” Full story via MIT News → |
| Innovative face masks and medical-grade gowns to combat Covid-19 and future pandemics |
The three most promising PPE solutions were selected by expert judges on MIT Pandemic Response CoLab. Full story via MIT News → |
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| Chemists discover the structure of a key coronavirus protein The protein, which acts as an ion channel, could be a target for new drugs against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Full story via MIT News → | |
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| Retired rear admiral equips the pandemic’s frontline fighters Osie V. Combs Jr. OEng ’77, SM ’77, president of a small, specialized defense contractor, is providing freestanding Covid testing sites to health agencies and communities. Full story via Slice of MIT→ | |
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| System brings deep learning to “internet of things” devices Advance could enable artificial intelligence on household appliances while enhancing data security and energy efficiency. Full story via MIT News → | |
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| No matter the size of a nuclear party, some protons and neutrons will always pair up and dance Findings on short-range nuclear interactions will help scientists investigate neutron stars and heavy radioactive nuclei. Full story via MIT News → | |
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| Pandemic has “fat tail” with more super-spreading events than expected // WBUR |
Super-spreading events are larger drivers of the Covid-19 pandemic than originally thought, according to new MIT research. “Most people generate zero or one cases, but it’s the people generating hundreds of cases that we really should be worried about,” says postdoc Felix Wong. Full story via WBUR→ |
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| The upside of a flexible work week // Fast Company |
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In her book, “Overload: How Good Jobs Went Bad and What We Can Do About It,” Professor Erin Kelly and her co-author show that “employees with more control over their work schedules were happier, healthier, and had a better work-life harmony.” Full story via Fast Company→ |
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| Opinion: The 2020 election meltdown that didn’t happen // The Wall Street Journal |
“Even as we enter a contentious stretch of litigation, in which every aspect of the election infrastructure will be scrutinized,” writes Professor Charles Stewart III, “the U.S. should be thankful for the heroic — and successful — efforts of election administrators around the country.” Full story via The Wall Street Journal→ |
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| | | The world mourns the passing of Alex Trebek, longtime “Jeopardy!” host, who died Sunday of cancer at age 80. Quite a few MIT students and alumni competed on the show with Trebek over the years, including 2017 College Champion Lilly Chin ’17 (left, above) and record-breaking 20-day champion Julia Collins MEng ’10 (right). How will Trebek be remembered? Answer: In the love of learning that he inspired over his 36 years on “Jeopardy!” |
| 12,000+ | | The number of military officers that have been commissioned from MIT, with more than 150 reaching the rank of general or admiral Learn more about ROTC at MIT→ |
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