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.”
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.
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.
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."
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.”
In an article for Teen Vogue, Zach Schemerle explores the emergency grading policies set by different schools in response to the coronavirus pandemic. “MIT was among the first major institutions to give its grading policy a high-profile makeover, framing the national debate by implementing a type of pass/no record policy,” notes Schemerle.