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.
New research from Prof. Lydia Bourouiba finds that guidelines for safe social distancing may need to be updated as researchers gain more information about how the virus spreads, reports Ben Guarino for The Washington Post. “It becomes very important to not think just about a fixed distance. It’s very important to think about the air flow,” says Bourouiba.
Researchers from MIT and the University of Oxford have found that guidelines for social distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic may need to be updated to account for factors such as ventilation, crowd size and exposure time, reports Akshay Syal for NBC News. "It's not just 6 feet and then everything else can be ignored or just mask and everything else can be ignored or just ventilation and everything else can be ignored,” says Prof. Lydia Bourouiba.
Gizmodo reporter Ed Cara writes that a study co-authored by Prof. Lydia Bourouiba argues that social distancing guidelines likely need to be updated in favor of a more nuanced approach. The researchers found that “rather than think exclusively about personal space,” writes Cara, “people should consider their circumstances.”
Writing for Scientific American, Carolyn Barber spotlights how researchers from MIT are developing cheap, fast and easy to use diagnostics for Covid-19 that can deliver results in minutes. “They are called lateral flow assays, but manifestly they are paper-strip tests that have an antibody embedded on filter paper,” writes Barber. “If a saliva sample has coronavirus present, the antibody will bind that viral antigen, turning the test positive, much like a pregnancy test works.”
New York Times reporter Elaine Glusac spotlights a study by Prof. Arnold Barnett that examines the safety of flying during the Covid-19 pandemic. Barnett found that “on a fully loaded flight, the chance of contracting Covid-19 was one in 4,300. If the middle seat is empty, the risk falls to one in 7,700.”
Writing for Fortune, graduate student Nina McMurry examines how public health authorities can allay fears about contact tracing apps. “Public health authorities need to make sure that the public understands what the technology is doing,” McMurry and her co-authors write. “Even if an app is privacy-preserving, the public may not perceive it as such.”
WHDH spotlights MIT startup E25Bio, which is developing a new rapid test to diagnose Covid-19. The test being developed by E25Bio is a paper strip that can deliver test results in 15 minutes, WHDH explains.
Newsweek reporter Meghan Roos writes that a study co-authored by Prof. Victor Chernozhukov finds a nationwide mask mandate in the U.S. could have reduced Covid-19 deaths by 40% among workers who regularly interact with the public. The researchers found “a national mask mandate for workers could have prevented between 17,000 and 55,000 deaths between the start of April and the start of June.”
A study by MIT researchers encourages neighboring states to more closely coordinate business reopening plans during the Covid-19 pandemic, reports James Hohmann for The Washington Post. The researchers “used data from mobile phones, social media and the census to conclude that residents are worse off when reopening is not coordinated among states and regions.”
Writing for The Washington Post, Prof. Robin Wolfe Scheffler underscores the importance of not only pursuing coronavirus vaccine development initiatives, but also “addressing the social and political factors that exacerbate disease and limit the access of many Americans to basic medical care.”
Using statistical analysis, Prof. Victor Chernozhukov found that “40,000 lives would have been saved in two months if a national mask mandate for employees of public-facing businesses had gone into effect on April 1 and had been strictly obeyed,” reports Peter Coy for Bloomberg.
A new study by MIT researchers estimates that leaving the middle seat on airplanes empty could help reduce the risk of spreading Covid-19 by half, reports Carlie Porterfield for Forbes. “The airlines are setting their own policies but the airlines and the public should know about the risk implications of their choices," says Prof. Arnold Barnett.
A study co-authored by MIT researchers finds that asking social media users to evaluate the accuracy of news headlines can reduce the spread of Covid-19 misinformation. “Asking users to rate content gets them to think about accuracy and generates useful input for the platforms,” explains Prof. David Rand.
CNBC reporter Chloe Taylor writes that a study co-authored by MIT researchers examined Covid-19 antibody prevalence in Spain. The researchers found, “just 5% of participants presented with antibodies from point-of-care tests, while antibodies were detected in 4.6% of the blood samples.”