When Amir Bature came to MIT from Bayero University Kano (BUK) in Nigeria as part of the Empowering the Teachers (ETT) program, he was amazed at his shift in perspective during his time on campus. “The first time we arrived at MIT, there were a lot of things where we said ‘no, this is impossible.’ But before we left, it was all possible!” He had no idea that he would soon be applying this mindset to a public health……
Earlier this year, Provost Martin Schmidt announced the settlement of a lawsuit against MIT brought by the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) over the accessibility of MIT online audio and video content to persons who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. A working group made up of staff from across MIT has now officially launched a new captioning and accessibility website, which includes tools and guidance for the community about how to make existing and future media posted on MIT……
As scients continue searching for treatments to some of the most complex diseases and conditions, they’re increasingly looking to our gut. The human gut microbiome contains trillions of bacteria that play important roles for the proper functioning of our bodies. But those bacterial colonies went relatively unexplored until recently, when new computational tools made it possible to understand their makeup in more detail. Finch Therapeutics is one of a number of companies trying to turn that new perspective into……
Artist James Turrell, with his “Skyspace” installations, creates meditative yet subtly kinetic spaces in which to observe and contemplate as the Earth’s rotation, with continuous changes in light angle and quality. This installation, part of the Suzanne Deal Booth Centennial Pavilion, on the campus of Rice University, was designed to host musical performances. In consists of a pyramidal grassy mound, topped by an elevated square roof with a square hole in the middle, and two viewing spaces below. Each……
Near the harbor of Großräschen, a small town in Brandenburg, Germany, you can walk through the stately entrance of the Seehotel and place a two-euro coin on the front desk. In return, a receptionist will lead you behind a locked door, where you can see the Mona Lisa. A few rooms on the ground floor of the hotel are filled with paintings by the Posin brothers, a trio of Russian artists who copied the Old Masters in their studio……
Sometimes the line between science and conspiracy theories can become blurred. A popular topic where these fields cross is Egyptology and the origin of the pyramids. These days, there are hundreds of theories on how the pyramids were built, varying in levels of plausibility. One of the forefathers of these theories interestingly was both a prominent scientist and someone who had interesting views on the creation of the pyramids. Isaac Newton was the first to suggest in 1704 that……
An uncrewed Russian cargo ship lifted off Thursday to deliver a load of supplies to the International Space Station. The Progress MS-15 was launched on schedule from Russia’s Baikonur launch complex in Kazakhstan. It has successfully reached a designated orbit and is set to dock at the station later in the day. The ship is carrying about three tons of fuel, water, food, medicine and other supplies. The station is currently operated by NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and Russian…
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The small, neighboring sheikhdoms of Bahrain and Qatar appear to have among world’s highest per capita rates of confirmed coronavirus infections, a result of extensive testing and rapid, undetected spread through camps housing healthy and young foreign laborers, studies now show. In Qatar, a new study found that nearly 60% of those testing positive showed little or no symptoms at all, calling into question the usefulness of mass temperature checks meant to stop…
BEIJING (AP) — China launched its most ambitious Mars mission yet on Thursday in a bold attempt to join the United States in successfully landing a spacecraft on the red planet. Engines blazing orange, a Long March-5 carrier rocket took off under clear skies around 12:40 p.m. from Hainan Island, south of China’s mainland. Hundreds of space enthusiasts cried out excitedly on a beach across the bay from the launch site. “This is a kind of hope, a kind…
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Authorities in Colombia have seized a luxury mansion complete with a spa, tennis court and two pools allegedly belonging to a businessman detained in Cape Verde on U.S. corruption charges related to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The house seized Wednesday in the city of Barranquilla is purportedly worth $7.6 million and is registered under the name of a shell company but in fact belongs to Alex Saab, according to Colombia’s chief prosecutor. Six other properties…
A bend in the Columbia River makes Revelstoke a natural spot for travelers to rest. Revelstoke is the ideal stop for motorists along the Trans-Canada Highway between Vancouver, Banff, and Calgary. One of the most charming features of Revelstoke’s very walkable downtown is a hand-forged steel sculpture called “White Sturgeon and Kokanee Salmon.” It celebrates two fish extremely important to the region. The white sturgeon is the largest freshwater fish in North America and kokanee is a landlocked salmon. The……
As cancer cells evolve, many of their genes become overactive while others are turned down. These genetic changes can help tumors grow out of control and become more aggressive, adapt to changing conditions, and eventually lead the tumor to metastasize and spread elsewhere in the body. MIT and Harvard University researchers have now mapped out an additional layer of control that guides this evolution — an array of structural changes to “chromatin,” the mix of proteins, DNA, and RNA……
Located on Fort Canning, known before colonial rule as Bukit Larangan, the Keramat Iskandar Shah is one of the oldest architectural structures in Singapore. John Crawfurd, the second British Resident of Singapore, described it in 1822 as “a rude structure”. Crawfurd was informed that the internee of the keramat was Iskandar Shah, the last King of Singapura who reigned during the late-14th century. After being sacked by Majapahit forces, Shah fled Singapura and established the Melaka Sultanate. Crawfurd and……
“Mother and Child”, cast in bronze in 1980 is one of two sculptures of the same name sculpted by Dr. Ng Eng Teng. The sculpture makes use of the mother and child motif, common in Singaporean art and is associated with the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA). The sculpture explores humanistic themes of emotional attraction and kinship. In particular, Ng emphasized his view that maternal care and nurturing were essential to the growth of individuals and society, symbolized……
MELBOURNE, Australia — Wearing masks became compulsory in Australia’s second-largest city of Melbourne on Thursday as coronavirus hot spot Victoria state reported 403 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases and five deaths. The daily infection tally for the state was down from a record 484 posted Wednesday. Much of the spread is blamed on sick workers who do not take time off while they wait for coronavirus test results. The state government announced Thursday that workers who do not have sick…
