Boston Red Sox hire first Black woman to coach in MLB history
Bianca Smith will serve as a minor league coach at the club’s player development facility in Fort Myers, Florida.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts has long been a hub for education, public health, and civic innovation. This archive tracks progress stories from across the state — from Boston’s research institutions to smaller cities finding local solutions to shared challenges.
New AI from MIT can detect COVID-19 by listening to coughs
After the team from MIT trained its model on tens of thousands of cough and dialog samples, the technology recognized 98.5 percent of coughs from people with confirmed COVID-19 cases. It identified 100 percent of people who were ostensibly asymptomatic, too.
Simple blood test predicts patients most likely to die from COVID-19
One standard test that quantifies the variation in size of red blood cells was found to be highly correlated with patient mortality, and the correlation persisted when controlling for other risk factors like patient age, some other lab tests, and some pre-existing illnesses.
MIT to publish plans for an emergency ventilator that can be built for $400
The ventilator shortage is a key barrier worldwide to effectively managing the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. Now, teams around the world can use MIT’s plans to make them for less than $500.
MIT uses machine learning to develop powerful antibiotic
The drug works in a different way to existing antibacterials and is the first of its kind to be found by setting AI loose on vast digital libraries of pharmaceutical compounds.
Scientists invent device that generates electricity ‘out of thin air’
Scientists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have designed a device that uses a natural protein to create electricity from moisture in the air.
Human organs can be stored for three times as long in major breakthrough for transplants
Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have developed a method to preserve livers for 27 hours, using a super-cooling method which ‘freezes’ the organ at -4C.
Scientists make ‘landmark’ discovery synthesizing anti-cancer molecules found in sea sponges
Their new strategy has already helped speed up research into these molecules, including a planned clinical trial in humans.
Salem Red Sox to debut first all-female broadcast booth in professional baseball
The Salem Red Sox, the organization’s Class A affiliate, announced that their booth will feature professional baseball’s first all-female broadcast team this season. Melanie Newman and Suzie Cool will debut together on April 23.
Massachusetts becomes first U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriage
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that it was unconstitutional under the Massachusetts Constitution to allow only opposite-sex couples to marry.