Elon Musk and MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) decided to collaborate to develop SpaceX's first COVID-19 tracker. They are currently expecting a more efficient tool compared to the current coronavirus trackers that are available to the public.
CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA - MAY 30: Spacex founder Elon Musk celebrates after the successful launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the manned Crew Dragon spacecraft at the Kennedy Space Center on May 30, 2020 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Earlier in the day NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley lifted off an inaugural flight and will be the first people since the end of the Space Shuttle program in 2011 to be launched into space from the United States.
According to Futurism's latest report, Elon Musk was able to start his new project with the help of more than 4,000 SpaceX employees, allowing him and MIT to track the spread of the novel coronavirus throughout the company. The popular tech CEO decided to partner with the researchers of MIT and Harvard to create his latest antibody testing program.
This new project requires SpaceX employees to voluntarily submit their monthly blood tests. Elon Musk is also one of the co-authors of the current study, which was already published in the journal Nature Communications.
Elon Musk and MIT's upcoming COVID-19 tracker
Elon Musk's upcoming COVID-19 tracker showed the severity of COVID-19 symptoms' impact on people's amount of antibodies. The findings suggested that those who experienced mild symptoms from the viral disease are less likely to have long-term immunity.
SANTA BARBARA, CA - OCTOBER 07: The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base carrying the SAOCOM 1A and ITASAT 1 satellites, as seen on October 7, 2018 near Santa Barbara, California. After launching the satellites, the Falcon 9 rocket successfully returned to land on solid ground near the launch site rather than at sea. The satellites will become part of a six-satellite constellation that will work in tandem with an Italian constellation known as COSMO-SkyMed.
Also Read: Mars Medicine: NASA Shares FPSD Agrobacterium Technique to Help Sick Astronauts
"People can have antibodies, but it doesn't mean they are going to be immune," said Dr. Galit Alter, a co-author of the study and a member of the Rago Institute of MIT, Harvard, and MGH, via Live Mint's latest report.
"To really nail this down at a public-health level would require doing reinfection studies and following people for reinfection," added Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center's vaccine and infectious-disease division's Associate Professor Joshua T. Schiffer.
Progress of Elon Musk's new project
As of the moment, Elon Musk and other researchers are still testing and monitoring the involved SpaceX employees to see if reinfection and infection cases appear each month. Experts said that this will allow them to use their findings to inform those who are vulnerable to the novel coronavirus and should be vaccinated first.
For more news updates about Elon Musk and MIT's upcoming COVID-19 tracker and other coronavirus innovations, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.
Related Article: SpaceX's Falcon 9 Crashed in the Ocean as Newest Starlink Mission Failed to Stick the Landing
This article is owned by TechTimes.
Written by: Giuliano de Leon.
