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February 29, 2024
Greetings, and happy Leap Day! Here’s the latest from the MIT community.
 
Have feedback to share? Email mitdailyeditor@mit.edu.
Combating Colon Cancer
One of the immune system’s primary roles is to detect and kill cells with cancerous mutations. Researchers have now discovered that precancerous colon cells turn on the gene SOX17, which helps them evade detection and develop into tumors. The finding may offer a new way to treat early-stage cancers before they grow into larger tumors.
Top Headlines
Explained: Carbon credits
Can carbon trading systems reduce global emissions, or are they little more than greenwashing? Clear, enforceable standards may make the difference.
MIT Heat Island
Sadhana Lolla named 2024 Gates Cambridge Scholar
The MIT senior will pursue graduate studies in technology policy at Cambridge University.
MIT Heat Island
“Tech titan” aims to serve
Sudhakar Kesavan SM ’84 led the transformation of ICF into a publicly traded global consultancy, as well as its effort to become the world’s first carbon-neutral professional services firm.
MIT Heat Island
#ThisisMIT
In the Media
The health tech revolution assessed // Politico 
MIT researchers have developed a way to identify which drugs should not be taken together. “The researchers built a model to measure how intestinal tissue absorbed certain commonly used drugs. They then trained a machine-learning algorithm based on their new data and existing drug databases, teaching the new algorithm to predict which drugs would interact with which transporter proteins.”  
Cosmic Accounting
Today we appreciate how humans determined a way to keep our calendars fairly regular despite our planet taking an imprecise number of spins (365.2422) to orbit the sun. The addition of an extra day every four years — with a few exceptions! — allows us to keep our calendar in sync with the seasons. But did you know that other solar system bodies would require even more convoluted scenarios to keep their calendars running smoothly? On some planets, like Jupiter, “it would be hopeless,” says Professor Richard Binzel. “It’s a gas planet and different latitudes have different rotation periods. I think the Jovians would find themselves very confused.”
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