An analysis of data from the 1918 flu pandemic by MIT and Federal Reserve researchers finds cities that committed earlier and longer to social distancing measures fared better economically, reports Emily Badger and Quoctrung Bui for The New York Times. Stricter interventions “actually make it safer for economic activity to resume, and they mitigate the negative impact of the pandemic itself on mortality,” explains Prof. Emil Verner.

Popular Mechanics reporter Courtney Linder writes that MIT researchers have developed a design for a device that could convert high-frequency tetrahertz waves into a direct current. In the future, the researchers hope such a device “could be used to power implants in the human body, meaning surgery would no longer be required to change its batteries.”

MIT researchers have developed a potential new drug candidate that could block the coronaviruses’ ability to enter human cells, reports Fast Company. “The researchers have shown that their new peptide can bind to the viral protein that the coronavirus uses to enter human cells, potentially disarming it.”

Newsweek reporter Jason Murdock writes that MIT researchers have developed a blueprint for a device that could convert high-frequency terahertz waves into usable energy. "In theory, the energy could be used to power a cell phone by soaking up the ambient T-waves and using them to help charge the device via an add-on,” writes Murdock.

Researchers from MIT and the Federal Reserve have found that public health measures like social distancing can help the economy rebound after a pandemic, reports Travis Anderson for The Boston Globe. The researchers found “cities that implemented social distancing and other measures 10 days earlier than other municipalities saw a 5 percent 'relative increase' in manufacturing employment when the pandemic ended, through 1923.”

WBUR reporter Zeninjor Enwemeka writes that a new study co-authored by MIT researchers finds aggressive measures aimed at curbing the spread of Covid-19 could also aid economic recovery. "Our findings suggest that reopening the local economy and lifting these restrictions too rapidly may actually be bad for the economy down the road,” explains Prof. Emil Verner.