MIT researchers have developed a model that could help people estimate the risks of contracting Covid-19 in different scenarios, reports Emily Czachor for Newsweek. The tool “provides calculations which estimate how many people can remain within an enclosed space, and for how long, before they are theoretically exposed to the virus.”
New Scientist reporter Abigail Beall spotlights how MIT researchers have listened to sound waves traveling through a "perfect" fluid, which could shed light on the resonant frequencies within a neutron star. “The quality of the resonances tells me about the fluid’s viscosity, or sound diffusivity,” says Prof. Martin Zwierlein. “If a fluid has low viscosity, it can build up a very strong sound wave and be very loud, if hit at just the right frequency. If it’s a very viscous fluid, then it doesn’t have any good resonances.”
Research scientist Brian Subirana speaks with The Economist’s Babbage podcast about his work developing a new AI system that could be used to help diagnose people asymptomatic Covid-19.
Fast Company reporter Kate Lanz spotlights research from the MIT Center for Collective Intelligence which finds that the “collective intelligence of a group rises when there are women involved in that group. And in fact, the more women, the better.”
MIT researchers have developed a new model that could be used to help determine “how long you will be safe in a room with someone who is positive for COVID-19 based on room type, size and even the ventilation and filtration system,” reports Boston 25 News.
Prof. Tavneet Suri speaks with HuffPost reporter Laura Paddison about her research exploring the effectiveness of the universal basic income (UBI). “We do think the UBI will provide some ‘insurance’ against bad events,” says Suri. “If something bad happens, you have a fallback.”
Forbes contributor Dipka Bhambhani spotlights a new study by MIT researchers that examines the causes of cost overruns and delays in nuclear power developments, and finds they could have been “averted by building plants in factories and then installing them on site.”
Quanta Magazine reporter Kevin Hartnett spotlights the work of graduate student Ashwin Sah, who has “produced a body of work that senior mathematicians say is nearly unprecedented for a college student.” Sah recalls how he was drawn to mathematics from a young age, noting that some of his “earliest memories are of my mom teaching me basic arithmetic.”
MIT researchers have discovered the molecular structure of a protein that plays a key role in the coronavirus’ ability to replicate itself and stimulate the host cell’s inflammation response, reports Travis Anderson for The Boston Globe. “If researchers can find a way to ‘block this channel,’” writes Anderson, “then they might be able to reduce the ‘pathogenicity of the virus’ and also obstruct viral replication.”
Fast Company reporter Mark Sullivan writes that Prof. John Bush and Prof. Martin Z. Bazant have developed a mathematical model that “simulates the fluid dynamics of virus-loaded respiratory droplets in any space, from a cozy kitchen to a gigantic concert hall.”
Writing for The Boston Globe, Linda Rodriguez McRobbie spotlights Cyborg Botany, a project at the Media Lab aimed to tap into how plants react to their environments. The researchers grew plants with “conductive wires in their intercellular spaces. That allowed the plants to become inconspicuous motion sensors, sending a signal via microelectrodes to a laptop every time someone walked by.”
A new working paper co-authored by Visiting Assistant Professor Jordan Nickerson finds that increasingly protective child car-seat laws have contributed to a reduced birth rate in America, reports The Economist. Nickerson and his colleagues found that tightening car-seat laws “was accompanied by a drop, on average, of 0.73 percentage points in the number of women giving birth to a third while the first two were young enough to need safety seats.”
Prof. Daron Acemoglu speaks with Guardian reporter Lauren Aratani about the impact of automation on inequality. While AI has “tremendous potential for making humans more productive,” Acemoglu notes that it also “has been a major driver in the increase in inequality.”
A new study by MIT researchers finds that “changes in coronavirus levels in wastewater preceded rises and falls in positive test results by four to 10 days,” reports Kim Tingley for The New York Times. The findings suggest that “sewage surveillance could play an important role in helping contain the pandemic.”
Smithsonian reporter Rasha Aridi writes that MIT researchers have found that longing for social interaction elicits a similar neurological response to a hungry person craving food. The researchers found that “after a day of fasting, they noted that they were uncomfortable and had intense food cravings. After social isolation, they felt lonely and unhappy and yearned for interactions.”