Saliva signals + Liquid-solid interface + design in STEM and humanities

MIT Weekly January 22, 2022 Greetings! Here’s a roundup of the latest from the MIT community.  Want a daily dose of MIT in your inbox? [Subscribe to the MIT Daily](. Saliva Signals # MIT neuroscientists have identified a surprising way that babies and toddlers interpret their social world: Interactions that involve exchanging saliva, like kissing or sharing food, signal that two people have a strong relationship and a mutual obligation to help each other. [Full story via MIT News →]( Top Headlines What we know about Covid-19 reinfection MIT Medical provides the latest on chances of reinfection with the Omicron variant, as well as scientists’ current understanding of immunity from earlier variants. [Full story via MIT News →]( [MIT Heat Island]( Controlling how “odd couple” surfaces and liquids interact Spread out or bead up? A new process enables control over liquid-solid interfaces even with the most unlikely pairs of materials. [Full story via MIT News →]( [MIT Heat Island]( How coastal cities can build climate resilience as the clock ticks Business leaders and policymakers should promote adaptations now to mitigate climate effects to come, experts say. Here’s where to focus the energy. [Full story via MIT Sloan→]( [MIT Heat Island]( Merging design, tech, and cognitive science Senior Ibuki Iwasaki seeks creative ways to design technology that considers the human user. [Full story via MIT News →]( [MIT Heat Island]( When should someone trust an AI assistant’s predictions? Researchers have created a method to help workers collaborate with artificial intelligence systems. [Full story via MIT News →]( [MIT Heat Island]( #ThisisMIT # [Follow @mitarchitecture on Twitter →]( In the Media Solar window startup aims to turn skyscrapers into vertical solar farms // CNBC Ubiquitous Energy, an MIT startup, is developing a “coating for windows that uses semiconducting materials to convert sunlight into electricity. The coating is just nanometers thick and tiny wires connect the solar window to electrical systems.” [Full story via CNBC→]( Less than 35% of the $800 billion in PPP loans actually went to workers, say economists // Fast Company A study co-authored by MIT economists finds the bulk of loan money handed out through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) helped business owners and shareholders. They estimate that “somewhere between 23% and 34% of PPP dollars went to workers who would’ve otherwise lost their jobs." [Full story via Fast Company→]( Listening to black holes collide // Science Friday Professor Scott Hughes has shifted the wavelengths of gravitational waves into the range of human hearing, creating a sound that allows listeners to experience the “ripples in space-time made by the tremendous mass of colliding black holes.” [Full story via Science Friday→]( When prison education went virtual, an MIT program reached new incarcerated students // GBH The Educational Justice Institute at MIT, which offers learning programs to incarcerated individuals, recently expanded its reach through a virtual platform that allows for real-time interaction and provides an opportunity to bring together students from different facilities and local universities. [Full story via GBH→]( Digits (Vax Edition) 10,910 — Total Covid-19 immunizations given so far by MIT Medical 8,872 — Individuals who have received at least one Covid-19 vaccination dose from MIT Medical 15,368 — Influenza vaccine doses administered by MIT Medical this flu season [Learn more via MIT Medical→]( This edition of the MIT Weekly was brought to you by [Mystery Hunt subway lines](. 🚇 Have feedback to share? Email mitdailyeditor@mit.edu. Thanks for reading, and have a great week! —MIT News Office [Forward This Email]( [Subscribe]( [MIT Logo] Massachusetts Institute of Technology This email was sent to {EMAIL} because of your affiliation with MIT, or because you signed up for our newsletters. [subscribe]( [update preferences]( [unsubscribe]( [view in browser]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Youtube]( [Instagram]( MIT News Office · 77 Massachusetts Avenue · Cambridge, MA 02139 · USA