In the era of social distancing, the rapid shift to virtual communication may be leaving some gaps in our connections to each other, especially when we are so used to meeting regularly face-to-face. Isolation, though necessary right now, can take a toll on our mental health.

In a virtual discussion hosted by MIT last week, viewers learned that there are many problems that concern Microsoft President Brad Smith: things like climate change, Covid-19, and the work of the future.

In our current and evolving circumstances surrounding the novel coronavirus outbreak, we are advised to avoid sharing rides with other passengers as part of the effort to slow the spread of the disease. As in other markets, these necessary practices are impacting the shared transportation industry. But some businesses are rising to the challenge and rethinking how they use their existing ride-sharing technology to help during the crisis.

For many of us, our microwaves and dishwashers aren’t the first thing that come to mind when trying to glean health information, beyond that we should (maybe) lay off the Hot Pockets and empty the dishes in a timely way.

Scientists are moving robots along on that continuum by developing robotic skin that helps them gain the sense of touch. Researchers from Munich to Japan to Boston are currently looking into how to give robots tactile sensation and in some cases, feel pain.

A group of researchers in MIT’s Computer Science and Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), working with the MIT spinoff Mobi Systems, are aiming to help level demand across the entire health care network by providing real-time updates of hospital resources, which they hope will help patients, EMTs, and physicians quickly decide which facility is best equipped to handle a new patient at any given time.

Tonya Hall speaks with Dr. Una-May O'Reilly, MIT IBM Watson AI lab, to learn more about the current status of artificial adversarial intelligence and the strengths of adversarial dynamics over model-based malware detectors.

The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS) announced that MIT professors Ronitt Rubinfeld and Joshua Tenenbaum were among their new 2020 members. The new class of more than 250 members recognizes the outstanding achievements of individuals in academia, the arts, business, government, and public affairs.

MIT professor Bonnie Berger was elected to the National Academy of Sciences (AAAS) for her “distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.” She joins a new class of 146 members, including 26 internationally.

Developing drugs to combat Covid-19 is a global priority, requiring communities to come together to fight the spread of infection. At MIT, researchers with backgrounds in machine learning and life sciences are collaborating, sharing datasets and tools to develop machine learning methods that can identify novel cures for Covid-19.