Eliminating TB + open AI models + lessons from Challenger

By rahmat hidayat

Rabu, 28 Januari 2026

view in browser MIT Daily January 28, 2026 Greetings! This month we are on an abbreviated winter schedule, publishing Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays through MIT’s Independent Activities Period. Now, here’s the latest from the MIT community.   Have feedback to share? Email mitdailyeditor@mit.edu. Eliminating TB By studying how M. tuberculosis interacts with the immune system, MIT Associate Professor Bryan Bryson seeks vaccine targets to help eliminate TB. “Engineering and infectious disease go hand-in-hand, because engineers love a problem, and tuberculosis is a really hard problem,” he says.  Full story via MIT News → Top Headlines Why aren’t AI open models more widely used? Open-source and open-weight AI models perform well and cost less — but users opt for closed models 80% of the time, according to new research. Full story via MIT Sloan→ A new way to “paint with light” to create radiant, color-changing items “MorphoChrome,” developed at MIT, pairs software with a handheld device to make everyday objects iridescent. Full story via MIT News → Akorfa Dagadu named 2027 Schwarzman Scholar The MIT senior will spend the 2026-27 year at Tsinghua University in Beijing, studying global affairs. Full story via MIT News → Michael Moody: Impacting MIT through leadership in auditing The Institute auditor has guided the Audit Division through a transformative period while strengthening collaborations across MIT. Full story via MIT News → #ThisisMIT Follow @MITSloanAlumni on Facebook→ In the Media Opinion: How the polar vortex and warm ocean intensified a major U.S. winter storm // The Conversation MIT Research Scientist Judah Cohen and University of Massachusetts at Lowell Professor Mathew Barlow examine how the polar vortex and moisture from a warm Gulf of Mexico created a monster winter storm that affected a large swath of the U.S. “Some research suggests that even in a warming environment, cold events, while occurring less frequently, may still remain relatively severe in some locations. One factor may be increasing disruptions to the stratospheric polar vortex, which appear to be linked to the rapid warming of the Arctic with climate change,” they write. “A warmer environment also increases the likelihood that precipitation that would have fallen as snow in previous winters may now be more likely to fall as sleet and freezing rain.” Full story via The Conversation→ Look Back Today we honor the seven NASA astronauts who died 40 years ago on the space shuttle Challenger, which experienced a catastrophic failure shortly after launch on Jan. 28, 1986. Among them was Ronald McNair PhD ’76 (seated, right, in the photo), who is now the namesake of Building 37 on the MIT campus. In a new essay for MIT Technology Review, fellow NASA astronaut Terry Hart SM ’69 reflects back on the moment and asks: What level of risk is acceptable in our current age of spaceflight — and how do we manage it responsibly? Full story via MIT Technology Review→ This edition of the MIT Daily was brought to you by practicing winter safety. ❄️  Thanks for reading, and enjoy your day! —MIT News Forward This Email Subscribe This email was sent to rh3252705.ikut@blogger.com because of your affiliation with MIT, or because you signed up for our newsletters. subscribe update preferences unsubscribe view in browser MIT News Office · 77 Massachusetts Avenue · Cambridge, MA 02139 · USA

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