Research

Prof. David Kaiser joins GBH “Particles of Thought” podcast host Dr. Hakeem Oluseyi to discuss his hunt for primordial black holes. “It’s a lot easier to find stuff coming off of a very bright, hot source, than a cold, dim one. So, the Hawking temperature of a black hole that has the same mass as our sun, or a little bigger would be so cold we would literally never be able to measure [its] radiation,” says Kaiser. “You’ll never see it [Hawking Radiation] from stellar collapse black holes, you’ll never see it from supermassive black holes, or even colder. The only hope to ever see it would be a smaller mass black hole.”

For Scientific American’s special section “The Young American Scientists” Bob Mumgaard PhD ‘15, co-founder and CEO of Commonwealth Fusion Systems, speaks with Tara Haelle about the commercialization of fusion science and how automated tools have accelerated research. “Whether in areas such as fusion—or in drugs by design for diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s or in [the creation of] materials we never thought possible—our ability to use new tools to tackle some of these big, meaty problems is super exciting,” says Mumgaard. 

In an interview conducted by Scientific American reporter Andrea Thompson for “The Young American Scientists” special section, seismologist Lucy Jones, PhD ‘81, emphasizes the importance of collaboration between scientists and policymakers to develop solutions to big issues, including natural disasters. “Solutions have to be done in collaboration, which means spending time with policymakers,” says Thompson. She adds: “I do see a change in attitude about the worthiness of applying science—of activation. That’s relatively new and really important.”

Prof. Alan Guth chats with Scientific American reporter Joseph Howlett about the future of the field of cosmology and his advice for early-career physicists for “The Young American Scientists” special section. Guth shares that thanks to advances in technology, “we’re able to unravel, to make sense out of, what we’re observing. A lot of progress has been made on those lines.” 

For the Scientific American special section, “The Young American Scientists,” reporter Megha Satyanarayana speaks with Institute Prof. Robert Langer about the “spectacular” history of American innovation and education and why he feels it’s important to celebrate scientific achievements in the same way we honor celebrities and sports stars. “I’m just a big believer in the resilience of people,” says Langer. “I look at the history of American innovation and education over the past 250 years, and it’s been spectacular. We’ve had world wars, you know, we’ve had depressions, and people keep persisting and keep learning. They keep discovering and they keep inventing.”

For Scientific American’s “The Young American Scientists” special section, reporter Tara Haelle interviews Prof. John Urschel, a former NFL player, exploring his views on the benefits for aspiring young scientists of having a broad background to draw upon. “A lot of good research happens when people can draw on tools, techniques and insights from different areas, disciplines and even fields,” says Urschel. “I hope we can encourage promising young scientists to establish strong, broad backgrounds and to communicate frequently with those outside their particular areas.” 

Prof. Alan Lightman details how his childhood fascinations with science experiments and writing helped shape his self-confidence, humanity, and connection to the physical world in an essay for Scientific American’s special section, “The Young American Scientists.” Lightman writes: “Science has given us automobiles, antibiotics, computers. The humanities have given us values and guidance on how to live our lives. Now more than ever, when much of the world, including the U.S., has lost its moral compass, leading to a dog-eat-dog mentality, we need science combined with literature, philosophy, history and art.”

Visiting Scientist Alice Stanton speaks with Scientific American reporter Tanya Lewis about her work developing miBrain, a 3D model of the human aimed at helping scientists “better understand neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s so researchers can develop personalized treatments for them.” Says Stanton of the need for stable support for scientific research: “When we have a loved one who gets sick, we want a treatment—we want something to cure them. It doesn’t come out of thin air.”

Fast Company reporter Jude Cramer spotlights a new study by MIT researchers that finds individuals who rely on AI to verify facts saw a 15% decline in their ability to detect fake news when unassisted by AI. “AIs that ‘tell’ by providing direct answers are more likely to foster reliance, while those that ‘ask’ via Socratic questioning are better at engaging someone to actually learn how to discern the truth on their own,” says graduate student Valdemar Danry. “But it’s very much a trade-off between speed and effort.”

As part of a special Scientific American series devoted to the future of scientific research in the U.S., President Sally Kornbluth emphasizes the importance of curiosity-driven research, noting that discovery “is part of our American DNA and has yielded vast returns to the citizens of this country and the world.” Kornbluth notes: “What’s needed is a rededication to public investment in American science. Even if I were not the leader of a premier scientific institution, this is what I’d say. Investing in American science is not a gamble; if you look back in time, there is no question about the benefits.” 

Jay Fox of the Ohio News Network joins Ohio 10 WBNS to discuss his conversation with President Sally Kornbluth about how life-changing scientific innovations in university research labs have helped build our nation’s technological prowess and ensured our strength and stability, explaining how federal research cuts threaten future medical and technological advances. “What’s at risk are the kind of cures and technological advances that we’ll enjoy as we age, as our children get older and their children’s children get older. It’s really the future that is being mortgaged at this point,” said Kornbluth during her discussion with Fox. 

In a Gizmodo article, reporter Ellyn Lapointe features a new study, co-authored by Prof. Christopher Knittel and Prof. Catherine Wolfram, that reveals American households are spending an additional $400 to $900 per year due to extreme weather conditions. “U.S. households are experiencing the financial effects of climate change in ways that aren’t always obvious,” says Knittel. “These costs show up across different parts of people’s budgets, and over time they can become pretty significant.”

Popular Science reporter Laura Baisas showcases an ingestible, berry-size thermometer developed by MIT researchers that could offer continuous monitoring for sick patients. The sensor “could make it easier to determine whether a patient is sick and if they’re at risk of developing a dangerously high fever. It can also help for people tracking their fertility or those under anesthesia," writes Baisas. "The team is now working on combining the temperature sensor with different sensors that could measure other vital signs such as heart rate." 

In a study examining the impact of AI tools on software development, researchers from MIT and Wharton examined the work of more than 100,000 developers and found a significant gap between what AI tools generate and the amount of software delivered to companies. Writing for Quartz, reporter Anthony Lopopolo notes: “The upshot [of the research] is that AI and human effort aren't substitutes at any stage beyond raw code generation. You can't replace reviewing, testing, and release management with more lines of code.”

Scientific American reporter Clara Moskowitz spotlights a new study by Prof. Seth Lloyd that explores the feasibility of black holes sending information back in time. In the study, Lloyd and his colleagues calculate how much information can be sent backward via closed timelike curves, intensely bending, rotating space found around spinning black holes. “Spacetime can curve around so much that you can be innocently going forward in time and then you meet yourself in the past,” says Lloyd.