MIT researchers have found that half of premature deaths caused by air pollution are linked to pollutants that originate out of state, reports Henry Fountain for The New York Times. “We know air quality is bad in many ways, and if we want to continue to improve it we need to understand what the causes are,” explains Prof. Steven Barrett.
Wired reporter Nicola Twilley spotlights how researchers at the Media Lab’s Space Exploration Initiative are exploring the future of spaceflight with a particular focus on space gastronomy—an experience of eating in zero gravity that achieves more than basic nourishment. “If humans are going to thrive in space, we need to design embodied experiences," says research scientist Maggie Coblentz.
Researchers in Prof. Evelina Fedorenko’s lab are investigating how the polygot brain works and why some people can become proficient at multiple languages, reports Patrick Cox for PRI’s The World. “Most brains can find ways to get good at things — that hard work will often get you a long way,” says Fedorenko. “I think brilliance is often overrated.”
Quanta Magazine reporter Devin Powell spotlights how MIT researchers developed a new model to help determine why some knots are stronger than others. The researchers hope “the findings will play a role in designing new ways to tie, loop, twist and otherwise form tangles from rope, adding a new predictive dimension to knot theory.”
During a performance at MIT’s Kresge Auditorium, musician Johnny Gandelsman performed Bach’s Six Cello Suites on the violin, writes Jeremy Eichler for The Boston Globe. “This was an exquisitely personal vision of Bach, all radical sincerity and glinting light,” writes Eichler. “The audience sat rapt for nearly two hours, until it rose as one.”
Popular Mechanics reporter Caroline Delbert spotlights postdoctoral associate Chenguang Zhang’s work crunching the numbers to determine the ideal way to fold a notebook page in order to “bookmark” it. Zhang found that “to have the most visible bookmark: first pick the top-left corner, then pick from the right edge a point 58.6 [percent] from the bottom, then fold."
BBC Click spotlights how CSAIL researchers have developed robotic cubes, called M-Blocks, that can self-assemble to form different structures. “M-Blocks create more flexible systems,” says Prof. Daniela Rus. “They are able to flatten themselves. They are able to aggregate. They can crawl up towers or bridges. They can also go through tiny pipes.”
Graduate student Joy Buolamwini's speaks with Jennifer 8. Lee about her research on bias and facial recognition, and how she combines technology and art in her work. “We need more poets in tech, and we need more people of color in tech,” says Buolamwini. “The reason I call myself a poet is because poets illuminate the uncomfortable, and they make us feel what we otherwise not might see.”
Forbes reporters Susan Adams and Will Yakowicz highlight several startups founded by MIT alumni that are developing new technologies focused on the microbiome.
Fast Company reporter Adele Peters spotlights Primitives, an MIT startup that is developing compostable food packaging that can also detect safety issues. “We’re incorporating sensing mechanisms into our materials that allow it to detect things like spoilage or even cold chain monitoring,” says Viirj Kan ‘17, CEO of Primitives.
CNBC reporter Pippa Stevens writes that Sloan researchers have found there is a 70% chance of a recession within the next six months. “The researchers analyzed four market factors — industrial production, nonfarm payrolls, stock market return and the slope of the yield curve — on a monthly basis,” writes Stevens. “They then measured how the current relationship between the four metrics compares to historical readings.”
Prof. Richard Larson speaks with Peter Cohan of Forbes about the economic impact of the 2019 novel coronavirus. “If our response is a pendulum swinging way too far towards unwarranted hysteria,” says Larson, “the dominant economic costs could come from our over-response and not to the progression of the disease itself.”
Prof. Richard Larson speaks with Peter Cohan of Forbes about the economic impact of the 2019 novel coronavirus. “If our response is a pendulum swinging way too far towards unwarranted hysteria,” says Larson, “the dominant economic costs could come from our over-response and not to the progression of the disease itself.”
Prof. Charles Stewart III writes for Wired that the Iowa caucuses underscore the need for election officials to prepare for potential problems. “Girding computer systems against external attacks is critical,” writes Stewart. “But so is planning out the response when the inevitable failure occurs.”
Quartz reporter Michelle Cheng spotlights how the MIT Sloan School of Management is transforming its MBA program to include an increased focus on STEM fields. “Everyone wants to be close to technology now,” explains Jacob Cohen, senior associate dean for undergraduate and master’s programs at MIT Sloan.