MIT researchers have found there may be shortages of cobalt if the heavy metal is not refined and recycled more efficiently, reports Donna Lu for New Scientist. The researchers found “global demand for cobalt will rise to between 235,000 and 430,000 tonnes by 2030 – an amount that is at least 1.6 times the world’s current capacity to refine the metal, as of 2016 figures.”
Popular Mechanics reporter Jennifer Leman writes that a team of astronomers, including MIT researchers, has captured a series of images illuminating the surface of a golf-ball shaped asteroid called Pallas. The researchers found that Pallas “may have a mottled surface because of its curious orbit.”
TechCrunch reporter Darrell Etherington writes that MIT researchers have developed a framework for determining the best course of action to take to deflect an incoming asteroid. The researchers developed a “decision map” that takes into account “the mass and relative momentum of an approaching asteroid, as well as the expected time we have before it enters into a so-called ‘keyhole.’”
Prof. Yossi Sheffi writes for The Wall Street Journal about how the coronavirus could cause supply chain disruptions. “The best course of action for companies is to analyze possible outcomes in the context of known supply-chain risks based on historical precedents,” writes Sheffi, “and to take precautionary measures that minimize exposure to future disruptions.”
WBUR’s Cristela Guerra highlights a new exhibit at the MIT List Visual Arts Center called “Colored People Time.” The exhibit “turns time on its head,” Guerra explains, and “dives into questions of race, colonization, and reparations."
Prof. John Sterman speaks with Emma Smith of CBC about how Nova Scotia’s plan to switch from oil to wood for heating some public buildings will speed up climate change. “Turns out that wood and coal have about the same amount of carbon per unit of useful energy in them, but burning wood is less efficient," says Sterman.
Prof. Yossi Sheffi speaks with Jon Fortt of CNBC’s “Squawk Alley” about how the coronavirus could hurt global businesses. “It affects both supply and demand,” says Sheffi. “It’s not just manufacturing in China that is affected.”
MIT researchers have identified security flaws in a mobile voting application that allowed some overseas and military citizens to vote remotely, reports Lydia Emmanouilidou for PRI’s The World. “When things are opaque — when you can't verify, when you can't see what the code is doing,” says graduate student Michael Specter, “there is no way of vetting that it's doing the right thing.”
MIT researchers have developed a new smart diaper that can send caregivers a message when it detects moisture, reports Caroline Enos for The Boston Globe. “A small moisture sensor in the diaper contains a radio frequency identification tag, which transmits a radio signal to a nearby receiver when the diaper becomes wet,” Enos writes.
Graduate student Clara Park speaks with Ira Flatow of Science Friday about her work developing a bionic heart that could be used to test cardiac devices. Park explains that she and her colleagues fused a real heart “with robotic muscles to mimic the realistic motions and anatomy of the heart.”
Atlantic reporter Conor Friedersdorf highlights a new study by MIT researchers that shows handwashing at airports could help reduce the spread of disease.
Verge reporter Thomas Ricker writes that MIT researchers have developed a new RFID sensor that could be used to detect moisture in diapers and send an alert to caregivers. “The sensor can be manufactured for less than 2 cents, making it suitable for disposable diapers without adding bulk,” Ricker explains.
Artist Christine Sun Kim speaks with Boston Globe reporter Diti Kohli about her exhibit at the MIT List Visual Arts Center and her experiencing signing the national anthem at the Super Bowl. For visitors to her exhibit, Kim says she hopes her work “sits in the back of their mind, and stays with them in terms of respecting our deafness and sign language.”
In a segment for PRI’s The World, Lucy Martirosyan spotlights the work of artist Christine Sun Kim, who has a new exhibit at the MIT List Visual Arts Center and performed the national anthem in American Sign Language during this year’s Super Bowl. “I always find that the best way to communicate with a wider audience who [is] not deaf is to use a format that people can easily understand,” Kim said.
Forbes reporter Bruce Dorminey explores how MIT researchers have captured new images of the Pallas asteroid that “reveal a tiny world that is so pockmarked with craters that it resembles a high-end golf ball, maybe a Titleist or a Top-Flite.”