A new study by MIT researchers examines how people who speak different languages describe colors, reports Zach Zorich for Science. The researchers found that, “the ability to describe colors isn’t as rooted in our biology as many scientists thought. And that means that language development may be far more rooted in our culture than in how we literally see the world.”
Boston Globe reporter Alyssa Meyers spotlights an MIT course that exposes students to what it is like to live with different disabilities. Based off their experience, students develop, “an assistive technology for a client, where the clients are individuals in the community who have proposed project ideas to the class,” explains senior lecturer Julie Greenberg.
In this article written in Portuguese, graduate student Jennifer Groff speaks with Paula Adamo Idoeta of the BBC News about effective teaching methods. “We try to help teachers see the value of more playful learning by exploring a topic rather than ‘filling’ the students' heads with ideas,” Groff says.
In an article for The Los Angeles Times, Research Scientist Nick Obradovich writes that the way the human brain functions can make it harder for people to take action on climate change. Obradovich notes that, “we’re likely to do better with policies that generate immediate and tangible benefits.”
Rana el Kaliouby, co-founder of MIT spinoff Affectiva, speaks to Asma Khalid from WBUR’s Bostonomix about her company’s work making tech devices that are more emotionally intelligent. “We envision a world where our devices and our technologies are emotional-wear,” says el Kaliouby. “They can sense and respond to your emotions in real time in a way that makes the interaction more positive.”
Jane Borden of The Washington Post highlights research by Prof. Edward Schiappa in an article about the idea that TV can help tackle prejudice. According to the 2006 study, viewers of the TV show Will and Grace have “the strongest potential influence on reducing sexual prejudice.”
BBC News reporter James Gallagher writes that MIT researchers have developed a new technology that could eventually enable doctors to administer multiple vaccines in one shot.
Guardian reporter Nicola Davis writes that MIT researchers have developed a new approach that could be used to deliver multiple vaccines in one injection. Davis explains that the technique could prove useful in developing countries, “potentially allowing all childhood vaccines and their boosters to be given in one shot.”
MIT researchers have developed a new way of creating drug-carrying particles that could allow multiple doses of a vaccine to be delivered over an extended period of time, reports Matt Reynolds for New Scientist. “The technology could eventually be used to create ‘omni-vaccines’ that protect against a whole host of diseases in one shot.”
Boston Magazine reporter Rowan Walrath writes that MIT researchers have developed a new technique that could be used to deliver multi-drug vaccines. The researchers developed a new method for “designing customizable, three-dimensional microparticles that resemble minuscule coffee cups. Each cup…contains a drug or vaccine ‘library’ that can be released at multiple points over an extended period of time.”
MIT placed second in Times Higher Ed’s 2018 arts and humanities ranking, reports Ellie Bothwell. “The multidisciplinary nature of the institute is certainly invaluable – not only for educating citizens, engineers, scholars, artists and scientists, but for sustaining the institute’s capacity to tackle challenges,” explains Melissa Nobles, dean of the MIT School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences.
Bloomberg News reporters Tim Loh and Patrick Martin feature Prof. Jeffrey Grossman’s work turning coal into thin strips of durable film that can conduct electricity. “You can get them up to like 300 Celsius (572 degrees Fahrenheit),” Grossman explains. “That is by far much, much better than other kinds of thin-film heaters.’’
Writing for the Associated Press about autonomous boats, Matt O’Brien spotlights Prof. Carlo Ratti’s work developing self-navigating vessels that will launch in Amsterdam next year. O’Brien notes that Ratti is, “also looking at ways small vessels could coordinate with each other in ‘swarms.’”
On PRI's "The World," Francis O'Sullivan, director of research for MITEI, explains how microgrids can help make the electric grid more resilient against mass blackouts in future natural disasters like Hurricane Irma.
In an article for The Wall Street Journal, Prof. Paul Osterman writes about how to improve home health care. Osterman writes that with less regulation and better training, home health aides, “could become as integral to health-care teams as doctors and nurses. That could improve the quality of care while saving buckets of money for everyone involved.”