New research by Prof. Kerry Emanuel shows that climate change is increasing the risk of tropical cyclones forming in the Persian Gulf, reports Alister Doyle for Reuters. The study also predicts that the frequency of extreme storms will increase in hurricane-prone areas.
Chris Mooney writes for The Washington Post about how in a new study Prof. Kerry Emanuel used computer models to demonstrate the effects of catastrophic hurricanes on a number of coastal cities. The study is meant “to raise awareness of what a very low probability, very high impact hurricane event might look like,” says Emanuel.
Prof. Kerry Emanuel's new research indicates that the risk of catastrophic hurricane disasters could increase ten-fold this century due to climate change, writes Eric Holthaus for Slate. Holthaus explains that the researchers embedded a “high-quality hurricane model into a broader scale climate change model” to examine the impact of future extreme storms.
Prof. Thomas Levenson writes for The Boston Globe about sexism in science. “Sadly and infuriatingly, the habits of mind that once almost entirely barred women from the lab remain, less potent, perhaps, but still at work,” writes Levenson.
David Unger of The Christian Science Monitor speaks with Prof. Donald Sadoway about the future of batteries. Sadoway says he views the battery enterprise "as very socially conscious. It would represent a major step in bringing electricity to those who don’t have reliable access to electricity.”
A group of MIT researchers has designed a computer file system that will not lose track of data when a computer crashes, reports Matt Chiappetta for Forbes. The system “is mathematically guaranteed not to lose track of data during crashes,” writes Chiappetta.
Huffington Post reporter Nitya Rajan writes about a new 3-D printer designed by researchers at MIT CSAIL that can print up to 10 different materials at once. Rajan writes that, “this machine has just bought us one step closer to printing just about anything we fancy, on demand.”
In this video, PBS explores a new technique MIT researchers developed to enlarge brain samples, making them easier to image at high resolutions. Prof. Ed Boyden explains that he hopes the technique could be used to “hunt down very rare things in a tissue.”
Prof. Michael Stonebraker speaks with Randy Bean of The Wall Street Journal about big data and how companies handle data integration. “We are in the midst of an explosion of new ideas that will change the data landscape,” says Stonebraker.
In a study examining online learning, MIT researchers have uncovered a new type of cheating in online courses and identified ways to prevent such behavior, reports Laura Krantz for The Boston Globe. Krantz explains that while the researchers “want to stop the cheating, they are equally interested in the benefits of this new type of online education.”
Inside Higher Ed reporter Carl Straumsheim writes about a study conducted by researchers from MIT and Harvard that identifies a new type of cheating in massive open online courses (MOOCs). The researchers found that “the prevalence of cheating varied by discipline,” Straumsheim explains, with just 0.1 percent of learners appearing to have employed the technique in computer science courses.
Prof. Hugh Herr speaks about his work developing bionic limbs on Popular Science’s Futuropolis podcast. When asked about what sort of capabilities bionics may be able to give humans in the future, Herr explains his view that, “If something is possible given physical law, given the laws of nature, then I think ultimately humans will explore it.”
According to a new MIT study, airlines could handle flight delays more equitably by distributing them among themselves, reports Lloyd Mallison for Boston.com. The new system “would mean that two hypothetical planes could both have a 15-minute delay rather than one having no delay, and one having a 30-minute wait,” Mallison explains.
Boston Magazine reporter Jamie Ducharme writes that MIT researchers have developed a new digitized pen that could be used to improve a test that screens for Alzheimer’s and other cognitive impairments. “What the pen does is capture the writing with considerable temporal and spatial accuracy,” Prof. Randall Davis explains.
A new study by MIT researchers shows how airlines could juggle delays more equitably by distributing disruptions among themselves, reports Bart Jansen for USA Today. The researchers found that airlines could distribute delays “without adding significantly to the overall delays.”