Darren Sabedra of San Jose Mercury News writes about incoming freshman Riley Quinn, who plans to double major in math and business and play football at MIT. Quinn, who was born without a left hand and forearm, wrote in his college essay that he leveraged what “others may call a physical disability as my driving force and motivation to excel at everything I do."
Professor Kerry Emanuel speaks with John Upton of Scientific American about new research indicating that climate change could lead to stronger East Coast hurricanes. The study suggests that New England hurricanes “are more frequent when ocean temperatures near the U.S. East Coast are warmer,” says Emanuel.
Devin Coldewey of NBC News writes about new MIT research into the evolution of violin design. The researchers found that “the characteristics of the instruments underwent changes surprisingly like evolution by natural selection,” Coldewey explains.
Prof. Robert Langer speaks with Chris Baraniuk of New Scientist about winning the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering and his career in biotechnology. “It’s going to be the entrepreneurs, the new professors, the young people who are willing to think outside the box and not necessarily go down a conventional path,” says Langer of the future of medicine.
The Huffington Post reports on an analysis of the Mars One project led by Professor Olivier de Weck. “We’re not saying, black and white, Mars One is infeasible,” explains de Weck. “But we do think it’s not really feasible under the assumptions they’ve made.”
Michelle Roberts reports for BBC News on a new, “smart insulin” being developed by MIT researchers that switches on when blood sugar rises. The engineered insulin could make it easier for those suffering from diabetes to manage the disease, Roberts explains.
In a piece exploring the possibility of time travel, BBC News reporter Sean Coughlan highlights Prof. Brad Skow’s new book about the concept of time. Skow argues that, “past moments or experiences are just as real as the present, but are inaccessible in another part of time.”
In a piece for Scientific American, Amanda Baker writes about the MIT Science Olympiad Invitational Tournament, which brought together more than 60 teams of high school students from 14 states. The event was organized by a group of MIT undergraduates dedicated to improving the experience of science competitions for high school students.
Joseph Flaherty of Wired writes about “Flowers,” a print created by postdoctoral fellow Tal Danino and MIT visiting artist Vik Muniz to educate people about the importance of vaccinations. Danino hopes to be able to apply the technique developed for creating the print, which contains real cancer and virus cells, to control the behaviors of specific cells and bacteria.
A paper co-authored by Professor Daron Acemoglu has raised questions about a new theory that inequality increases when the return on capital exceeds the rate of growth, reports Angela Chen for The Wall Street Journal. Acemoglu contends that the new model fails to account for political institutions and technology.
Slate reporter Alison Griswold writes about a new MIT study examining what makes certain startups successful. “We’re trying to measure things that companies do naturally when they have the ambition and potential to grow,” says Prof. Scott Stern.
USA Today reporter Melissa Pandika spotlights Prof. Kay Tye, highlighting her journey to MIT, her award-winning breakdancing skills and her neuroscience research. Tye’s current work examines how optogenetics can be used to control certain behaviors, such as overeating and anxiety.
Francie Diep writes for Popular Science about how a new mathematical theory developed by MIT researchers may help to explain how surfaces wrinkle. “The equation could help chemists working on high-tech materials,” explains Diep.
Prof. Richard Nielsen writes for The Washington Post about his view that the Islamic State does not believe in state sovereignty, and the difficulties this view poses for working with the group. Nielsen writes that the group’s existence, “poses a fundamental challenge to international order, not only to the people under its rule.”
Dennis Keohane writes for BetaBoston about Start6, an IAP offering from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) aimed at teaching students about entrepreneurship. “The course exposed the students not just to one way of thinking but a multitude of different ways to think about starting a business,” says EECS Dept. Head Anantha Chandrakasan.