MIT researchers have found that carbon sequestration may not be as effective at storing greenhouse gas emissions as originally thought, reports Christopher Martin for Bloomberg News. The researchers found that “much of the carbon dioxide will remain in its gaseous state, and may eventually escape into the atmosphere.”
Atlantic reporter Cari Romm writes about how MIT researchers have developed a new method for predicting public overreaction to disease outbreaks. The researchers “plan to use the model to help policymakers better prepare for disease-induced hysteria,” Romm explains.
Using a polymer found in diapers that swells on contact with water, Prof. Ed Boyden and his colleagues have developed a method for enlarging tissue samples to allow for better 3-D imaging, writes Jessica Hamzelou for New Scientist. The team can enlarge samples to more than four times their original size, Hamzelou reports.
Tech reporter Amy Wang writes about the recent gift from alumnus Samuel Tak Lee that will establish a real estate entrepreneurship lab at MIT. “Real estate and urban planning is very interdisciplinary to begin with, so this donation already is incredibly well positioned to generate opportunities across all fields,” says Prof. Albert Saiz.
Jared Silverman of USA Today reports on how MIT researchers have found that raindrops release aerosols when they hit the ground, causing a distinctive odor. The researchers found that “light to moderate rain produces more aerosols compared to heavy rain,” Silverman explains.
Yiqing Shao writes for Boston Magazine about “Photographing Places,” a new exhibit at the MIT Museum featuring art from Places journal, a publication that examines the relationship between people and their surroundings. Places was “founded in the ’80s by architecture faculty at MIT and UC Berkeley,” explains Shao.
MIT researchers have found that when raindrops hit the ground they release aerosols, which produce a distinctive scent, reports Avianne Tan of ABC News. Prof. Cullen Buie explains that the findings also show how bacteria could spread through “chemicals being carried by aerosols."
“It turns out tiny bubbles may be to thank for that earthy smell we get after it rains, according to a study from researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,” writes Lori Grisham for USA Today. “The study may serve as a jumping-off point for other research about chemicals in soil.”
Andrea Timpano writes for Boston Magazine about how MIT visiting artist Vik Muniz and postdoctoral fellow Tal Danino are creating images of liver cells for a campaign promoting the importance of vaccines. “I think art is a really good way to communicate your research and your science,” Danino says.
John Markoff writes for The New York Times about a new technique for observing minuscule features in biological samples developed by Prof. Ed Boyden and his colleagues. The researchers “were able to increase the physical size of cultured cells and tissue by as much as five times while still preserving their structure,” Markoff explains.
BBC News reporter Peter Day writes about Prof. Lily Fang’s research examining why stocks and shares traditionally do not perform well in September. Day explains that Fang and her colleagues found that “financial markets - so praised for their efficiency - get less efficient in the summer because people are not paying sufficient attention to what is going on.”
Derek Thompson of The Atlantic writes about a series of MIT studies that suggest that higher social sensitivity displayed by women makes them more valuable than men in groups working on collaborative problem-solving. Thompson predicts that factors such as these will result in an eventual inversion of the gender wage gap.
Matt Lee writes for The Boston Globe about the cybersecurity contest between stduents from MIT and University of Cambridge to devise better cybersecurity technologies and platforms. The competition will allow students an opportunity to tackle real-world cybersecurity challenges, Lee explains
In a piece for The New York Times, Prof. Thomas Malone and his colleagues highlight two MIT studies examining group intelligence. The researchers found that “the most important ingredients for a smart team remained constant regardless of its mode of interaction: members who communicated a lot, participated equally and possessed good emotion-reading skills.”
Students from MIT and the University of Cambridge will compete in a cybersecurity competition called “Cambridge v Cambridge” this fall, reports Nidhi Subbaraman for BetaBoston. “Each team will race as they seek access to coded secrets, while earning points for offensive and defensive strategies,” writes Subbaraman.