Researchers at the MIT Haystack Observatory have discovered that a phenomenon called “plasmaspheric hiss” prevents radiation from reaching Earth, reports Flora Graham for New Scientist. Graham explains that the plasmaspheric hiss is comprised of “very low-frequency electromagnetic waves,” which act like a radiation barrier.
Jennifer Hicks of Forbes writes that MIT startup Empatica has developed a wearable device that can monitor for epileptic seizures. The device contains “an event detector which sends an alert when the user’s electrodermal response reaches a pre set level they customize based on their history and health profile; and a diary app which helps monitor and manage everyday routines.”
Carolyn Johnson of The Boston Globe reports on how the gene-editing technique CRISPR is revolutionizing research at MIT and elsewhere. “The method is so powerful that virtually every project in my lab is now using this technique,” says Professor Tyler Jacks.
CNBC reporter Hailey Lee writes about the startup Saathi, which was founded by MIT alumna Amrita Saigal to empower rural women by giving them access to sanitary pads and economic opportunity. "We want to be invested in the entirety of the village—we want to see how Saathi improves socioeconomic status, girls' school attendance, female employment and income," explains Saigal.
“There’s an enormous richness of information by looking in the water that’s indicative of what’s going in a city in a real-time fashion,” says Prof. Eric Alm in an interview with Wudan Yan of The Daily Beast of his idea to examine public health by tracking the transmission of pathogens in sewers.
Carolyn Johnson of The Boston Globe reports on the annual Chain Reaction event hosted by the MIT Museum. “More than 20 all-ages teams united homemade machines to create a giant post-Thanksgiving chain reaction,” writes Johnson.
Simon Kuper of The Financial Times speaks with Professor Carlo Ratti about urbanism. One of the biggest changes to modern cities, argues Ratti, could be the introduction of driverless cars: “Think how much real estate you are using to store idle pieces of metal that are used for what – an hour a day?”
Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Prof. Mildred Dresselhaus speaks with Julianna Goldman of CBS Evening News about her career at MIT and what continues to inspire her to come to work seven days a week. "Every year there's something new that comes along that's too exciting to quit," says Dresselhaus.
Alexandra Sifferlin of TIME reports that researchers from the Broad Institute have uncovered a new way to detect risk of blood cancer. The researchers found that “certain mutations that are not present at birth but instead develop as a person ages—called somatic mutations—may be indicators for later blood cancers,” Sifferlin explains.
New Scientist reporter Jacob Aron writes about MIT graduate student Theodore Yoder’s work upgrading a quantum search algorithm to make it more effective. The new algorithm lets users “hone in on specific answers without knowing in advance how many there are,” Aron explains.
Dr. Shep Doeleman speaks with Rebecca Jacobson of the PBS NewsHour about how scientists at the ALMA Observatory are searching for a black hole to confirm Einstein’s theory of general relativity. “It would be a wonderful confirmation of one of the most beautiful theories that’s ever come out of physics,” says Doeleman.
Ari Daniel of Public Radio International reports on the Climate CoLab conference, run by the MIT Center for Collective Intelligence, which brought together people from around the world to “crowdsource the problem of what to do about global climate change," says Prof. Tom Malone.
David Weininger reports for The Boston Globe on the Radius Ensemble’s performance of “Nothing is More Important,” a piece composed by MIT Professor Keeril Makan. “Makan's piece begins with an obsessive focus on a single note, from which it never completely escapes,” writes Weininger.
MIT alumnus Dave Smith speaks with Anthony Brooks of WBUR about his company, LiquiGlide. LiquiGlide makes a substance that coats the surface on the inside of containers, reducing friction and allowing fluids to slide out more easily.
Professor Mildred Dresselhaus speaks with NPR’s Audie Cornish about receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Cornish explains that Dresselhaus got her nickname, the Queen of Carbon, based on her work with carbon, which “paved the way for the rise of nanotechnology.”