Kathryn Jepsen of Symmetry writes that new results from the AMS experiment, an international collaboration led by MIT Prof. Samuel Ting, indicate the detection of dark matter may be within reach. “It’s really profound to me, the fact that we’re getting this fundamental data,” said NASA Chief Scientist Ellen Stofan. “Once we understand it, it could change how we see the universe.”
Scientists behind the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer experiment are reporting new data that point toward the potential detection of dark matter particles, according to NBC News. MIT physicist Samuel Ting, AMS's principal investigator, explains: “This is the first experimental observation of the positron fraction maximum after half a century of cosmic rays experiments."
“QS released its 2014-2015 world's best college rankings, putting the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at the top,” writes Aileen Graef for UPI. MIT retained its 2013-2014 number-one spot on the list of colleges, which are judged by research, teaching, employability and internationalization.
Jordon Golson of Wired reports on a new traffic control system created by MIT researchers: “The ‘RoadRunner’ system, developed for Singapore by graduate student Jason Gao and his advisor Li-Shiuan Peh, issues a digital ‘token’ to each car entering a congestion-prone area.”
USA Today’s Kristin Musulin reports on a new algorithm developed by MIT researchers that allows their cheetah robot to operate untethered. “This is the first time we show that an electrically powered robot can run and jump over one-foot height obstacles,” says Professor Sangbae Kim.
“Researchers from MIT Media Lab’s Tangible Media Group and Fluid Interface Group are working on a project called THAW that allows smartphone cameras to identify what’s happening on another screen and interact with it,” writes Lily Hay Newman for Slate.
Jacqueline Howard of The Huffington Post writes about research by Professor Ann Graybiel that looked at the effect of the human Foxp2 gene in mice. The work could lead to a greater understanding of how the human brain learns speech.
MIT Professor Katharina Ribbeck was named one of “The Brilliant Ten of 2014” by Popular Science magazine for “surprising discoveries about the sophisticated role of mucus, information she’s using to engineer an alternative to antibiotics.”
“Researchers at MIT have built a four-legged robot that runs like the super-fast spotted feline and can even run on its own power,” writes Amina Khan for The Los Angeles Times about MIT’s robotic cheetah. “[T]he researchers think that it could eventually reach speeds of 30 miles per hour.”
Melissa Lott of Scientific American reports on the third annual Clean Energy Education & Empowerment (C3E) women’s initiative symposium co-hosted by the MIT Energy Initiative. The group works in partnership with governments around the world to increase the participation of women in the energy field.
“Inspired by octopus tentacles, MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL)'s latest robot is as squishy as can be,” writes Rachel Feltman of The Washington Post. “Like other soft robots, this tentacle has potential in search and rescue missions.”
Professor Xuanhe Zhao has developed a material that mimics the ability of cephalopods such as cuttlefish, squids, and octopuses, to rapidly change color, reports Rachel Feltman for The Washington Post. "It's a fantastic quality, and one unprecedented in human engineering," says Zhao.
Dominique Mosbergen reports for The Huffington Post on MIT’s robotic cheetah: “[T]he researchers behind its development have devised an algorithm that allows their creation not just to run at speeds of up to 10 mph but also to jump over obstacles—all without being tethered to anything.”
Thomas Tamblyn of The Huffington Post reports on a soft, tentacle-shaped robot developed by doctoral candidate Andrew Marchese and PhD student Robert Katzschmann: “The arm is made using purely silicone which is then inflated and deflated forcing the arm to move in the desired direction.”
MIT researchers found that students who spent significant time doing coursework in massive open online courses (MOOCs) showed evidence of learning regardless of educational background, writes Steve Kolowich for The Chronicle of Higher Education. “This certainly should allay concerns that less-well-prepared students cannot learn in MOOCs,” the researchers wrote.