MIT researchers have developed what they believe to be the toughest English-language tongue twister, writes Justin Kitch for The Huffington Post. The tongue twister “pad kid poured curd pulled cold” is difficult to say because “it’s an example of alternating repetition, where consonant sounds are repeated at the beginnings of every other word,” Kitch explains.
Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Akst writes that MIT researchers have found that our musical tastes are culturally instilled. The researchers played consonant and dissonant chords from members of a remote Amazonian tribe and found that “they had no preference for one sound over the other—unlike the large majority of North Americans and Europeans, who prefer consonance.”
Olga Kharif from Bloomberg Businessweek provides an overview of the origami robot created by Prof. Daniela Rus and her team. “Squeezed into a pill, this robot unfolds like an origami after it’s swallowed. It can be guided with a tiny magnet to remove a foreign object from the stomach or treat a wound by administering medication,” explains Kharif.
CSAIL researchers have created an algorithm that makes videos interactive, writes Andrew Freedman for Fox News. Freedman explains how this technology could transform games like Pokémon Go, “With interactive dynamic video, the Spearow could interact with the leaves rather than simply sit on top of them.”Reach in and touch objects in videos with “Interactive Dynamic Video”
BBC News reports that CSAIL researchers have created an algorithm that can manipulate still objects in photographs and videos. The technique doesn’t require any special cameras, which makes it great for improving the realism in augmented reality games like Pokémon Go.
MIT researchers have outlined a new way of developing a lithium-oxygen battery that would increase the battery’s energy efficiency and longevity, according to The Economist. “In trials which discharged and recharged the battery 130 times, it lost less than 2% of its capacity,” The Economist notes.
Science reporter Adrian Cho profiles Prof. Emeritus Rainer Weiss, exploring everything from his decades-long dedication to the search for gravitational waves to his reputation as a mentor. Prof. Emeritus Robert Birgeneau notes that Weiss was respected for “his passion and his courage in going after really important physics.”
MIT researchers have developed a portable system that could produce biotech drugs on demand, reports Lisa Rapaport for Reuters. “The table-top machine has the potential to one day produce proteins to treat any number of a wide range of conditions like cancer, diabetes, heart attacks, and hemophilia,” writes Rapaport.
Graduate student Max Opgenoord and MIT senior Sara Volz are featured in The Improper Bostonian’s list of 25 rising stars, age 25 and under. Opgenoord was honored for his work on the MIT Hyperloop team, and Volz was noted for her work experimenting with algae as a sustainable fuel source.
Washington Post reporter Emily Langer chronicles the life and work of Prof. Emeritus Seymour Papert, who died last week at age 88. Langer explains that Papert “led an early campaign to revolutionize education with the personal computer, a tool he championed not as a classroom gadget but as a key to unlocking a child’s excitement for learning.”
Prof. Susan Lindquist has been named a recipient of the Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research, according to the AP. Lindquist’s research has raised hopes that “treatments could prevent protein ‘misfolding’ that drives degenerative conditions like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Lou Gehrig's disease.”
Alyssa Newcomb writes for NBC News that MIT researchers have developed a system that allows users to interact with virtual objects. Newcomb explains that the “technology could be used to make movies or even by engineers wanting to find out how an old bridge may respond to inclement weather.”
Barb Darrow writes for Fortune about the career of Prof. Emeritus Seymour Papert, who died July 31. “In the 1960s, when computers were pricey and huge, Papert saw them as a way to help children learn by doing. He developed the Logo programming language for children, who initially used it to program and animate a small robot turtle.”
CSAIL researchers have created a tool that allows people to interact with videos, writes Mary Beth Griggs for Popular Science. The technique could “make augmented reality animations integrate even more with the 'reality' part of augmented reality, help engineers model how structures will react when different forces are applied, or as a less expensive way to create special effects.”
A portable device developed by MIT researchers uses programmable yeast to create drugs on demand, reports Jamie Ducharme for Boston Magazine. The device “could be a lifesaver for doctors working in vulnerable conditions, such as the battlefield, a remote village, or even an ambulance,” writes Ducharme.