In the Media

Umair Irfan and ClimateWire report on new research that helps explain how lithium batteries operate. The findings could lead to new methods for optimizing battery performance.

In an article published on Nature, Clara Moskovitz reports on the discovery of gamma rays shining from the center of the Milky Way, which researchers believe might be the first indirect detection of the particles that cause dark matter.

“In a new study, published in the Journal of Fluid Mechanics, researchers report that coughs and sneezes have “associated gas clouds that keep their potentially infectious droplets aloft over much greater distances than previously realized”,” writes Boston Magazine reporter Melissa Malamut about a new MIT on how coughs and sneezes spread disease.

Boston Magazine’s Steve Annear writes about how Social Computing Group researchers at the MIT Media Lab are mapping all bicycle accidents in Cambridge from 2010-2013. The group hopes the interactive map will help alert cyclists and the city of potentially dangerous sections.

Boston Globe reporter Deborah Kotz highlights research from Professor John Bush and Professor Lydia Bourouiba that shows virus droplets expelled through a cough or sneeze travel five to 200 times farther than they would as individual particles.

Catherine Taibi of The Huffington Post previews an Anderson Cooper documentary in which he follows the recovery of Boston Marathon bombing survivor Adrianne Haslet-Davis. Haslet-Davis has regained her ability to dance thanks to a bionic leg designed by Hugh Herr of the MIT Media Lab.

NECN’s Josh Brogadir speaks with members of the MIT Police Department about Officer Sean Collier. “He was a pleasure. You always knew Sean had your back and you had Sean's back,” said Patrolman Bill Smith during the segment.

Hiawatha Bray of The Boston Globe reports on research underway at MIT to develop robots that will be able to take the place of human first responders in disaster relief operations.

Bryan Maquard of The Boston Globe looks back at the life of Carl Accardo, former director of Asian operations for the MIT Industrial Liaison Program. Accardo, who created a network of research exchanges between MIT and Japanese companies, passed away on Mar. 22 at the age of 85.

Space.com reporter Mike Wall explains new research findings that might help explain the nature of dark matter. “In the future we might well look back and say this was where we saw dark matter annihilation for the first time," Professor Tracy Slatyer is quoted as saying in the article.

Writing for The Washington Post, Emily Badger reports on an AgeLab study that showed that using more legible typefaces in in-car media, like GPS systems, could reduce distracted driving.

Washington Post reporter Meeri Kim writes about a new MIT study that shows the human brain performs automatic visual smoothing when processing information. In particular, researchers found that our visual perception is influenced by what we saw up to 15 seconds ago.

Cynthia Graber reports for Scientific American about the robotic clam developed by MIT researchers that can mimic the digging capabilities of the Atlantic razor clam.

In an article published in Nature, Clara Moskowitz reports on Professor Anna Frebel’s discovery of a tiny galaxy circling the Milky Way, which researchers believe may be a fossil left over from the early universe.

Richard Taylor of BBC News interviews Kent Larson of the MIT Media Lab Cityscope project. Cityscope researchers collect data on the movement of people in and out of Kendall Square in order to help urban planners make more informed decisions.