Newsweek reporter Katherine Hignett writes that MIT and Harvard researchers have successfully manipulated individual atoms using lasers in one of the largest quantum computer simulations. Hignett writes that, “their technology could help make superfast quantum computers a working reality.”
Boston Globe reporter Alyssa Meyers writes that researchers from MIT and Harvard have demonstrated one of the largest quantum simulators that can trap individual atoms in laser beams. Prof. Vladan Vuletić explains that it is, “a major advance is to be able to align and arrange individual atoms so we can hold on to them and track them.”
Merrit Kennedy reports for NPR that MIT researchers have developed robotic artificial muscles that can lift 1,000 times their own weight. Prof. Daniela Rus explains that the technology could eventually be used to bring "soft strong mobility to people who are otherwise unable to move."
Writing for Fortune, Jamie Ducharme details how researchers from MIT and Harvard are one step closer to creating robots with superpowers, thanks to a new robotic artificial muscle they have developed. The new technology could be used, “in arenas ranging from medicine to architecture to space exploration,” Ducharme explains.
TechCrunch reporter Brian Heater writes that MIT researchers have developed a new 3-D printer that can fabricate an item up to 10 times faster than its commercial counterparts. Heater explains that the technology, “would definitely be useful for companies already using desktop 3D printers for prototyping, reducing dramatically the speed to print.”
Boston Magazine reporter Jamie Ducharme spotlights Prof. Li-Huei Tsai’s quest to vanquish Alzheimer’s disease. Ducharme writes that Tsai’s work, including two recent papers outlining potential treatments for Alzheimer’s, “established her as a bona fide rock star in the neuroscience world.”
CBC News’ Anna Maria Tremonti explores a new study by MIT researchers that examines how children interact with AI toys. The study shows, “how children can develop emotional ties with the robots, which was cause for concern for the MIT researcher,” Tremonti explains.
HuffPost reporter Thomas Tamblyn writes that MIT and Harvard researchers have created a range of origami-inspired robotic muscles. “These ultra-flexible materials could be applied to everything from deep-sea robotics to creating tiny yet incredibly strong tools for performing surgery,” Tamblyn explains.
Researchers from MIT and Harvard have developed a new origami-inspired artificial muscle that can lift up to a thousand times its own weight, reports Amina Khan for The Los Angeles Times. Khan explains that the robotic muscles, “offer a new way to give soft robots super-strength, which could be used everywhere from inside our bodies to outer space.”
Prof. Nergis Mavalvala speaks with Massive reporter Prabarna Ganguly about her work engineering high-precision laser beams to detect signals from deep space, the long hunt for gravitational waves and her hopes for future generations of scientists. Ganguly writes that Mavalvala is, “one of the stalwarts in a long, arduous, and deeply human discovery of faraway perturbations rippling through the universe.”
Prof. Timothy Lu speaks with STAT reporter Eric Boodman about his work trying to harness bacteria to treat disease. Lu notes that his lab is also currently working on, “building these genetic circuits for therapeutic applications, but instead of targeting bacteria, we’ve been focused on using human cells.”
Boston Globe reporter Alyssa Meyers writes that MIT researchers have observed how the flu spreads between cells in the body. “Once it’s infected a cell and has commandeered its inner workings, the virus makes copies of itself that gather into buds attached to the membrane. The buds then break free from their host and go on to infect other cells.”
Researchers at MIT will begin studying how Boston-area drivers interact with driver assistance systems, reports Aarian Marshall for Wired. Research Engineer Bryan Reimer explains that he and his colleagues hope to gain a better understanding for how, “driving is beginning to transform from one where the human has primary oversight responsibility to one where the human is actively engaged in a robotic interaction with the vehicle.”
A new study by MIT researchers shows how stress can lead people to make risky decisions, reports Kristin Hugo for Newsweek. “The study lends insights into how neurological disorders affect people. It could be the stress of dealing with inabilities to function properly and staving off cravings, compounded with the chemical effects on the brain, that are influencing people’s uninhibited behavior.”
Los Angeles Times reporter Amina Khan writes that researchers from the LIGO Scientific Collaboration have identified gravitational waves emitted from the smallest black hole they have detected. “Its mass makes it very interesting,” explains Prof. Salvatore Vitale. The discovery, he adds, “really starts populating more of this low-mass region that [until now] was quite empty.”