A study co-authored by Prof. Carlo Ratti finds ride-sharing is feasible in different cities around the world, reports Eleanor Cummins for Popular Science. “The key thing is how this can transform our cities. Every car you remove from the road, you are removing pollution and traffic,” explains Ratti.
New Scientist reporter Sam Wong writes that MIT researchers used high-speed cameras to examine how raindrops can spread soil bacteria. “The researchers estimate that a single raindrop can transfer 0.01 per cent of bacteria on the soil surface into the air, and up to a quarter of bacteria emitted from the land might become airborne in this way.”
A study by MIT and Harvard researchers provides evidence that a new executive order on immigration could reduce the number of doctors in portions of Appalachia and the Industrial Midwest, reports Sam Petulla for NBC News. "In these places, there are lots of incentives for American-trained doctors and foreign-trained doctors to move and work," explains graduate student Michael Stepner.
Using high-speed cameras and fluorescent dye, MIT researchers have uncovered how rain drops can spread soil bacteria, reports Rae Ellen Bichell for NPR. The researchers found that in a few microseconds “a single raindrop can create hundreds of tiny airborne droplets, each one carrying as many as several thousand live bacteria.”
Popular Science reporter Kendra Pierre-Louis writes about a new study by MIT researchers that examines how rain drops help spread soil bacteria. The researchers found that “a single rain drop can transfer 0.01 percent of bacteria on the soil surface to the atmosphere.”
Boston Globe reporter Felice Freyer writes that a study by MIT and Harvard researchers examines how an executive order on immigration could impact the number of doctors in Appalachia and the Rust Belt. Doctors from the countries included in the order “handle about 14 million patient visits a year…often settling in areas where American doctors are reluctant to work.”
CSAIL researchers have developed a system that allows robots to correct their mistakes based on input from the brainwaves of human operators, reports Wired’s Matt Simon. “It’s a new way of controlling the robot,” explains Prof. Daniela Rus, “in the sense that we aim to have the robot adapt to what the human would like to do.”
Anthony Cuthbertson of Newsweek writes that CSAIL researchers have developed a system that allows robots to change their actions based on feedback from the brain waves of a human operator. “Imagine robots or smartphones that could immediately correct themselves when you realize they’re making a mistake,” says PhD candidate Joseph DelPreto.
CSAIL researchers have developed a system that allows robots to detect brain signals generated by human operators, writes Oscar Williams of Huffington Post. The researchers hope the new system could “pave the way for more seamless interactions between robots and humans.”
A feedback system developed by CSAIL researchers allows humans to correct a robot’s mistakes using brain signals, writes Janet Burns for Forbes. The system could be used as a “communication method for those who can't use verbal means, such as immobilized or even 'locked in' victims of paralysis,” explains Burns.
MIT researchers have developed a device that allows humans to guide robots using brainwaves, reports Clive Cookson for the Financial Times. The prototype brain-computer interface “enables a human observer to transmit an immediate error message to a robot, telling it to fix a mistake when it does something wrong.”
MIT researchers have estimated that 1,200 people in Europe could die prematurely due to excess emissions from Volkswagen vehicles sold in Germany, reports Steph Yin for The New York Times. Research assistant Guillaume Chossière says that the study demonstrates why manufacturers should make nitrogen oxides emissions “as low as possible by allowing emissions-control devices to work properly.”
New Scientist reporter Matt Reynolds writes that MIT researchers have developed a new brain-computer interface that enables people to correct robots’ mistakes using brain signals. “We’re taking baby steps towards having machines learn about us, and having them adjust to what we think,” explains Prof. Daniela Rus, director of CSAIL.
MIT researchers have found that pollution from Volkswagen vehicles rigged to pass vehicle emissions standards tests could lead to 1,200 premature deaths in Europe, according to the AFP. The researchers found that the excess pollution “corresponded to about 1.9 billion euros ($2 billion) in health costs and lost labor productivity.”
In an article for Scientific American, Laura Geggel writes that a new study by MIT researchers shows that the Earth’s mantle is hotter than previously thought. “The finding will help scientists more accurately model Earth's many geodynamic processes, including plate tectonics,” reports Geggel.