The New Yorker’s Nicola Twilley writes about the history of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration. “Most of us thought that, when we ever saw such a thing, it would be something that you would need many, many computers and calculations to drag out of the noise,” explains Prof. Rainer Weiss.
Prof. Matthew Evans speaks with Ari Daniels of PRI’s The World about the successful detection of gravitational waves. "It’s as if we had an enormous hearing aide, which let us pick up the sounds that the universe has been producing — we just have been deaf to these sounds up until now," Evans says.
Dennis Overbye of The New York Times reports on the discovery of gravitational waves. Overbye explains that the detection is a “triumph for three physicists — Kip Thorne of the California Institute of Technology, Rainer Weiss of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Ronald Drever — who bet their careers on the dream of measuring the most ineffable of Einstein’s notions.”
Prof. Nergis Mavalvala speaks with Meghna Chakrabarti, host of WBUR’s Radio Boston, about the efforts behind the detection of gravitational waves. “This is just the start,” explains Mavalvala. “These detectors are going to get better and we are just going to listen to more and more music from the universe.”
Reuters reporters Scott Malone and Will Dunham report on the significance of scientists detecting gravitational waves. "We are really witnessing the opening of a new tool for doing astronomy," explains Prof. Nergis Mavalvala. "We have turned on a new sense. We have been able to see and now we will be able to hear as well."
An international team of scientists, including researchers from MIT, has detected gravitational waves, reports Joel Achenbach and Rachel Feltman for The Washington Post. The detection inaugurates “a new era of astronomy in which gravitational waves are tools for studying the most mysterious and exotic objects in the universe.”
Johanna Knapschaefer writes for ENR that MIT researchers have developed a new pavement-vehicle interaction test to measure the amount of fuel saved from driving on repaved highways. “For each road, we know the amount of traffic, the temperature [of the pavement], structural data, material data and GPS coordinates,” explains Prof. Franz-Joseph Ulm.
In this Reuters video, Ben Gruber examines how MIT researchers are working on developing new treatments for diabetes. "What we developed is basically a new material that acts like an invisibility cloak,” explains Prof. Daniel Anderson. “It coats the cells but allows them to function and live but protects them from the immune system.”
New York Times reporter Natalie Angier writes that MIT researchers have identified regions of the brain that react to music. “Why do we have music? Why do we enjoy it so much and want to dance when we hear it?” says Prof. Nancy Kanwisher. “These are the really cool first-order questions we can begin to address.”
Natalie Angier of The New York Times chronicles her experience having her brain scanned as part of an MIT experiment that reveled the pathways in the brain that respond to music. Angier writes that, “the neuroscience of music is just getting started, and our brains can’t help but stay tuned.”
The Economist reports on a new study co-authored by Prof. David Autor that examines how increased trade between China and the U.S. has impacted American workers. The researchers found that “sudden exposure to foreign competition can depress wages and employment for at least a decade.”
A new paper co-authored by Prof. Parag Pathak found that school-choice systems designed to aid low-income children have not been effective, according to The Economist. The researchers found that while parents like these programs “they often do little for their children’s test scores.”
In an article for Forbes, Bill Hardekopf highlights a new hack-proof chip developed by MIT researchers. Hardekopf explains that the chip could help make credit cards more secure.
BetaBoston reporter Curt Woodward writes that a new study co-authored by MIT researchers finds that startups perform better when venture capitalists are one plane ride away. The researchers found that “startups that were connected to their investors’ cities by a new direct flight were granted about 3 percent more patents.”
Boston.com reporter Hilary Sargent writes that MIT researchers have developed a new device that could help guide the visually impaired. Sargent explains that a prototype system the researchers developed “is about the size of a binoculars case and is designed to be worn around someone’s neck.”