A study by Prof. Elfatih Eltahir indicates that climate change may make deadly heat waves a more common occurrence in the Persian Gulf, writes Alex Nussbaum for Bloomberg Business. Eltahir explains that the heat waves may “exceed what a human body may be able to tolerate.”
New York Times reporter John Schwartz writes that a new study co-authored by Prof. Elfatih Eltahir has found that extreme heat events will be far more common in the Persian Gulf by the end of the century due to climate change. “When they happen, they will be quite lethal,” says Eltahir.
Researchers with the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology have found that fertilizing the ocean to create plankton blooms could lead to erratic rainfall patterns, reports Audrey Tan for The Straits Times. “This would have a drastic impact on the water cycle, the environment and human livelihoods,” writes Tan.
Scientific American reporter Michael Lombardi writes about a new robotic hand developed by MIT researchers that allows the user to sense what the robotic hand feels. The goal of the hand is to allow “people to work in extreme locations, including chemical, thermal or nuclear environments.”
In an article for Science, Rhitu Chatterjee writes about Project Prakash, an effort started by Prof. Pawan Sinha to help children with preventable or treatable blindness see. Chatterjee writes that the project has brought hundreds of young people, “into the light—while putting the field of visual neuroscience in a new light as well.”
MIT researchers have developed a new method of delivering drugs to the gastrointestinal tract via ultrasound waves, reports Alexandra Ossola of Popular Science. The new drug-delivery method could prove effective in treating diseases like Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis.
MIT researchers have developed a self-sustaining water-purification system for a remote Mexican village, according to The Guardian. “The villagers are able to operate and maintain the water purification system themselves,” The Guardian reports.
In an article for the New York Times, Claire Cain Miller highlights Prof. David Autor’s research that indicates that disadvantages early in life cause more issues for boys than girls. “Boys particularly seem to benefit more from being in a married household or committed household,” says Autor.
Robert Preidt writes for U.S. News & World Report that MIT researchers have found that ultrasound waves can be used to deliver drugs to the digestive system. Preidt explains that the new approach, “might potentially benefit people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.”
MIT researchers have developed an ultrasound device that can deliver medication to the digestive system, reports Leah Samuel for The Boston Globe. The researchers “found that using ultrasound enhanced absorption of the drugs they tested up to tenfold,” writes Samuel.
In an article for The New York Times, Eduardo Porter highlights Prof. Abhijit Banerjee’s new study that found that cash transfer programs aimed at assisting people living in poverty do not discourage people from working. Prof. Banerjee explains that when it comes to welfare, “Ideology is much more pervasive than the facts.”
MIT researchers are using Legos to map out how changes in bus-rapid transit systems could affect transportation in Boston, writes Nina Godlewski for Boston.com. “Our ultimate objective is this idea of co-creation...We would like that to happen in how we produce 21st century transit systems,” explains Prof. Chris Zegras.
In a new study, MIT researchers have examined how credit card companies target their outreach based off consumers’ income levels, reports Jeff Guo for The Washington Post. The researchers found that, “Richer people were more likely to get cash-back, point-reward or mileage offers. Poor people were more likely to get offers that advertise a low introductory APR.”
MIT researchers have created an algorithm that outperforms humans when searching for patterns in data sets, reports Rachel Feltman for The Washington Post. The algorithm uses “raw datasets to make models predicting things such as when a student would be most at risk of dropping an online course.”
Seung Lee writes for Newsweek that MIT researchers have developed an algorithm that can outperform humans in finding patterns in data sets. The system takes “two to 12 hours for what a human could only do over the course of several months.”