Science reporter Robert Service writes that MIT researchers have developed a drug synthesis machine that can produce a variety of medications. Service writes that such a machine “could someday help pharmaceutical companies meet unexpected surges in demand and help health officials respond to disasters and medical emergencies worldwide by producing medicines when and where they are needed.”
In an article for Scientific American, Charles Schmidt writes that MIT scientists have measured the energy of a chemical reaction’s transition state. Schmidt explains that, “better knowledge of transition states in fuel-combustion reactions could allow scientists to engineer cars with better gas mileage.”
Prof. David Kaiser speaks with WGBH Radio’s Edgar B. Herwick about what the addition of four new elements to the periodic table means for scientific research and discovery. "It’s kind of like saying you have a map of the wilderness and by exploring it you want to change the map at the same time," says Kaiser.
In an article for The Wall Street Journal, Jo Craven McGinty highlights a study by researchers from MIT and Harvard that calculated the damage caused by Volkwagen cheating on emissions standards tests. “We estimated the vehicles affected were driven 40.5 billion kilometers from 2008,” explains Prof. Steven Barrett.
Prof. Jeremiah Johnson has been named one of STAT's people to watch in Kendall Square in 2016. "The focus in Kendall square tends to be on commercializing discoveries, but Johnson is one of many scientists whose work shows basic research still has a home in the neighborhood," writes reporter Andrew Joseph.
MIT researchers have developed a new hydrogel that is 90 percent water, reports Carmen Drahl for Forbes. The new hrydogel “adheres to surfaces like glass, titanium, aluminum, and ceramics with a toughness approximating that of nature’s interfaces between tendons and bone."
MIT spinoff C2Sense has developed a chip that gives computers a sense of smell and could be used to detect spoiling food, reports Klint Finley for Wired. The company’s goal is to make “wireless sensor chips so cheap that they could be built into a product’s packaging.”
Wired reporter Sarah Zhang reports on how MIT researchers developed a new computer model that they used to examine the public health impacts of Volkswagen cheating on emissions standards tests. Zhang explains that the researchers’ model “allows scientists to estimate the impact of extra NOx in any 50 km by 50 km square of the world.”
A new study by researchers from MIT and Harvard shows that pollution from Volkswagen vehicles could lead to premature deaths in the U.S., reports Tom Randall for Bloomberg News. “Volkswagen's deception allowed some 482,000 U.S. diesel cars to pass emissions tests even as they polluted as much as 40 times the legal limit,” writes Randall.
Justin Worland of TIME reports on a new MIT study examining the public health impacts of Volkswagen’s software designed to evade emissions standards. “The emissions problem will also add nearly half a billion dollars in social costs,” writes Worland.
Alexandra Ossola reports for Popular Science that MIT researchers have determined that by cheating on emissions tests, Volkswagen could cause 60 premature deaths in the U.S. “The researchers estimated the impact on public health…by calculating the effects of more fine particulates, ozone, and nitrous oxide,” writes Ossola.
Researchers at MIT and Harvard have determined that emissions resulting from Volkswagen’s rigged inspections will cause 60 premature deaths in the U.S., reports Robert Preidt for U.S. News & World Report. The researchers found that “if VW recalls every affected vehicle by the end of 2016, more than 130 additional deaths may be prevented,” writes Preidt.
CNBC reporter Robert Ferris writes about a study by researchers from MIT and Harvard that examines the impacts of Volkswagen cheating on emissions tests. “Volkswagen's cars have emitted 40 times the amount of noxious nitrogen oxide (NOx) than the limit proscribed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,” Ferris explains.
Nina Godlewski writes for Boston.com that a new study co-authored by MIT researchers found that approximately 60 people in the U.S. will die prematurely due to Volkswagen’s cheating on emissions tests. Godlewski explains that, “if the automaker fails to recall all of the affected vehicles by the end of 2016, more deaths may occur.”
Atlantic reporter Robinson Meyer speaks with Prof. Steven Barrett about his research showing that 140 people will die prematurely if Volkswagen vehicles outfitted with emissions-cheating devices are not recalled. Barrett says that if the cars are returned, “most of those 140 deaths would be averted.”