Research Scientist Judah Cohen speaks with Associated Press reporter Seth Borenstein about how warm Arctic waters and cold continental land have led to a stretched polar vortex, leading to a massive winter storm that will impact a large swath of the country. According to Cohen, “as far back as October 2025, changes in the Arctic and low sea ice were setting up conditions for the kind of stretched polar vortex that brings severe winter weather to the U.S.,” writes Borenstein.
Interesting Engineering reporter Atharva Gosavi features MIT researchers and their work developing a passive atmospheric water generator. The researchers developed a “passive device that harvests clean drinking water from desert air without electricity,” explains Gosavi. “The window-sized panel uses a hydrogel-desiccant combo absorbing vapor at night and releasing it via sunlight-driven condensation – no batteries, fans, or power needed.” Gosavi adds that the device is a “perfect climate-resilient solution for droughts.”
Prof. Yossi Sheffi speaks with Boston Globe reporter Claire Thornton about fraud and crime in the digital age, and its impact on supply chain management. According to Sheffi, “instead of crimes that rely on physical covertness, breaking and entering, violence, or the threat of it, digital-age criminals are finding more success posing as legitimate members of the supply chain in order to trick businesses,” writes Thronton.
While studying a 2,000-year-old construction site in Pompeii, MIT researchers uncovered new insights into the Roman building process, including the key ingredients needed to develop long-standing durable Roman concrete, reports Luis Prada for Vice. “Ancient Roman builders were ‘hot-mixing,’ which means that they dumped volcanic ash and powdered quicklime together dry, then added water later, triggering a chemical reaction that cooked the mixture from the inside,” writes Prada.
A new paper by Prof. Admir Masic and his colleagues details their new findings on the specific ingredients used by ancient Romans to develop durable concrete, reports Sarah Kuta for Smithsonian Magazine. “Looking ahead, the findings could help improve modern construction techniques, informing the development of next-generation durable, low-carbon concrete,” writes Kuta.
Prof. Desirée Plata, director of MIT’s Methane Network, spoke with Boston Globe reporter Kate Selig about how regional supermarkets are addressing their methane footprints. Plata notes that “grocers could make an impact through improving their waste management practices. And beyond operational changes, she said supermarkets can help shape the public’s understanding of climate issues,” Selig writes. “Most people go to the grocery store,” says Plata. “They have this great opportunity to educate people.”
Research Scientist Judah Cohen speaks with USA Today reporter Doyle Rice about how the polar vortex could send a blast over cold air to areas of the central and eastern United States. “I believe that the entire cycle of a weak or disrupted polar vortex that began at the end of November is coming to its conclusion by the end of next week,” explains Cohen. “Clearly, the polar vortex is strengthening and some period of milder weather in the central and eastern U.S. looks inevitable to me.”
A new paper by Prof. Admir Masic and his colleagues reinforces his theory that the ancient Romans used a technique called “hot-mixing” to create concrete, reports Andrew Paul for Popular Science. “The evidence resides at an ancient Roman construction site preserved in great detail by the Mount Vesuvius eruption,” explains Paul. “Isotopic analysis confirmed that the workers in Pompeii relied on hot-mixing when making their concrete.”
By studying a workshop that was buried in Pompeii almost 2,000 years ago, Prof. Admir Masic and his colleagues have uncovered how the ancient Romans created self-healing and long-lasting concrete, reports James Woodford for New Scientist. Masic and his team were stunned at how “exceptionally well preserved” the site was and that it offered an opportunity to understand Roman concreting methods in a way that “no laboratory reconstruction could ever replicate”. He adds: “The materials were exactly as they were at the moment the eruption froze the city in time,”
While visiting a house that was under renovation when Mount Vesuvius erupted, MIT researchers were able to confirm the tools and ingredients used by ancient Romans to create long-lasting concrete, reports Humberto Basilio for Scientific American. “The hot mixing method creates fragmented, highly porous lime clasts within the mortar that allow calcium to easily travel through the material and recrystallize to fill cracks,” Basilio explains. “Understanding and mastering this “self-healing” technology will allow engineers to use the technique in modern construction.”
Prof. Admir Masic and his colleagues have confirmed that ancient Romans utilized “hot-mixing,” a technique that combines quicklime with volcanic rock, volcanic ash, and water, to create concrete that has lasted for thousands of years, reports Margherita Bassi for Gizmodo. “The team also discovered weights and measurement tools, which they propose may have been used to maintain concrete pouring ratios and build straight, even walls,” writes Bassi. “In short, the site revealed the clearest evidence yet of the ancient Roman use of hot-mixing in concrete.”
While analyzing samples from a newly-discovered construction site in Pompeii, researchers at MIT confirmed the ingredients and methods behind the ancient Romans’ durable and self-healing concrete, reports Will Dunham for Reuters. "Modern concretes generally lack intrinsic self-healing capability, which is increasingly important as we seek longer-lasting, lower-maintenance infrastructure," explains Prof. Admir Masic. "While the ancient process itself is not a direct replacement for modern standards, the principles revealed can inform the design of next-generation durable, low-carbon concretes."
Research Scientist Judah Cohen shares his thoughts on how the polar vortex will impact weather across the U.S. this December, reports Doyle Rice for USA Today. "My thinking is that the cold the first week of December is the appetizer and the main course will be in mid-December," Cohen explains.
Research Scientist Judah Cohen speaks with Gizmodo reporter Ellyn Lapointe about how sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) could bring wintry temperatures to parts of the northern hemisphere next week. According to Cohen “this explains why forecasters expect western states to bear the brunt of next week’s cold temperatures, but that could still change,” writes Lapointe.
Research Scientist Judah Cohen speaks with Newsweek reporter Amanda Greenwood about how a disruption of the polar vortex can impact the 2025-2026 winter outlook. “A sudden stratospheric warming [is] the largest type of disruption that occurs to the polar vortex,” says Cohen. “It is named because of the dramatic warming that occurs in the polar stratosphere (warming near the North Pole can exceed 100 degrees in just a few days). The warming displaces the polar vortex much further south than normal.”