Prof. Martin Zwierlein speaks with Edgar Herwick III of GBH Radio about his work capturing the sound of a “perfect” fluid. "It was a beautiful sound," says Zwierlein. "It was a quantum sound. In a way it was the most long-lasting sound that you can imagine given the laws of quantum mechanics.”
New Scientist reporter Abigail Beall spotlights how MIT researchers have listened to sound waves traveling through a "perfect" fluid, which could shed light on the resonant frequencies within a neutron star. “The quality of the resonances tells me about the fluid’s viscosity, or sound diffusivity,” says Prof. Martin Zwierlein. “If a fluid has low viscosity, it can build up a very strong sound wave and be very loud, if hit at just the right frequency. If it’s a very viscous fluid, then it doesn’t have any good resonances.”
Writing for Science, Charlie Greenwood spotlights how MIT researchers are building upon their pioneering work twisting sheets of graphene together to create superconductors by using twisted graphene to develop working devices. “Many researchers are excited by the promise of exploring electronic devices without worrying about the constraints of chemistry,” writes Greenwood.
Prof. James Collins speaks with Boston 25 reporter Julianne Lima about the growing issue of antibiotic resistant bacteria and his work using AI to identify new antibiotics. Collins explains that a new platform he developed with Prof. Regina Barzilay uncovered “a host of new antibiotics including one that we call halicin that has remarkable activity against multi drug-resistant pathogens.”
7 News spotlights how MIT researchers have developed a new wearable sensor that can be used to help people with ALS communicate. “The wearable technology, known as Comfortable Decoders, recognizes tiny facial movements that can help patients communicate simple statements, like ‘I’m hungry’ or ‘I love you.’”
Boston 25 spotlights how scientists from LIGO and Virgo have detected what may be the most massive black hole collision yet. “The result of the black holes colliding created the first-ever observed intermediate black hole, at 142 times the mass of the sun,” reports Boston 25.
Scientists from LIGO and Virgo have detected the largest collision between two black holes to date, which appears to have created an “intermediate-mass” black hole, reports Loren Grush for The Verge. Intermediate-mass black holes, “are really the missing link between [black holes with] tens of solar masses and millions,” says Prof. Salvatore Vitale. “It was always a bit baffling that people couldn’t find anything in between.”
TechCrunch reporter Taylor Hatmaker writes that MIT researchers will led a new NSF-funded research institute focused on AI and physics.
Researchers from MIT's Laboratory for Nuclear Science will lead a new research institute focused on advancing knowledge of physics and AI, reports Jared Council for The Wall Street Journal. The new research institute is part of an effort “designed to ensure the U.S. remains globally competitive in AI and quantum technologies.”
Forbes contributor Elizabeth Fernandez writes that a study co-authored by MIT researchers shows quantum entanglement could give blackjack players a slight edge. Fernandez adds that the research shows how, “entangled systems can show up in our macroscopic, everyday lives.”
President L. Rafael Reif joins Alan Alda on his podcast “Clear + Vivid” to discuss the need for increased American investment in fundamental research and development.
Prof. Max Shulaker has fabricated the first foundry-built silicon wafer, a monolithic 3D carbon nanotube integrated circuit, reports Samuel K. Moore for IEEE Spectrum. “We’ve completely reinvented how we manufacture this technology,” explains Shulaker, “transforming it from a technology that only worked in our academic labs to a technology that can and is already today working inside a commercial fabrication facility within a U.S. foundry.”
A study by Prof. Dan Rothman finds that increasing greenhouse gas emission rates could trigger a mass extinction in the ocean, reports Priya Shukla for Forbes. Shukla writes that Rothman found if a certain carbon threshold “is breached, it would take tens of thousands of years for the oceans to return to their original unperturbable state.”
MIT researchers have developed artificial muscles that can stretch more than 1,000 percent of their size and lift more than 650 times their weight, reports Sid Perkins for Scientific American. The new fibers could have applications in robotics and prosthetic devices, Perkins explains, and “work more like real muscles: they do work by pulling on or lifting objects.”
MIT researchers have developed a new method for potentially increasing solar cell efficiency beyond the theoretical limit, reports Daniel Oberhaus for Wired. “What’s cool here is that this is a fundamentally different approach from traditional photovoltaics,” says Joseph Berry of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.