CSAIL researchers have developed a robotic arm equipped with a sensorized soft brush that can untangle hair, reports Douglas Belkin for The Wall Street Journal. “The laboratory brush is outfitted with sensors that detect tension," writes Belkin. “That tension reads as pain and is used to determine whether to use long strokes or shorter ones.”
MIT researchers have detected eight echoing black hole binaries in the Milky Way and then converted the black hole X-ray emissions into sound waves, reports Isaac Schultz for Gizmodo. The researchers developed a new tool, dubbed the Reverberation Machine, which “combed satellite data from NICER, a telescope aboard the International Space Station that studies X-ray emissions from sources like black holes and neutron stars, including a weird type of emission known as an ‘echo.’”
Prof. Jared Curhan has found that “breakthroughs in negotiations occurred nearly twice as frequently after a conversational lapse of between 3.5 and 9.5 seconds as they did at any other point in the conversation,” reports Heidi Mitchell for The Wall Street Journal.
TechCrunch reporter Devin Coldewey spotlights how MIT researchers have developed a machine learning technique for proposing new molecules for drug discovery that ensures suggested molecules can be synthesized in a lab. Coldewey also features how MIT scientists created a new method aimed at teaching robots how to interact with everyday objects.
A new portable, solar-powered desalination device developed by MIT researchers can create potable drinking water with the push of a button, reports Tony Ho Tran for The Daily Beast. “The device doesn’t rely on any filters like traditional desalination machines,” writes Tran. “Instead, it zaps the water with electric currents to remove minerals such as salt particles from the water.”
MIT researchers have developed a new ultrathin material that can turn any rigid surface into a speaker, reports Haje Jan Kamps for TechCrunch. “The loudspeaker could be used in active noise cancellation, for example — combine the speaker tech with some electronics and microphones, and it could cancel out sound,” writes Kamps. “The inventors also envision immersive sound experiences, and other low-energy use cases such as smart devices, etc.”
Prof. Anna Stansbury speaks with Kai Ryssdal of Marketplace about a new working paper she co-authored examining the lack of socioeconomic diversity in the field of economics. “Economists are really influencing policy and the public debate on all sorts of important subjects,” says Stansbury. “If we have a discipline [where] two-thirds of the U.S.-born economics profession is made up of people whose parents have graduate degrees, you know, that’s a very selected group that is maybe missing really important perspectives.”
Researchers from MIT and the University of Waterloo have developed a new approach aimed at significantly increasing the probability of observing the Unruh effect, reports Juandre for Popular Mechanics. “Now at least we know there is a chance in our lifetimes where we might actually see this effect,” says Prof. Vivishek Sudhir. “It’s a hard experiment, and there’s no guarantee that we’d be able to do it, but this idea is our nearest hope.”
Daily Beast reporter Tony Ho Tran writes that MIT researchers have created a new loudspeaker that is as thin as paper and produces high-quality sound. The paper-thin device “weighs roughly the same as a dime, and can be used to cover surfaces like walls and ceilings,” writes Tran. “The loudspeaker also uses a fraction of the energy a typical speaker requires, while producing comparable sound quality.”
MIT researchers have developed a new technique that uses deep learning to improve the process of drug discovery, reports Jonathan Vanian for Fortune. “The technique addresses a common problem that researchers face when using A.I. to develop novel molecular structures: life sciences experts can often face challenges synthesizing A.I.-created molecular structures,” writes Vanian.
MIT researchers have developed an ultrathin speaker that can be applied to surfaces like wallpaper, reports Andrew Liszewski for Gizmodo. “The applications for the thin-film speaker material are endless,” writes Liszewski. “In addition to being applied to interiors like office walls or even the inside of an airplane to cancel out unwanted noises, an entire car could be wrapped in a speaker, making it easier to alert pedestrians that an otherwise silent electric vehicle was approaching.”
Writing for the Financial Times, Prof. Carlo Ratti explores how coordination between ride-hailing services can benefit cities by reducing traffic and carbon emissions. “Imagine a world in which, instead of wavering between Uber, Lyft or a regular taxi, we could open a single app that figures out which service is closest and most affordable,” writes Ratti.
A new study by researchers from MIT and other institutions finds that the number of suicides among adolescents ages 10-19 increased in five states during the Covid-19 pandemic, reports Kristen Rogers for CNN. Graduate student Marie-Laure Charpignon notes that “the findings highlight the need to pay attention to any behaviors adolescents show that can signal suicidal thoughts,” writes Rogers.
Graduate student Marie-Laure Charpignon led a study which found the proportion of overall suicides that occurred among young people increased by 10% in 2020 compared to the average share over the pre-pandemic period, reports Steven Ross Johnson for U.S. News & World Report. “Charpignon says her study’s findings, as well as previous research, raise questions as to whether more suicide prevention and intervention resources dedicated toward helping adults should be reallocated to address mental health issues among youth,” writes Johnson.
Graduate student Marie-Laure Charpignon co-authored a new study that found adolescent suicide accounted for a larger share of suicides across 14 states in 2020 and raises “the question of a possible link between teen suicide rates and Covid-related grief” reports Aria Bendix for NBC News. “We can’t deny that this is a massive casualty event, and it may affect kids differently,” said Charpignon.