Prof. Ed Boyden and Prof. Li-Huei Tsai have “found that if gamma waves through non-invasive stimulation, were put back into baseline frequency, it could slow down the process in certain brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s,” reports Hansa Bhargava for Forbes.
In a letter to The Guardian, Research Scientist Florian Metzler, Research Affiliate Matt Lilley and their colleagues highlight the important advancements being made in cold fusion research. “Cold fusion could result in spectacular technologies. But we are convinced that the way forward requires rigorous, open-source scientific investigation, not more claims,” they write. “In many ways, cold fusion’s time has come. Advances in theory and experiment have made the LENR field eminently actionable.”
Lincoln Lab Senior Scientist Vijay Gadepally speaks with Washington Post reporter Nicolas Rivero about ways to make AI more sustainable. “Whatever we do, energy usage is likely going to go up,” says Gadepally. “That train has left the station.”
During a town hall-style discussion at the Museum of Science, Prof. David Kaiser explored the importance of scientific exploration in a democracy and its role in spurring on national progress, reports Brian Bergstein for The Boston Globe. “Science, which needs a lot of resources, has to be political,” says Kaiser. “We have to make the case in a persuasive way about why this kind of activity is worthy of support.”
Prof. Julien de Wit speaks with National Geographic reporter Robin George Andrews about how special infrared filters on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) can be used to find small asteroids and precisely determine their size. “Asteroids get much brighter in the infrared than in the visible as they move away from Earth, and they are thus easier to detect or track with infrared facilities—JWST being the biggest of all,” says de Wit.
MIT physicists have measured kinetic inductance for two layers of stacked and twisted graphene and found that the superconducting current is much “stiffer,” meaning it resists change more than predicted by any conventional theory of superconductivity, reports Karmela Padavic-Callaghan for New Scientist. The findings could do more than “shed light on why graphene superconducts – they could also reveal key properties required for room-temperature superconductors.”
Research Scientist Peter Gloor speaks with Forbes reporter Vibhas Ratanjee “about how we can learn from the natural world—specifically social insects—to improve teamwork and innovation in modern workplaces.” Ratanjee notes that: “Gloor is a strong advocate for biophilic design—an approach that integrates nature into work environments to boost well-being and creativity. And the science backs him up: Studies have found that employees who work in spaces with natural light, plants and open-air designs report higher job satisfaction and lower stress levels.”
Writing for The Boston Globe, Prof. Karilyn Crockett explores the history of the Home for Aged Colored Women and its residents, noting that “uncovering the stories of these women, many of whom worked for decades as domestic servants for wealthy Boston families, has been a revelation." Crockett explains that: “using US Census records, Ancestry.com, and materials from the Massachusetts Historical Society and National Park Service, students painstakingly sifted through newspapers, birth certificates, and cursive-laden archival records to bring these women to life.”
In this interview (in Spanish), graduate students Suhan Kim and Yi-Hsuan (Nemo) Hsiao speak with Telemundo correspondent Miriam Arias about their work developing insect-sized robots to assist with agricultural needs. “There might be one year where you have a lot of bees in the field that help you pollinate everything. Maybe the next year, it might be affected by the temperature or something [and] you just don’t have enough bees to help you do so,” explains Hsiao.
In an article for The New York Times, Prof. Pranav Rajpurkar of Harvard and Prof. Eric J. Topol of Scripps highlight a recent study by MIT researchers that examined “how radiologists diagnose potential diseases from chest X-rays.” They write that the study’s findings “broadly indicate that right now, simply giving physicians A.I. tools and expecting automatic improvements doesn’t work. Physicians aren’t completely comfortable with A.I. and still doubt its utility, even if it could demonstrably improve patient care.”
Postdoctoral Associate Pat Pataranutaporn speaks with Wall Street Journal reporter Heidi Mitchell about his work developing Future You, an online interactive AI platform that “allows users to create a virtual older self—a chatbot that looks like an aged version of the person and is based on an AI text system known as a large language model, then personalized with information that the user puts in.” Pataranutaporn explains: “I want to encourage people to think in the long term, to be less anxious about an unknown future so they can live more authentically today.”
MIT engineers have developed a new training method to help ensure the safe operation of multiagent systems, including robots, search-and-rescue drones and self-driving cars, reports Jijo Malayil for Interesting Engineering. The new approach “doesn’t focus on rigid paths but rather enables agents to continuously map their safety margins—the boundaries within which they must stay,” writes Malayil.
Graduate student Chase Hartquist speaks with Engineeringness reporter Hassan Ahmed his work developing a “universal law governing network fracture energy, providing a unifying framework for understanding material toughness across a wide range of material types.” Hartquist explains: “Our discovery also directly impacts the emerging field of architected materials, whose inherent structures drive their unique performance characteristics.” He adds: “By studying and optimizing performance in this class of materials, we can better understand the extent to which this law can apply generally in cutting-edge material design for many practical applications.”
Graduate students Suhan Kim and Yi-Hsuan (Nemo) Hsiao speak with Tech Briefs reporter Andrew Corselli about their work developing insect-sized robots capable of artificial pollination. “Typical drones use electromagnetic motors plus propellers. But, our system is a little different in that we are primarily using an artificial muscle,” explains Kim.
A study by research specialist Samantha Bray analyzes “the career impact on 460 working women aged 50 to 60 who began caregiving for an aging parent or parent-in-law,” reports Michelle Travis for Forbes. “Parental caregiving may act as a shock to women’s financial health at a critical career stage,” says Brady. “Parental caregiving often begins at a time in an individual’s career when they are at their maximum earning potential.”