In an article about how the social messaging app WhatsApp could have a large influence on the upcoming election in India, the Financial Times spotlights postdoctoral associate Kiran Garimella’s work examining how misinformation spreads in India through platforms such as WhatsApp.
Financial Times reporter Hugo Cox highlights how MIT researchers have developed robots that can be used to detect disease in specific regions by sampling sewage. “A local robot takes days to identify an outbreak of flu; the surge in attendance at local hospitals and surgeries typically takes weeks to register,” Cox explains. “And because the information is local, the response can be too.”
Sky and Telescope editor Monica Young speaks with WBUR about how scientists from the LIGO and Virgo gravitational wave observatories, including MIT researchers, may have detected a black hole colliding with a neutron star. Young explains that upgrades made to both observatories should enable investigation of not only individual cosmic events, but also the study of neutron stars and black holes as populations.
Adrian Cho of Science magazine writes that the possible black hole-neutron star merger spotted by LIGO and Virgo would be a “gem for scientists,” but work remains to confirm the signal. Prof. Salvatore Vitale, a LIGO member from MIT, tells Cho: “If you ask me, ‘Would you bet a coffee, your car, or your house on this?’ I would say, ‘I’d bet your car.’”
“LIGO/VIRGO has opened up its notification process to the public,” explains Ars Technica reporter John Zimmer. “In short, anyone who’s interested can find out what LIGO is seeing within a day of when the LIGO scientists themselves do.”
The LIGO and Virgo gravitational wave detectors have identified five new cosmic events since resuming operations last month, reports Sarah Lewin for Space.com. “The most exciting thing of the beginning of O3 [this third observation round] is that it's clear we are going from one event every few months to a few events every month," explains Prof. Salvatore Vitale.
Writing for Quanta Magazine, David Freedman spotlights Prof. Pablo Jarillo-Herrero’s discovery that when twisted to a “magic” angle, graphene can act as a semiconductor. Freedman writes that the “discovery has given scientists a relatively simple platform for exploring exotic quantum effects.”
A gift from alumnus Charles Broderick will enable researchers at MIT and Harvard to investigate how cannabis effects the brain and behavior, reports Felice Freyer for The Boston Globe. Prof. John Gabrieli explains that it has been “incredibly hard” to get funding for marijuana research. “Without the philanthropic boost, it could take many years to work through all these issues,” he notes.
Fox News reporter James Rogers writes that the next International Space Station refueling flight will include an organ-on-a-chip device developed by MIT researchers. “The MIT-developed chip will be used to study the ability of bone and cartilage to recover after damage,” Rogers explains.
MIT researchers have found that mechanical training could be used to produce synthetic hydrogels that perform more like human muscles, reports Sam Spiller for Popular Mechanics. “Stretched and treated to a mechanical workout in a water bath, the [hydrogels] became unyielding and resistant to molecular ruptures,” writes Spiller. “They were able to stay structurally sound despite continuous repetitive movements.”
Axios reporter Steve Levine highlights Media Lab Director Joi Ito’s recent comments about how the internet may be heading toward a dark period due to rising violence and political tensions around the world. Ito notes that both democratic and authoritarian nations are creating “a balkanized and not-so-open internet everywhere.”
A new paper by MIT researchers examines the economic feasibility of autonomous taxis, reports Jamie Powell for the Financial Times. The study, writes Powell, finds that at current prices, “an automated hive of driverless taxis will actually be more expensive for a consumer to use than the old-world way of owning four wheels.”
MIT researchers have developed tiny robots powered by magnetic fields that can be used to bring drugs nanoparticles from the bloodstream into a tumor or disease site in the human body, reports the Xinhua news agency.
A new paper co-authored by Prof. Lawrence Schmidt examines why investors tend to make good purchasing decisions, but poor selections when it comes to selling stocks, reports The Economist. The researchers found that the “disparity between sales and purchases is explained by the attention given to each.”
NESN Clubhouse visits the lab of Prof. Sangbae Kim to learn more about his work developing a robotic cheetah that can run at a speed of approximately 13 miles per hour, jump over obstacles, climb up stairs and execute tight turns. Kim explains that the cheetah could run from home plate to first base in about 15 seconds.