CNN reporter Matt McFarland writes that CSAIL researchers have proposed that outfitting cars with cruise control systems that maintain equal distances between cars could help alleviate phantom traffic jams. The researchers’ simulations showed, “keeping the same distance between the vehicle in front and the vehicle trailing a car prevents traffic jams.”
CSAIL researchers have found that if drivers could maintain an equal distance between cars they would be able to reduce the number of traffic jams, reports Matt Burgess for Wired. The researchers found that, “by adding sensors to the back of cars that take into account the speed of following vehicles, it will be possible to better regulate traffic.”
Newsweek reporter Sydney Pereira writes that MIT researchers have engineered a plant that can glow in the dark by embedding nanoparticles into the plant’s leaves. “Further optimization could one day lead to plants that could illuminate entire work spaces or sprays that can be coated onto trees to transform them into streetlights,” Pereira explains.
In an article for The Week, John Holden speaks with Prof. Kripa Varanasi about what inspired him to pursue a career science. Varanasi recalls how his mother, “was instrumental in driving my ambitions. She used to buy me amazing electronics kits when I was a kid.”
The discovery of the oldest and most distant black hole ever detected has provided a team of astronomers new insights into our universe, writes Alyssa Meyers for The Boston Globe. “In some sense, what we’ve done is determine with a high degree of accuracy when the first stars in the universe turned on,” explains Prof. Robert Simcoe.
The discovery of the oldest and most distant black hole ever observed could provide scientists with insights into the early stages of our universe, reports Will Dunham for Reuters. “This object provides us with a measurement of the time at which the universe first became illuminated with starlight,” explains Prof. Robert Simcoe.
NPR’s Nell Greenfieldboyce reports that scientists have discovered the most distant supermassive black hole every discovered, and that the findings are shedding light on when starlight first appeared in our universe. "We have an estimate now, with about 1 to 2 percent accuracy, for the moment at which starlight first illuminated the universe,” explains Prof. Robert Simcoe.
USA Today reporter Doyle Rice writes that a team of astronomers, including several from MIT, has discovered the oldest and most distant supermassive black hole ever detected. “The black hole resides in a quasar and its light reaches us from when the universe was only 5% of its current age — over 13 billion years ago,” explains Rice.
Researchers at the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology have been awarded funding for two new programs aimed at addressing global challenges, according to Dewi Fabbri of Channel NewsAsia. Prof. Michael Strano will lead a project that uses sensors to monitor the health of plants, while Prof. Peter Dedon will focus on examining drug resistant organisms.
Co.Design reporter Katharine Schwab writes that MIT researchers have developed a tattoo made of living cells that activate when exposed to different kinds of stimuli. Schwab explains that in the future the tattoos could be designed, “so that they respond to environmental pollutants or changes in temperature.”
Newsweek reporter Joseph Frankel writes that MIT researchers have found that the brain relies on a network of neurons to keep track of time. The researchers found that, “neurons appear to fire in a similar pattern, whether operating at fast or slow speeds...But interestingly, the same patterns stretch or compress over time, depending on the rate of the task.”
A new study by MIT researchers provides evidence that antibiotics can change the body’s chemistry and make it more hospitable to bacteria, reports Melinda Wenner Moyer for Scientific American. “We suspect that the strength of this effect will really depend on the type of infection and types of antibiotics used,” explains postdoc Jason Yang.
MIT researchers have found that a network of neurons compress or stretch their activity in order to control the brain’s timing, reports Alyssa Meyers for The Boston Globe. “Instead of passively waiting for a clock to reach a certain point, the team found the system of neurons changes its state independently based on the action being performed.”
In an interview with Amy Crawford of the Boston Globe, Joseph Coughlin, director of the MIT AgeLab, discusses new ideas for employment and retirement as the population continues to age. “We need those 50-plus people to provide the working knowledge that keeps our organizations and systems functioning,” Coughlin says.
A new study from Francis O’Sullivan, director of MITEI, and graduate student Justin Montgomery, finds that increases in oil and gas output gains are largely due to “low energy prices, which led drillers to focus on sweet spots where oil and gas are easiest to extract,” rather than advances in fracking technology, reports Jim Polson and Tim Loh of Bloomberg.