A new study by MIT researchers examines how people who speak different languages describe colors, reports Zach Zorich for Science. The researchers found that, “the ability to describe colors isn’t as rooted in our biology as many scientists thought. And that means that language development may be far more rooted in our culture than in how we literally see the world.”
In this article written in Portuguese, graduate student Jennifer Groff speaks with Paula Adamo Idoeta of the BBC News about effective teaching methods. “We try to help teachers see the value of more playful learning by exploring a topic rather than ‘filling’ the students' heads with ideas,” Groff says.
Jane Borden of The Washington Post highlights research by Prof. Edward Schiappa in an article about the idea that TV can help tackle prejudice. According to the 2006 study, viewers of the TV show Will and Grace have “the strongest potential influence on reducing sexual prejudice.”
BBC News reporter James Gallagher writes that MIT researchers have developed a new technology that could eventually enable doctors to administer multiple vaccines in one shot.
Guardian reporter Nicola Davis writes that MIT researchers have developed a new approach that could be used to deliver multiple vaccines in one injection. Davis explains that the technique could prove useful in developing countries, “potentially allowing all childhood vaccines and their boosters to be given in one shot.”
MIT researchers have developed a new way of creating drug-carrying particles that could allow multiple doses of a vaccine to be delivered over an extended period of time, reports Matt Reynolds for New Scientist. “The technology could eventually be used to create ‘omni-vaccines’ that protect against a whole host of diseases in one shot.”
Boston Magazine reporter Rowan Walrath writes that MIT researchers have developed a new technique that could be used to deliver multi-drug vaccines. The researchers developed a new method for “designing customizable, three-dimensional microparticles that resemble minuscule coffee cups. Each cup…contains a drug or vaccine ‘library’ that can be released at multiple points over an extended period of time.”
Bloomberg News reporters Tim Loh and Patrick Martin feature Prof. Jeffrey Grossman’s work turning coal into thin strips of durable film that can conduct electricity. “You can get them up to like 300 Celsius (572 degrees Fahrenheit),” Grossman explains. “That is by far much, much better than other kinds of thin-film heaters.’’
Writing for the Associated Press about autonomous boats, Matt O’Brien spotlights Prof. Carlo Ratti’s work developing self-navigating vessels that will launch in Amsterdam next year. O’Brien notes that Ratti is, “also looking at ways small vessels could coordinate with each other in ‘swarms.’”
In an article for The Wall Street Journal, Prof. Paul Osterman writes about how to improve home health care. Osterman writes that with less regulation and better training, home health aides, “could become as integral to health-care teams as doctors and nurses. That could improve the quality of care while saving buckets of money for everyone involved.”
Boston Magazine reporter Jamie Ducharme writes about BioBot Analytics, an MIT startup focused on bringing cities public health information by drawing on the data found in sewage systems. Ducharme writes that by “analyzing samples from the sewer…Biobot is adapting individualized methods of studying the human microbiome” on an urban scale.
Mike Wankum from WCVB visits Prof. Evelyn Wang in her lab to learn about a device that can extract water from the air in dry climates. To test the device, the research team will put “a water harvester on the roof of a building at the University of Arizona,” explains Wankum.
Writing for Wired, Prof. Ethan Zuckerman and Chelsea Barabas and Neha Narula of the Digital Currency Initiative address the difficulties in creating decentralized social media networks. “If users have more control of their data, including the right to export and reuse content they’ve created and friends they follow, they’ll be more willing to experiment with new platforms,” the researchers suggest.
In an article for Popular Science, Kate Baggaley highlights Prof. Markus Buehler’s work developing materials that mimic a conch shell’s armor. “The actual material doesn’t matter—it’s the way the material is built together in forming these architectures,” explains Buehler.
Popular Science reporter Kendra Pierre-Louis writes about Prof. Kerry Emanuel’s research showing that climate change could make it harder to predict the intensity of hurricanes. “Storm intensity matters, because a weak storm might just mean staying home for the day, while a strong storm may require evacuation,” Pierre-Louis explains.