MIT researchers have developed a new drug delivery capsule that can deliver medication over extended periods of time, reports Claire Maldarelli for Popular Science. Once in the stomach, the capsule opens into a star shape, which “prevents the pill from leaving the stomach and entering the small intestine.”
In a series of papers, the New Horizons team, which includes MIT researchers, reveals that there may be a slushy subsurface ocean on Pluto, reports Rebecca Boyle for The Atlantic. “The research suggests that many other distant worlds in the Kuiper Belt might also hold inner oceans of water, or other liquids,” Boyle explains.
Researchers at MIT have developed a slow-release drug capsule that can last two weeks in a person’s stomach, writes Jamie Ducharme for Boston Magazine. “The capsule was tested for use in malaria prevention, but the researchers behind it say it could be used for virtually any condition that requires regular oral medication,” Ducharme explains.
Researchers involved with the NASA New Horizons mission have uncovered evidence that an ocean of ice water lies beneath Pluto’s heart-shaped basin, reports Irene Klotz for Reuters. Prof. Richard Binzel explains that the findings show that “nature is more creative than we are able to imagine, which is why we go and explore."
Reuters reporter Kate Kelland writes that MIT researchers have created a new drug-delivery capsule that can stay in the stomach for up to two weeks after being swallowed. The star-shaped device could be “a powerful weapon in fighting malaria, HIV and other diseases where successful treatment depends on repeated doses of medicine.”
Boston Globe reporter Olivia Quintana writes that the NASA New Horizons team, which includes MIT researchers, has collected data that suggests there is a slushy ocean of ice water beneath Pluto’s surface. “I think the big picture is that this is telling us that Pluto is much more complicated, much more fascinating than we ever imagined,” explains Prof. Richard Binzel.
MIT researchers have developed a star-shaped, drug-delivery device that can stay in the stomach for up to two weeks, gradually releasing medication, reports Melissa Healy for The Los Angeles Times. The researchers believe the device could be useful in “delivering a wide range of medications for diseases in which patient non-adherence is a problem.”
Hal Hodson writes for New Scientist that MIT researchers have developed a system that allows virtual reality headsets to operate wirelessly. To solve the problem posed by sending vast amounts of data wirelessly, the researchers used a “different wireless technology called millimeter wave (mmWave), which is in a higher band of the frequency spectrum to that used by Wi-Fi.”
Straits Times reporter Nadia Chevroulet writes that researchers from MIT and the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) have uncovered how certain bacteria evade the body’s defenses. The findings could provide “new ways to counter tuberculosis, and possibly a new generation of drugs to battle antibiotic resistance.”
Boston Globe reporter Priyanka Dayal McCluskey writes that researchers from the Broad Institute and IBM are joining forces to examine why many cancer patients become resistant to drugs. The researchers hope this new effort could “help doctors prescribe more effective combinations of drugs for cancer patients.”
Graduate student Maimuna Majumder writes for Wired about her research examining how the 2016 presidential election impacted the mental health of people in different states around the U.S. Majumder and her colleagues found that while susceptibility varies across groups, the presidential campaign, “has likely had adverse effects on the mental health and wellbeing of American citizens.”
MIT researchers have developed a software system that allows scooters, cars and golf carts to operate autonomously, writes Dyllan Furness of Digital Trends. Prof. Daniela Rus explains that the system works both indoors and outdoors and “provides an end-to-end solution starting with the home or hospital room all the way to the destination.”
Writing for The New York Times, David Leonhardt highlights a study by MIT researchers that examines the effectiveness of charter schools. Prof. Joshua Angrist explains that the study found that “relative to other things that social scientists and education policy people have tried to boost performance — class sizes, tracking, new buildings — these schools are producing spectacular gains.”
Scientists at MIT have developed spinach plants that can detect and alert people about explosives, reports Matthew Gunther for Scientific American. Grad student Min Hao Wong explains that plants are good sensors as “through the transpiration process, plants draw up water and other analytes from the ground, and can accumulate even trace levels of analytes within [their] tissues.”
Wall Street Journal reporter Robert Lee Hotz writes that MIT engineers have developed a flexible airplane wing that could improve a plane’s fuel consumption by improving the wing’s aerodynamics. Hotz explains that the wing’s “elastic airfoil can morph continuously to reduce drag, increase stall angle, and reduce vibration control flutter.”