In this Science Nation video, Miles O’Brien explores Prof. Polina Anikeeva’s work developing a tool to repair nerve damage. “It would be wonderful if we were able to regenerate the spinal cord and restore the movement or if we were able to bypass the spinal cord with a device that mimics its function,” explains Anikeeva.
MIT researchers have developed an algorithm capable of predicting the onset of rogue waves, writes Jason Thomson for The Christian Science Monitor. The algorithm, “hunts through data collected about surrounding waves, sifting for signs of clusters that could coalesce and crest into one of these behemoths.”
Writing for Forbes, Keith Flamer explores Prof. Carlo Ratti’s design for the world’s highest vertical park. “Imagine you take New York’s Central Park, turn it vertical, roll it and twirl it,” says Ratti of his design.
MIT researchers have developed the lightest and thinnest solar cells ever produced, reports Lindsey Kratochwill for Popular Science. “Instead of the usual method of fabricating each layer separately, and then depositing the layers onto the substrate, the MIT researchers made all three parts of their solar cell at the same time."
The Tangible Media Group created HydroMorph to examine water manipulation on smooth surfaces, writes Liz Stinson for Wired. The researchers say they “envision a world filled with living water that conveys information, supports daily life, and captivates us.”
MIT researchers have developed an algorithm that can predict rogue waves, reports Matt Burgess for Wired. Burgess explains that the algorithm uses “statistical data, collected from buoys in the ocean, to quantify the range of possible waves for any body of water.”
Popular Science reporter Mary Beth Griggs writes that MIT researchers have developed a new tool that could provide advanced warning of rogue waves. The tool should allow crews “to detect rogue wave minutes before they form, giving them enough time to adjust course, or at least hang on.”
Engadget’s Timpthy Seppala reports that MIT researchers have developed a model for estimating gas and electricity for every building in Boston. Seppla explains that, “the idea here is to use the model as a way of making Beantown more energy efficient across the board.”
A new study by MIT researchers suggests that sea sponges may have been the first animal on Earth, CBS Boston reports. “Based on new genetic tests, researchers can say with confidence that molecules produced by sea sponges have been found in 640 million-year-old rocks.”
In an article for The Washington Post, Lydia DePillis speaks with Prof. David Autor about how a large part of the labor force has been left out of job market growth in recent years. "Our main labor market challenge is not a lack of high wage jobs; it’s rather the weak or non-existent wage growth in non-college jobs," says Autor.
Inside Higher Ed's Carl Straumsheim speaks with Dr. Peter Fritschel about how LIGO researchers selected Physical Review Letters to publish the team’s discovery of gravitational waves. After LIGO members cast their votes, Fritschel explained that PRL was a “pretty clear winner,” citing its reputation as a “premier journals for physics results.”
In an article for Slate, Madeleine Clare Elish highlights a study by Prof. Frank Levy that found that only certain tasks in the field of law could be automated. Levy and his colleagues found that “dramatic impacts are unlikely due to technical limitations of machine intelligence as well as social expectations of a lawyer’s value.”
Postdoc Heather Lee speaks with NPR’s Maria Godoy about how a law that allowed Chinese business owners to travel to China and bring back employees fueled a rise in the number of Chinese restaurants in America. "The number of Chinese restaurants in the U.S. doubles from 1910 to 1920, and doubles again from 1920 to 1930," explains Lee.
In an article for The New York Times, Austin Frakt speaks with Prof. Benjamin Roin about how to encourage drug companies to undertake studies examining whether medications may have multiple uses. Roin suggests that to make such studies feasible, there could be a “universal electronic prescribing system that tracks prescriptions and conditions for which they’re intended.”
MIT researchers have found that genetic engineering could be used to reverse some of the symptoms of autism, reports Carolyn Gregoire for The Huffington Post. The researchers found that turning on the Shank3 gene, “could reverse symptoms associated with autism, such as repetitive behaviors and social avoidance.”