A new study by Prof. Amy Finkelstein found that few health care system studies used the random assignment method, considered the gold standard for scientific research, reports Sabrina Tavernise for The New York Times. “The beauty of randomization is that it allows you to be sure of the cause,” says Finkelstein of the importance of using the method.
Devin Coldewey of NBC News writes about new MIT research into the evolution of violin design. The researchers found that “the characteristics of the instruments underwent changes surprisingly like evolution by natural selection,” Coldewey explains.
The Huffington Post reports on an analysis of the Mars One project led by Professor Olivier de Weck. “We’re not saying, black and white, Mars One is infeasible,” explains de Weck. “But we do think it’s not really feasible under the assumptions they’ve made.”
Michelle Roberts reports for BBC News on a new, “smart insulin” being developed by MIT researchers that switches on when blood sugar rises. The engineered insulin could make it easier for those suffering from diabetes to manage the disease, Roberts explains.
A paper co-authored by Professor Daron Acemoglu has raised questions about a new theory that inequality increases when the return on capital exceeds the rate of growth, reports Angela Chen for The Wall Street Journal. Acemoglu contends that the new model fails to account for political institutions and technology.
Slate reporter Alison Griswold writes about a new MIT study examining what makes certain startups successful. “We’re trying to measure things that companies do naturally when they have the ambition and potential to grow,” says Prof. Scott Stern.
USA Today reporter Melissa Pandika spotlights Prof. Kay Tye, highlighting her journey to MIT, her award-winning breakdancing skills and her neuroscience research. Tye’s current work examines how optogenetics can be used to control certain behaviors, such as overeating and anxiety.
Prof. Richard Nielsen writes for The Washington Post about his view that the Islamic State does not believe in state sovereignty, and the difficulties this view poses for working with the group. Nielsen writes that the group’s existence, “poses a fundamental challenge to international order, not only to the people under its rule.”
Francie Diep writes for Popular Science about how a new mathematical theory developed by MIT researchers may help to explain how surfaces wrinkle. “The equation could help chemists working on high-tech materials,” explains Diep.
MIT researchers have developed a method to identify entrepreneurial “hotspots,” reports Lisa Krieger for San Jose Mercury News. Researchers found that areas like Silicon Valley can help companies “realize their promise on a more guaranteed basis," explains Prof. Scott Stern.
Kevin Hartnett of The Boston Globe looks at Professor Christine Ortiz’s work to develop better body armor technology by mimicking the tough qualities of fish scales. “Armored fish have multi-hit capability,” explains Ortiz. “Basically, when it gets hit, it just cracks locally in a circle.”
Heather Kelly of CNN writes about how MIT researchers have developed a swarm of drones that can fly and work collaboratively. "Some drones look at the big picture, others perform in-depth sampling, and the swarming system becomes much more efficient than if it were composed of one or more individual drones," says Prof. Carlo Ratti.
A new study by MIT scientists has found that metadata provides enough information to identify consumers in anonymous data sets. Aviva Rutkin writes for New Scientist that “for 90 per cent of people, just four pieces of information about where they had gone on what day was enough to pick out which card record was theirs.”
Professor Paul O’Gorman speaks with Boston Globe reporter Carolyn Johnson about his recent research showing that despite climate change, massive snowstorms could still occur. “In some regions, fairly cold regions, you could have a decrease in the average snowfall in a year, but actually an intensification of the snowfall extremes,” explains O’Gorman.
Boston Globe reporter Jack Newsham writes about a new study, co-authored by Professor Ernst Berndt, which found that “the costs of making and selling new drugs from 2005 through 2009 outstripped the revenue drug companies made from them by an average of $26 million each.”