A report from the MIT Energy Initiative recommends that U.S. policymakers change their approach to solar technology, reports Erik Sherman for CBS News. “Unless a substantial price is put on carbon dioxide emissions, expanding solar output to levels needed to fight climate change will be cost prohibitive without major change in government policy,” Sherman writes.
Washington Post reporter Joby Warrick writes that a team of MIT engineers has won top prize in a competition designed to spur innovation in desalination technologies for a solar-powered system they developed. “The system, when fully operational, can supply the basic water needs of a village of between 2,000 and 5,000 people,” Warrick explains.
Washington Post reporter Joby Warrick writes that a team of MIT engineers has won the Desal Prize for a solar-powered desalination system they developed. “The system, when fully operational, can supply the basic water needs of a village of between 2,000 and 5,000 people,” Warrick explains.
Professor Richard Schmalensee speaks with Ben Johnson of Marketplace about a new report by the MIT Energy Initiative on the state of solar technology. “Federal R&D policy needs to look toward transformative new technologies not just marginal improvements on the stuff we have today,” says Schmalensee.
Prof. Alexander Rich, a noted biophysicist known for his work investigating the structure of DNA and RNA, died on April 27, writes Denise Gellene for The New York Times. “I can think of no one else who has made as many major contributions to all facets of modern molecular biology,” said University of Maryland Prof. Robert C. Gallo.
A new MITEI report outlines actions the U.S. government could take to facilitate large-scale deployment of solar energy, reports Yeganeh Torbati for Reuters. "Ideally ... rather than subsidize investment, we would subsidize production," says Francis O’Sullivan, an author of the report.
Sindya Bhanoo writes for The New York Times that MIT researchers have discovered how the bombardier beetle produces blasts of a hot, lethal toxin to fend off predators. “The beetle has a really complicated explosion system that’s all connected together,” explains Prof. Christine Ortiz.
MIT researchers have figured out how the bombardier beetle can fire off chemicals when threatened, writes Washington Post reporter Rachel Feltman. Feltman explains that the researchers used “high-speed x-ray imaging” to examine the beetle’s defense mechanisms in action.
Chana Schoenberger of The Wall Street Journal speaks with Visiting Professor Lily Fang about her research that indicates that male analysts have an easier time getting ahead on Wall Street than female analysts. “It wasn’t that men do better or women do better, but rather that the influence of connections on their outcomes is different,” says Fang.
By examining X-ray images, MIT researchers have uncovered how bombardier beetles are able to produce “machine-gun style” blasts of chemicals to fend off predators, reports Andy Coghlan for New Scientist. “The researchers were surprised to find that a passive mechanism generates the pulses,” Coghlan explains.
Nidhi Subbaraman of BetaBoston writes that Prof. Feng Zhang has been awarded $1 million from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation to study brain cells. The grant will fund a project that will use the gene-editing technique CRISPR to “find ways to streamline or speed up [neuron cell] growth by turning genes on and off.”
New MIT research offers a detailed look at how the bombardier beetle produces the scalding black liquid it expels as a defense mechanism, writes Brooks Hays for UPI. “The process operates almost like an assembly line of chambers and valves -- chemicals mixed, pressure builds, chemical released in jet-like spray through valve, relax and repeat.”
Hal Hodson writes for New Scientist about Vital-Radio, a new system developed by CSAIL researchers that monitors and records a person’s breathing and heartbeat. Researchers hope the new system could be used to “monitor and improve patient health in hospitals and at home.”
Rohan Banerjee writes for The Tech about a new MIT report that examines 15 areas of research that would benefit from increased government support. Prof. Marc Kastner explains that the report is aimed at informing political leaders of the importance of basic research. “It’s important to remind Congress and the public that the health of the country depends on doing research,” he says.
Los Angeles Times columnist Michael Hiltzik writes that declining government investment in basic research is contributing to a U.S. innovation deficit, citing a new MIT report examining how funding cuts are impacting different areas of research. The report finds that declining support for basic research is “tantamount to mortgaging our scientific future.”