Atlantic reporter Cari Romm writes about how MIT researchers have developed a new method for predicting public overreaction to disease outbreaks. The researchers “plan to use the model to help policymakers better prepare for disease-induced hysteria,” Romm explains.
Using a polymer found in diapers that swells on contact with water, Prof. Ed Boyden and his colleagues have developed a method for enlarging tissue samples to allow for better 3-D imaging, writes Jessica Hamzelou for New Scientist. The team can enlarge samples to more than four times their original size, Hamzelou reports.
Jared Silverman of USA Today reports on how MIT researchers have found that raindrops release aerosols when they hit the ground, causing a distinctive odor. The researchers found that “light to moderate rain produces more aerosols compared to heavy rain,” Silverman explains.
MIT researchers have found that when raindrops hit the ground they release aerosols, which produce a distinctive scent, reports Avianne Tan of ABC News. Prof. Cullen Buie explains that the findings also show how bacteria could spread through “chemicals being carried by aerosols."
“It turns out tiny bubbles may be to thank for that earthy smell we get after it rains, according to a study from researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,” writes Lori Grisham for USA Today. “The study may serve as a jumping-off point for other research about chemicals in soil.”
John Markoff writes for The New York Times about a new technique for observing minuscule features in biological samples developed by Prof. Ed Boyden and his colleagues. The researchers “were able to increase the physical size of cultured cells and tissue by as much as five times while still preserving their structure,” Markoff explains.
BBC News reporter Peter Day writes about Prof. Lily Fang’s research examining why stocks and shares traditionally do not perform well in September. Day explains that Fang and her colleagues found that “financial markets - so praised for their efficiency - get less efficient in the summer because people are not paying sufficient attention to what is going on.”
Derek Thompson of The Atlantic writes about a series of MIT studies that suggest that higher social sensitivity displayed by women makes them more valuable than men in groups working on collaborative problem-solving. Thompson predicts that factors such as these will result in an eventual inversion of the gender wage gap.
In a piece for The New York Times, Prof. Thomas Malone and his colleagues highlight two MIT studies examining group intelligence. The researchers found that “the most important ingredients for a smart team remained constant regardless of its mode of interaction: members who communicated a lot, participated equally and possessed good emotion-reading skills.”
MIT researchers have discovered why rainfall produces such a distinctive smell, reports Rachel Feltman for The Washington Post. The researchers examined high-speed footage of raindrops and found “when rain hits the ground [it] may be sending out signature smells that get carried away on the wind."
MIT scientists have uncovered the mechanism behind why rainfall can produce such a distinctive scent, writes Macrina Cooper-White for The Huffington Post. The researchers found that when rain hits a porous surface, tiny bubbles form. When the bubbles burst, they release aerosols, which carry the “rainlike aroma” into the air.
Rebecca Jacobson of the PBS NewsHour reports that MIT researchers have developed a new technique to enlarge tissue samples, allowing scientists to create high-resolution images of specimens. Prof. Ed Boyden explains that “now you can see tiny structures with your own eyes.”
Using high-speed cameras, MIT researchers have captured how the smell of rain is released into the air, the BBC reports. “The results may help to explain how some soil-based diseases are spread and the authors are now studying whether contaminants such as E. coli can be spread significantly via rainfall,” the BBC explains.
Jen Christensen reports for CNN on new research by Professor John Gabrieli that finds that brain scans can help to determine the best treatment for a given patient. "With this kind of science, we don't have to wait for a failure," explains Gabrieli. "We know what will be the best fit."
In a Wall Street Journal article about whether there is a skills gap in the U.S., Jonathan House cites Prof. Paul Osterman and Andrew Weaver’s study examining vacancies at manufacturing firms. The researchers explain that their findings “call into question both the incidence and severity of manufacturing skills gaps.”