Said and Done for October 2014
Digest of the MIT humanities, arts, and social sciences features a Nobel Prize, a new professorship in the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy, three new SHASS websites, and more.
Getting the salt out
Study shows electrodialysis can provide cost-effective treatment of salty water from fracked wells.
Why sign rights treaties?
Study: Autocratic leaders who sign human-rights treaties seek political gain, not material benefits.
Gedik and Jarillo-Herrero named 2014 Moore Experimental Investigators in Quantum Materials
The professors have been awarded $1.8 million each for discovery-driven, high-risk research, with potential for new experimental techniques.
Big step in battling bladder disease
Novel device that stays in the bladder and slowly releases drugs sells to pharmaceutical giant.
Creating user-friendlier environments
Federico Casalegno designs technology environments that keep human experience at the center of user experience.
MIT and MGH form strategic partnership to address major challenges in clinical medicine
First set of grants support projects designed to improve diagnostic accuracy and cost-effectiveness.
Mars One (and done?)
MIT team independently assesses the technical feasibility of the proposed Mars One mission.
3 Questions: Jonathan Gruber on the cost of smoking
Leading health care economist weighs in on a proposed cost-benefit analysis of smoking.
Solid nanoparticles can deform like a liquid
Unexpected finding shows tiny particles keep their internal crystal structure while flexing like droplets.
Nanoparticles get a magnetic handle
New method produces particles that can glow with color-coded light and be manipulated with magnets.
Researchers detect brightest pulsar ever recorded
The pulsar, about as large as the city of Boston, is 10 million times brighter than the sun.
Autism as a disorder of prediction
Researchers suggest autism stems from a reduced ability to make predictions, leading to anxiety.
Getting metabolism right
Analysis of 89 models of metabolic processes finds flaws in 44 of them — but suggests corrections.