Researchers from MIT and McMaster University have used artificial intelligence to identify a new antibiotic that can fight against a drug-resistant bacteria commonly found in hospitals and medical offices, reports Ken Alltucker for USA Today. The researchers believe the AI “process used to winnow thousands of potential drugs to identify one that may work is an approach that can work in drug discovery,” writes Alltucker.
MIT and Harvard Medical School researchers have found that people are most creative when drifting off to sleep, reports WHDH. “The earliest stage sleep, we call that N1 stage sleep, just a brief nap in that period can really boost your creativity,” says undergraduate student Kathleen Esfahany.
Researchers from MIT and elsewhere have used artificial intelligence to develop a new antibiotic to address Acinetobacter baumannii, a bacteria known for infecting wounds, lungs and kidneys, reports Harland-Dunaway for The World.
Prof. Alexey Makarin and his colleagues have found that following the arrival of Facebook, depression, anxiety and diminished academic performance increased across U.S. colleges, reports Jesse Greenspan for Scientific American. “Makarin says much of the harm they documented came from social comparisons,” explains Greenspan.
Using a machine-learning algorithm, researchers from MIT and McMaster University have discovered a new type of antibiotic that works against a type of drug-resistant bacteria, reports Brenda Goodman for CNN. Goodman notes that the compound “worked in a way that stymied only the problem pathogen. It didn’t seem to kill the many other species of beneficial bacteria that live in the gut or on the skin, making it a rare narrowly targeted agent.”
Researchers from MIT and McMaster University used a machine-learning algorithm to identify a new antibiotic that can treat a bacteria that causes deadly infections, reports Maya Yang for The Guardian. The researchers used an “AI algorithm to screen thousands of antibacterial molecules in an attempt to predict new structural classes. As a result of the AI screening, researchers were able to identify a new antibacterial compound which they named abaucin,” writes Yang.
Researchers from Lincoln Lab and NASA are working on the TROPICS research mission, an effort to collect meteorological data on tropical storms from mini satellites, reports Daniel Cusick for Scientific American. "Scientists will observe temperature profiles in space that would be favorable to storm formation at the Earth’s surface, then use a weather prediction model and radiometric imagery to better predict how such storms would behave," Cusick writes.
MIT researchers have found that “69 percent of registered voters said they were either very or somewhat confident that votes at a nationwide level were counted as intended,” reports Zach Montellaro for Politico. This research is a “prominent measure of voter trust in election integrity,” writes Montellaro.
Prof. Marzyeh Ghassemi speaks with NPR host Kate Wells about a decision by the National Eating Disorders Associations to replace their helpline with a chatbot. “I think it's very alienating to have an interactive system present you with irrelevant or what can feel like tangential information,” says Ghassemi.
Prof. Bruce Walker and his team have found that CD8+ T cells can allow HIV patients to control the virus without the use of medications, reports Alan Mozes for HealthDay. “About one in 300 people are able to control HIV without the need for medications,” says Walker. “[It appears] that it is the CD8+ T cell response that achieves this control.”
Popular Science reporter Andrew Paul spotlights “Ways of Seeing” a documentary project that aims to create “extended reality” (XR) experiences of significant architectural locales in Afghanistan as part of an effort to preserve the country’s historical sites. Paul notes that the project combines “cutting edge 3D imaging, drone photography, and virtual reality combined with painstakingly detailed hand drawings.”
MIT researchers have developed a new robotic gripper that is able to grasp objects using reflexes, reports Mashable. “The Robo-Gripper has proximity and contact sensors which allows it to react to surfaces near objects to better grab them. The technology may allow these machines to be used in homes or other unique, unstructured environments.”
Researchers from MIT have found that, as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, people are less likely to explore economically different parts of their home cities, reports Immanual John Milton for Bloomberg. “Fewer people are visiting attractions like museums, restaurants or parks that are outside their immediate mobility radius, and they’re spending less time among residents at different socioeconomic levels,” writes Milton.
Commonwealth Fusion Systems, MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center and others are working to build SPARC, a prototype device that aims to extract net energy from plasma and generate fusion power, reports Philip Ball for Scientific American. “SPARC will be a midsize tokamak in which the plasma is tightly confined by very intense magnetic fields produced by new high-temperature superconducting magnets developed at MIT and unveiled in 2021.”