Research

USA Today reporter Dinah Voyles Pulver spotlights Research Scientist Judah Cohen’s research studying how weather systems and climate patterns are related to the increase in Arctic blasts and deep freezes this winter. 

Graduate student Yi-Hsuan (Nemo) Hsiao and his colleagues have developed insect-sized robots to assist with artificial pollination as bee populations decline, reports Maria Simon Arboleas for Euractiv. “The tiny drones, lighter than a paperclip, can fly at speeds of up to two meters per second for more than 1,000 seconds, while performing complex maneuvers such as repeated backflips,” writes Arboleas.

Research Scientist Judah Cohen speaks with New York Times reporter Eric Niiler about his research studying “how global warming might also be causing colder winters in the eastern United States.” Cohen says “It’s weird what’s going on now in the stratosphere. These stretching events happen every winter, but just how the pattern is stuck is really remarkable.” 

MIT researchers have developed a system that uses recycled plastic to 3-D print plastic trusses, reports Alex Knapp for Forbes. The trusses could "support more than 4,000 pounds—exceeding typical building standards," Knapp explains. "The bonus? This took less than an hour to manufacture."

Prof. Olivier de Weck speaks with Forbes reporter Alex Knapp about the challenges and opportunities posed by building data centers in space. Data centers are “physically secure from intrusion and environmentally friendly once operational,” says de Weck. “Essentially, the three primary resources required on Earth—land, power, and cooling—are available ‘for free’ in space after the initial launch and deployment costs are covered.”

Prof. John Urschel – a former offensive lineman for the Baltimore Ravens – joined Edgar B. Herwick III, host of GBH’s newest show, The Curiosity Desk, to talk about his love of his family, linear algebra, and football. On how he eventually chose math over football, Urschel quips: “Well, I hate to break it to you, I like math better… let me tell you, when I started my PhD at MIT, I just fell in love with the place. I fell in love with this idea of being in this environment [where] everyone loves math, everyone wants to learn. I was just constantly excited every day showing up.”

MIT President Sally Kornbluth joined Jim Braude and Margery Eagan live in studio for GBH’s Boston Public Radio to discuss MIT, the pressures facing America’s research enterprise, the importance of science and more. 

MIT AgeLab Research Scientist Lisa D’Ambrosio speaks with Parade reporter Chrissy Callahan about in-home and online safety tips for seniors living alone. “Don’t feel pressured to act on something or to make a decision quickly in response to a telephone call or a text message from someone you do not know personally,” explains D’Ambrosio. “Fraudsters and scammers often try to use time pressure to get people to do things or make choices they would not make if they had a little bit more time to consider their actions and choices. Talk to a family member, talk to a friend, talk to your partner – get another perspective.” 

Researchers at MIT have developed a wearable breast cancer ultrasound device that could be used to detect breast cancer earlier, reports Amerigo Allegretto for AuntMinnie.com. “The device can image as deep as 15 cm into breast tissue and can image the entire breast from two or three locations,” explains Allegretto. “The team described the technology as an end-to-end system ultrasound architecture consisting of a novel sparse array geometry and a codesigned data acquisition system.” 

Ahead of Superbowl Sunday, Forbes reporter Sandy Carter highlights a study by MIT researchers that identifies the factors needed to make an effective team. “What they found challenged many assumptions,” explains Carter. “First, team intelligence wasn’t about average IQ or brilliance of the smartest person in the room. It depended on three factors: How socially attuned the team members were to one another, whether conversations were shared rather than dominated by a few voices, and the presence of women in the group.”

A new study by MIT physicists demonstrates that quark-gluon plasma behaves like a liquid, findings that could shed more light on the makeup of the early universe, reports Gayoung Lee for Gizmodo. “The researchers anticipate that the methods of the new study will greatly advance our understanding of matter in the early universe,” explains Lee. 

Prof. Kevin Chen and his colleagues have developed a bee-like robot that can assist with farming practices, such as artificial pollination without damaging crops, reports Claire Turrell for Offrange. “Chen’s robot bee, which is tethered to a power source, is currently limited to flying between plastic flowers in the lab, but the robot engineer can see its potential,” explains Turrell. “Bees are doing great in terms of open-field farming,” says Chen. “But there is one potential type of pollination I think we can consider in the longer term, which is indoor farming,” 

Prof. Giovanni Traverso and his colleagues developed a new technique that could one day be used to help protect cancer patients from the side effects of radiation therapy, reports Elie Dolgin for Science. The researchers found that providing brief pulses of a protein called “damage suppressor,” or Dsup could “shield injected tissues from radiation. They also found no evidence of acute toxicity with repeat doses, which bodes well for short-term use in clinical settings—for example, to protect nearby tissues during radiation treatment for a cancer,” Dolgin explains. 

Postdoctoral Associate Fatima Husain speaks with National Geographic reporter Theo Nicitopoulos about the various theories used to explain how living creature survived the Cryogenian era. “These surface settings could have enabled a diverse assemblage of life to persist and continue to evolve throughout the glaciations,” says Husain. “We keep learning more about how extreme the Cryogenian was… and that makes life persisting and diversifying dramatically after that, all the more amazing.” 

Writing for The Boston Globe, graduate student Jonah Prousky highlights the benefits and drawbacks of social media bans, and ways to protect kids from online harms. “We likewise need a cultural reckoning on screen time for kids, since heavy use is associated with anxiety, depression, attention fragmentation, and sleep deprivation,” writes Prousky. “Australia demonstrated that a law can be used to get the ball rolling.”