MIT researchers have developed a new system to detect contaminated food by scanning a product’s RFID tags, reports Devin Coldewey for TechCrunch. The system can “tell the difference between pure and melamine-contaminated baby formula, and between various adulterations of pure ethyl alcohol,” Coldewey explains.
UPI reporter Tauren Dyson writes that MIT researchers have developed a coating that can reject up to 70 percent of incoming solar heat. “The film resembles transparent plastic wrap, implanted with tiny microparticles that contain water that releases when met with temperatures higher than 85 degrees Fahrenheit,” Dyson explains.
Prof. Jacopo Buongiorno speaks with Marketplace reporter Sabri Ben-Achour about MITEI’s study showing the potential impact of nuclear power in addressing climate change. Buongiorno noted that if costs can be reduced and more supportive policies enacted, nuclear power has the “potential to decarbonize the power sector on a global scale.”
Prof. Dava Newman speaks with Space.com reporter Meghan Bartels about her work designing the next generation of spacesuits. "We're going to Mars not to sit in the habitat — we're going there to explore," says Newman. "We don't want you to fight the suit. We want you to find life on Mars."
MIT researchers have developed a new see-through film that reflects 70 percent of the sun’s incoming heat and could be used to coat a building’s windows, reports the Xinhua news agency. The material, “can cool a building while still letting in a good amount of light, offering an affordable and energy-efficient alternative to existing smart window technologies,” Xinhua explains.
Graduate student James Clark speaks with Boston Globe reporter Andres Picon about his study that provides evidence laser technology could be used to attract aliens. “A laser produces all of its power in one wavelength,” explains Clark, “so the way that it’s detectable is not that it’s more powerful than the sun, but that it’s very distinct from the sun.”
Chronicle highlights MIT startup Spyce, a restaurant with a robotic kitchen. At Spyce, the flames used to heat a wok “are replaced with induction metal,” explains Erika Tarantal. “The robot-controlled rotation ensures cooking on all sides.”
This Quartz video highlights how MIT researchers are developing a self-driving boat system that can navigate waterways and can transform into different structures to move cargo, trash or build a temporary bridge. “The boats find the best path between preprogrammed locations, while using GPS, laser sensors, and cameras to avoid hitting anything,” explains Michael Tabb.
Fast Company reporter Melissa Locker writes that a study by MIT researchers examines the feasibility of harnessing laser technology to try to attract the attention of aliens. Locker explains that the researchers found that if contact was made, “lasers could potentially be used to send Morse code-like message via light pulses.”
Writing for Popular Mechanics, David Grossman highlights a feasibility study by MIT researchers that provides evidence that lasers could be used to try to locate aliens. Grossman explains that the light would be targeted toward “areas like Proxima Centauri, the closest star to Earth, and TRAPPIST-1, a star around 40 light-years away with seven exoplanets in orbit.”
MIT researchers examined why a third of Wikipedia deliberations go unresolved and developed a new tool that could be used to help resolve more discussions, reports Samantha Cole for Motherboard. Cole explains that “the tool uses the data they found and analyzed in this research, to summarize threads and predict when they’re at risk of going stale.”
USA Today reporter Brett Molina writes that MIT researchers have found laser technology could be used to attract the attention of aliens. The researchers found “creating a 1- to 2-megawatt laser focused through a telescope aimed toward space could produce a light strong enough to stand out from the energy produced by the sun."
TechCrunch reporter Ingrid Lunden highlights RapidSOS, an MIT startup that “helps increase the funnel of information that is transmitted to emergency services alongside a call for help.”
UPI reporter Tauren Dyson writes that a new feasibility study by MIT researchers shows that existing laser technology could be used to create a beacon light that could attract attention from as far as 20,000 light years away.
MIT researchers have found that laser technology could be used to attract attention from alien astronomers, reports Becky Ferreira for Motherboard. The researchers found that amplifying an infrared laser could “produce a signal that would outshine the Sun’s infrared emissions tenfold, an anomaly that would stand out to a smart species observing our solar system from a distant exoplanet.”