By analyzing thousands of human cells and creating a cellular map of human barrier tissue, MIT researchers have identified the mechanism that may cause chronic allergic inflammation in the sinus, according to Xinhua News Agency. The findings could have “implications on treatment of other chronic inflammatory diseases of barrier tissues, such as asthma, eczema, and inflammatory bowel disease.”
Molly Webster of WNYC’s Radiolab visits the Picower Institute to learn more about how researchers are investigating new techniques that might eventually be used to treat Alzheimer’s disease. Prof. Li-Huei Tsai speaks about her group’s work using flickering light to reduce the beta amyloid plaque found in Alzheimer’s patients, and graduate student Dheeraj Roy discusses his work recovering memories with light.
In an article for The Wall Street Journal, Prof. Yossi Sheffi writes that by banishing plastic straws, companies are improving their public image without taking consequential action to protect the environment. “Eliminating these small tubes enables companies to deliver a ‘feel-good’ message to customers and generate copious amounts of positive publicity, without committing a lot of resources to the environmental effort,” Sheffi explains.
Engadget reporter Jon Fingas writes that MIT researchers have developed an encryption method that can secure sensitive data in neural networks without slowing machine learning systems. The method, notes Fingas, could “lead to more uses of internet-based neural networks for handling vital info, rather than forcing companies and institutions to either build expensive local equivalents or forget AI-based systems altogether.”
Research scientist Joshua Siegel speaks with Wall Street Journal reporter A.J. Baime about his 1955 Chevrolet 210. Siegel recounts how restoring the car drove him to pursue a career in engineering, explaining that his research involves “putting sensors and modems all over vehicles so that you can know everything you need to know about your car through a device.”
In this video, NBC Mach highlights the robotic cheetah developed by MIT researchers that can navigate without cameras or sensors. While most robots require light to explore their surroundings, the “Cheetah 3 will be able to feel its way through light-less situations such as caves or mines.”
In an article for NBC News about how climate change could make life unsustainable in the countries along the Persian Gulf and North Africa, Charlene Gubash highlights an MIT study showing that temperatures there and in southwest Asia, “will exceed the threshold for human survival if nations fail to reign in emissions.”
The Economist highlights Prof. Michael Triantafyllou’s work studying how seals employ their whiskers to detect their surroundings. Triantafyllou is using the seal whisker as a model for developing an underwater sensor that would, “detect the wakes of natural objects, such as fish and marine mammals, and artificial ones, such as other robots, surface ships and submarines.”
Institute Prof. Thomas Magnanti will receive Singapore’s Gold Public Administration Medal for his “visionary leadership” at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), reports Jolene Ang for The Straits Times. Magnanti was cited for his work organizing the university in clusters, which “better supported the interdisciplinary nature of SUTD's programmes and strengthened SUTD's research capabilities.”
In an article for Popular Mechanics, Tiana Cline spotlights SoFi, an autonomous, soft, robotic fish that can swim alongside real fish. “SoFi has the potential to be a new type of tool for ocean exploration and to open up new avenues for uncovering the mysteries of marine life,” Cline notes.
Physics Today reporter David Kramer highlights how Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), an MIT startup, is on a mission to prove that fusion power is a viable energy source. “CFS benefits from decades of experience by MIT researchers working on high-field, high-plasma-density tokamaks,” notes Kramer.
An MIT study finds that rising temperatures due to climate change will make the North China Plain uninhabitable by the end of the century, reports Newsweek’s Brendan Cole. The area could experience heat and humidity that is “so strong that it is impossible for the human body to cool itself,” Cole explains.
Axios reporter Andrew Freedman examines a new study by researchers at MIT and the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology showing that China’s breadbasket, the North China Plain, could face severe heat waves. Big picture, writes Freedman, “such heat waves could both threaten lives and dampen economic output in the region, where 400 million people live.”
In an article for Forbes about how AI could improve healthcare, Bernard Marr highlights an algorithm developed by MIT researchers that can analyze 3-D scans up to 1,000 times faster than is currently possible. “When saving minutes can mean saving lives, AI and machine learning can be transformative,” writes Marr.
Prof. Dava Newman highlighted the potential concrete benefits and cultural impact of successfully landing on Mars during her commentary before a Senate subcommittee, reports Meghan Bartels for Space.com. “We get humans there with all our great science, it will just lift us up,” said Newman.