BBC News reporter Paul Rincon writes that by embedding carbon nanotubes into spinach leaves, MIT researchers have created plants that can detect explosives. “The plants could be used for defense applications, but also to monitor public spaces for terrorism related activities,” explains Prof. Michael Strano.
Writing for The Huffington Post, Adi Gaskell highlights how CSAIL researchers have developed system to help robots work together successfully. Gaskell explains that the system allows three robots to “work successfully together to ensure items are delivered accurately in an unpredictable environment.”
A paper-based test that can detect the Zika virus, developed by Prof. James Collins and his research team, is featured in a list of the year’s most important health innovations compiled Alyssa Favreau and Claire Maldarelli for Popular Science. Unlike conventional lab tests, the paper-based test can provide results within three hours.
Prof. Donald Sadoway speaks with Tom Ashbrook of NPR’s On Point about potential alternatives for lithium-ion batteries. “If we could make a battery based on aluminum we’d have something that is powerful, safe, and cheap,” says Sadoway.
MIT researchers have developed a stretchy, biocompatible material that could be implanted in a patient’s body and used to stimulate cells or detect disease, according to FOX News. The hydrogel “could bend and twist in a patient’s body without breaking down.”
Damian Carrington writes for The Guardian that MIT researchers set a new world record for the highest plasma pressure ever recorded using the Alcator C-Mod reactor. Carrington notes that the “MIT record shows that using very high magnetic fields to contain the plasma may be the most promising route to practical nuclear fusion reactors.”
Guardian reporter Amy Fleming spotlights Prof. Robert Langer’s work revolutionizing medicine. Fleming notes that “Langer’s trailblazing research in nanotechnology, which ranges from haircare to cancer treatments, has already improved the lives of at least 2 billion people.”
CBC reporter Nora Young explores how MIT researchers have developed a new material, inspired by beaver fur, that could help keep surfers warm. “In sports technology there's a great need for textiles that have great insulating properties in water, but still let you stay agile and nimble,” explains graduate student Alice Nasto.
MIT researchers have developed a new technique for making vaccines using freeze-dried cells, reports Ed Yong for The Atlantic. Yong explains that in addition to producing medicines, the technique provides a new way of “detecting important diseases, like Zika and Ebola, without relying on laboratories or sequencing machines.”
Graduate student Alice Nasto speaks with Cynthia Graber of Scientific American about her research designing a material inspired by the fur that keeps beavers and sea otters warm. Nasto explains that the fur "evolved to trap air, and this air provides a layer of insulation for them in water.”
In an article for U.S. News & World Report exploring MOOC-based credential options, Jordan Friedman highlights the MITx MicroMasters program in supply chain management. “Students who earn the MicroMasters can, if admitted, apply their credential to MIT's supply chain management master's program,” writes Friedman.
CSAIL researchers have a developed a system that can predict human emotions by using wireless signals to monitor breathing and heartbeats, writes Edd Gent in a Scientific American article. "The idea is that you can enable machines to recognize our emotions so they can interact with us at much deeper levels," says graduate student Fadel Adib.
MIT researchers have developed a new technique to stop the spread of cancer cells through the body by delivering microRNAs to the site of the primary tumor, reports Hallie Smith for Boston Magazine. The technique “may correct gene disruptions that put a patient at risk of metastatic cancer,” Smith explains.
STAT reporter Sharon Begley writes that MIT will share the One Brave Idea research award, which is focused on supporting research aimed at fighting heart disease. The award recipients plan “to hunt down so-far unrecognized signals marking the transition from a healthy heart to one on the road to disease.”
Writing for Sports Illustrated, Prof. John Leonard explains his analysis of the science behind Deflategate. Leonard writes that he is, “100% convinced that there was no illegal deflation. Understanding why is a tale of two inexpensive digital pressure gauges—the so-called Logo Gauge and the Non-Logo Gauge.”