MIT alumnus Robert Smith speaks with Boston.com reporter Meagan McGinnes about his perfect attendance record for his class reunions. Smith, who graduated from MIT in 1941, says that the reunions provide the opportunity to “get reacquainted with my classmates, and make new acquaintances that maybe I didn’t know from my class of about 400.”
MIT researchers have discovered that a bacterium found in the human mouth can be used to form a new CRISPR gene-editing system that can target RNA, reports Carl Zimmer for The New York Times. The development “may open up a new front in gene engineering, gaining the ability to precisely adjust the proteins in cells, for instance, or to target cancer cells."
Boston.com reporter Sanjay Salomon writes about how “Duckietown,” a model city developed by MIT researchers, could help make self-driving cars a reality. “We realized if you scale down autonomous driving to something very small there’s lots of research to do on a smaller scale with none of the logistical challenges of real autonomous vehicle research,” explains postdoc Liam Paull.
New Scientist reporter Colin Barras writes that MIT researchers have found they can program C2c2, an enzyme found in bacteria, to serve as an RNA-editing tool. Barras writes that the tool “promises to transform our understanding of RNA’s role in our growth and development, and provide a new avenue for treating infectious diseases and cancer.”
Michael Le Page writes for New Scientist that MIT researchers have developed a technique that allows cells to log their activities using the CRISPR gene-editing system. Le Page explains that “such CRISPR-based logging could have a huge range of uses, from smart cells that monitor our health from within, to helping us understand exactly how our bodies develop.”
A new analysis by MIT researchers verifies the difficulty of the popular video game “Super Mario Brothers.” MIT researchers found that the game’s challenges belong to the “PSPACE” category of equations, “requiring exponential time to both solve, and to prove algorithmically,” G. Clay Whittaker of Popular Science explains.
In this article and video, Nature reporter Corie Lok spotlights Prof Lydia Bourouiba’s work studying the fluid dynamics of coughing and sneezing. Bourouiba explains that her research combines “fluid mechanics to problems that are relevant in health and epidemiology to understand better how pathogens are transmitted.”
Stephanie Couch has been named the new executive director of the Lemelson-MIT program, reports Curt Woodward for The Boston Globe. Woodward notes that Couch “comes to MIT from California State University at East Bay, where she specialized in advancing science, technology, engineering, and math education.”
MIT researchers have developed a device that enables solar cells to convert the sun’s heat into usable energy, reports Mary Beth Griggs for Popular Science. Griggs explains that “this new method could double the amount of power produced by a given area of solar panels.”
In a video for The New York Times, James Gorman highlights how researchers from MIT and Harvard have developed a robot that can perch on a variety of surfaces. Gorman explains that “perching is the next frontier for tiny flying machines because robots, like birds, bats and insects, can keep going longer if they conserve energy by resting.”
NPR's Martha Bebinger speaks with Prof. Allan Myerson about the system he and his colleagues developed to manufacture drugs on demand. “These are portable units so you can put them on the back of a truck and take them anywhere,” he explains. “If there was an emergency, you could have these little plants located all over.”
The Economist reports that Prof. Daniela Rus and Dr. Shuhei Miyashita have developed a tiny origami robot that can be swallowed and used to collect dangerous items that have been accidentally ingested. “The device is based on foldable robot technology that their team of researchers have been working on for years.”
BBC News reporter Nathan Tauger writes that researchers from MIT and other institutions have created a miniature robot that can perch like an insect. MIT graduate student Moritz Graule explains that perching solves the problem posed by the fact that “hovering microrobots run out of energy really quickly."
MIT researchers have developed a tiny robot that can perch like an insect, writes G. Clay Whittaker for Popular Science. “It's a widely applicable breakthrough that will, for instance, keep future robots perched while they wait for instructions,” Clay explains.
Prof. Daniela Rus speaks on Marketplace Tech about the origami robot that her group developed to serve as a microsurgeon. “This robot is ingestible in the form of a capsule,” explains Rus. “Once the robot reaches the stomach, the robot unfolds and can do interesting tasks.”