A new report co-authored by Prof. Dava Newman and Lindy Elkins-Tanton '87, SM '87, PhD '02 explores the highest-priority science objectives for the first human missions to Mars, reports Eric Berger for Ars Technica. “We’re searching for life on Mars. The answer to the question ‘are we alone’ is always going to be ‘maybe,’ unless it becomes yes,” explains Newman.
Visiting Scientist Judah Cohen speaks with USA Today reporter Doyle Rice about how the polar vortex could send a blast over cold air to areas of the central and eastern United States. “I believe that the entire cycle of a weak or disrupted polar vortex that began at the end of November is coming to its conclusion by the end of next week,” explains Cohen. “Clearly, the polar vortex is strengthening and some period of milder weather in the central and eastern U.S. looks inevitable to me.”
A new paper by Prof. Admir Masic and his colleagues reinforces his theory that the ancient Romans used a technique called “hot-mixing” to create concrete, reports Andrew Paul for Popular Science. “The evidence resides at an ancient Roman construction site preserved in great detail by the Mount Vesuvius eruption,” explains Paul. “Isotopic analysis confirmed that the workers in Pompeii relied on hot-mixing when making their concrete.”
By studying a workshop that was buried in Pompeii almost 2,000 years ago, Prof. Admir Masic and his colleagues have uncovered how the ancient Romans created self-healing and long-lasting concrete, reports James Woodford for New Scientist. Masic and his team were stunned at how “exceptionally well preserved” the site was and that it offered an opportunity to understand Roman concreting methods in a way that “no laboratory reconstruction could ever replicate”. He adds: “The materials were exactly as they were at the moment the eruption froze the city in time,”
While visiting a house that was under renovation when Mount Vesuvius erupted, MIT researchers were able to confirm the tools and ingredients used by ancient Romans to create long-lasting concrete, reports Humberto Basilio for Scientific American. “The hot mixing method creates fragmented, highly porous lime clasts within the mortar that allow calcium to easily travel through the material and recrystallize to fill cracks,” Basilio explains. “Understanding and mastering this “self-healing” technology will allow engineers to use the technique in modern construction.”
Prof. Admir Masic and his colleagues have confirmed that ancient Romans utilized “hot-mixing,” a technique that combines quicklime with volcanic rock, volcanic ash, and water, to create concrete that has lasted for thousands of years, reports Margherita Bassi for Gizmodo. “The team also discovered weights and measurement tools, which they propose may have been used to maintain concrete pouring ratios and build straight, even walls,” writes Bassi. “In short, the site revealed the clearest evidence yet of the ancient Roman use of hot-mixing in concrete.”
While analyzing samples from a newly-discovered construction site in Pompeii, researchers at MIT confirmed the ingredients and methods behind the ancient Romans’ durable and self-healing concrete, reports Will Dunham for Reuters. "Modern concretes generally lack intrinsic self-healing capability, which is increasingly important as we seek longer-lasting, lower-maintenance infrastructure," explains Prof. Admir Masic. "While the ancient process itself is not a direct replacement for modern standards, the principles revealed can inform the design of next-generation durable, low-carbon concretes."
MIT is “taking a quantum leap with the launch of the new MIT Quantum Initiative (QMIT), reports State House News reporter Katie Castellani. “There isn't a more important technological field right now than quantum with its enormous potential for impact on both fundamental research and practical problems,” said President Sally Kornbluth during the launch event. “QMIT will help us to ask the right questions, identify the most critical problems and create a roadmap for developing quantum solutions that are both transformative and accessible.”
Addis Energy, a startup co-founded by Prof. Yet-Ming Chiang is using the earth “as a chemical reactor to make ammonia in a cleaner way,” reports Alex Knapp for Forbes. The team identifies “rocky formations underground with large amounts of iron,” explains Knapp. “Then they inject those rocks with water, nitrogen and a chemical catalyst. That causes the oxygen in the water to bind with the iron in the rocks—making rust—freeing the hydrogen, which reacts with nitrogen to form ammonia.”
Fortune reporter Orianna Rosa Royle spotlights Luana Lopes Lara '18, co-founder of Kalshi, a company that allows users to bet on the outcome of events, such as “elections, sports matches, and pop culture happenings.” Rosa Royle details Lopes Lara’s journey establishing Kalshi with her co-founder Tarek Mansour ’18, MNG ’19.
Fox Business host Stuart Varney spotlights MIT’s new Artificial Intelligence and Decision Making (AI+D) major, which has quickly become, “the second most popular undergrad major at MIT.”
Researchers at MIT have developed a noninvasive, light-based blood-glucose monitoring system capable of replacing finger pricks and under-the-skin sensors used by patients with diabetes, reports Andrew Paul for Popular Science. The approach could “even fit on a device the size of a watch,” explains Paul. “Each measurement scan takes slightly more than 30 seconds to complete. The device also shows an accuracy comparable to two commercially available, wearable glucose monitors.”
Prof. Kevin Chen and his colleagues have designed a tiny, insect-sized aerial microrobot that is “faster and more acrobatic than any of its predecessors,” reports Phie Jacobs for Science. The device, “which measures just 4 centimeters across and weighs less than a paperclip, flies almost five times faster and accelerates twice as quickly as existing microrobots,” explains Jacobs. “It can also execute sharp turns while enduring 160-centimeter-per-second wind gusts and—perhaps most impressively—can complete 10 consecutive somersaults in 11 seconds.”
Luana Lopes Lara ’18 and Tarek Mansour ’18, MNG ’19 co-founded Kalshi, a company that allows “users to bet on the outcome of future events such as elections, sports games and pop culture happenings,” reports Alicia Park for Forbes. Lopes Lara chronicles her journey from her time on stage as a professional ballerina in Austria to her years as a student at MIT to her entrepreneurial ambitions.
Researchers at MIT are using AI systems to design new molecules for potential antibiotics, research that is “aimed at the growing challenge of antibiotic-resistant infections,” reports Adele Peters for Fast Company. “The number of resistant bacterial pathogens has been growing, decade upon decade,” says Prof. James Collins. “And the number of new antibiotics being developed has been dropping, decade upon decade.”