MIT scientists have developed a pill coated in tiny needles that allows medicine to be absorbed through the lining of the stomach, writes Brooks Hays of UPI. Initial trials showed that the pill delivered insulin more efficiently than an injection.
Thomas Burton of The Wall Street Journal writes that MIT researchers were among those awarded the first research grants under President Obama’s new BRAIN Initiative. Burton writes that one of the MIT grants will go toward “determining which exact brain circuits are involved in generating short-term memories that influence decisions.”
Boston Globe reporter Deborah Kotz writes that MIT researchers have been awarded new grants from the National Institutes of Health to further brain research. “Biophysicist Alan Jasanoff received a grant to develop imaging agents for functional MRI imaging that would target the flow of calcium into and out of brain cells,” writes Kotz of one of the MIT grants.
MIT neuroscientists were among the recipients of new grants for brain research from the National Institutes of Health, reports Jon Hamilton for NPR. Hamilton explains that as part of one grant, “Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology will try to adapt functional MRI so that it can show the activity of individual brain cells.”
Shankar Vedantam of NPR reports on Dr. Boris Katz’s new research examining how errors in written English can reveal clues about other languages. “By analyzing the patterns of mistakes that native speakers of two languages make in English, the computer can say, look, these two languages might actually be related to one another,” Vedantam explains.
“MIT researchers have developed a football-size underwater robot that they say could soon help protect America's ports,” writes Brooks Hays for UPI. While the robot was designed to inspect the water tanks of nuclear reactors, researchers say it could be used to check ships for hidden contraband.
Professor Rolland Pellenq’s team has developed a new formula that would reduce the greenhouse gas emissions associated with concrete production by half, reports Julia Pyper for Scientific American. The mixture also achieves "two times the resistance of normal cement, in mechanical resistance to fracture,” says Pellenq.
Loren Grush of Popular Science writes about a new type of antibiotic developed by MIT researchers that could help kill drug-resistant bacteria. “[T]he team developed their own gene-editing system, capable of turning off certain bacterial genes that spur antibiotic resistance,” Grush explains.
A team led by Professor Timothy Lu has developed a new class of antibiotic that can selectively kill bacteria based on their genes, reports Michael Eyre for BBC News. "This is an enabling toolkit for the basic scientists to now start probing these systems a little bit better,” says Lu.
Researchers at MIT have developed a waterproof glue based on the proteins that allow shellfish to cling to rocks, reports Brooks Hays for UPI. "We're trying to figure out if by adding other mussel foot proteins, we can increase the adhesive strength even more and improve the material's robustness," said Professor Timothy Lu.
“A team of MIT researchers has built an all-liquid battery prototype that's designed to store excess energy from solar and wind power plants,” writes Francie Diep for Popular Science. “[F]uture versions of this battery could release energy captured during more productive times into nations' power grids.”
Francie Diep writes for Popular Science about a new waterproof adhesive developed by Professor Timothy Lu’s team. “The glue, which works underwater, incorporates proteins that mussels normally use to adhere to rocks, jetties, and larger sea critters,” writes Diep.
CBS News reports that MIT engineers have identified several combinations of genes that make bacteria more vulnerable to antibiotics. This research could help in the fight against “superbugs,” drug-resistant bacteria that kill at least 23,000 people per year in the U.S.
Nidhi Subbaraman of BetaBoston writes about the annual MADMEC competition hosted by the Department of Materials Science and Engineering: “[T]eams presented their projects Friday afternoon, and judges from MIT, MIT-spinoff Ambri, and materials giants Saint-Gobain and Dow Chemical, picked the winning trio.”
Mark Peplow writes for Nature about a new molten-metal battery designed by Professor Donald Sadoway’s team: “A battery made of molten metals could help to make sources of renewable energy more viable by storing the excess electricity generated by these intermittent sources.”