John Hamilton reports for NPR on a new study by Prof. John Gabrieli that suggests information gathered from brain scans can help predict aspects of a person's future. Certain brain measures provide results that are often "better than currently available tests or clinical measures," Gabrieli explains.
In a piece for Salon, Paul Rosenberg writes about Prof. Jeremy England’s theory about the origins of life. England’s theory, based on the principals of thermodynamics, shows that under certain conditions “where life is possible…it is also quite probable, if not, ultimately, inevitable,” Rosenberg explains.
“A team of MIT researchers found that an existing computer vision system can achieve object recognition as well as humans and other primates,” writes Jamie Ducharme for Boston Magazine. Professor James DiCarlo’s team compared the visual recognition abilities of primates to those of the advanced computer system Super Vision.
Professor Jeremy England appears on WGBH television’s Greater Boston to discuss his work examining the origins of life. England explains his theory that, from the perspective of physics, energy played a role in the formation of life.
NASA’s Curiosity rover has discovered methane and carbon in Martian rocks, reports Andrew Soergel for U.S. News & World Report. “Organics are important because they can tell us about the chemical pathways by which they were formed and preserved,” says Prof. Roger Summons, a member of the Curiosity team.
Wall Street Journal reporter Atish Patel highlights new MIT research indicating that volcanic activity may have contributed to the extinction of the dinosaurs. Patel explains that the findings suggest “dinosaurs were already in decline, suffering from the climate change prompted by the volcanic eruptions.”
Writing for Scientific American, Jennifer Ouellette features Professor Allan Adams research on black holes on her list of the 20 best physics papers of 2014. “We showed that when you throw stuff into a black hole, the surface of the black hole responds like a fluid,” says Adams.
Professor Roger Summons is part of the Curiosity team that has detected a large spike in methane on Mars, which could indicate the presence of life, writes Brid-Aine Parnell for Forbes. “This first confirmation of organic carbon in a rock on Mars holds much promise,” says Summons.
Cynthia Graber of Scientific American reports that MIT researchers have developed a new technique that turns a smartphone into a sensor that can detect hazardous gases and environmental pollutants. "The method was tested with ammonia, cyclohexanone and hydrogen peroxide. And the tags could sense the substances at levels of a few parts per million,” reports Graber.
Researchers have uncovered evidence that volcanic activity could have contributed to the extinction of dinosaurs, reports Joel Achenbach for The Washington Post. Prof. Sam Bowring says the eruption “began just prior to the extinction and continued throughout.”
Carolyn Johnson of The Boston Globe reports on Prof. Benjamin Weiss’ research examining evidence that the moon had a magnetic field. Johnson writes that analysis of moon rocks has shown that the moon "had a magnetic field caused by an ancient core dynamo.”
MIT researchers have discovered that Earth’s early atmosphere may have been destroyed by thousands of small asteroids, writes Rachel Feltman of The Washington Post. Feltman explains that researchers found, “a real flurry of these small impacts…could have completely ejected the atmosphere.”
Professor Mildred Dresselhaus speaks with NPR’s Audie Cornish about receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Cornish explains that Dresselhaus got her nickname, the Queen of Carbon, based on her work with carbon, which “paved the way for the rise of nanotechnology.”
MIT alumnus Noam Angrist and seniors Anisha Gururaj and Elliot H. Akama-Garren were among 32 Rhodes scholars selected from the U.S. this year, reports Jennifer Smith for The Boston Globe. “The American scholars will join an international group of students chosen from 14 other global jurisdictions, according to the Rhodes Trust,” Smith reports.
Two MIT seniors and alumnus Noam Angrist have been named Rhodes Scholars, reports Dave Collins for the Associated Press. “It’s a total dream come true,” says Angrist. “The skills I will get at (Oxford) are just incredible, and I’ll come back into the world fully equipped to do what I love to do.”