MIT researchers have developed artificial muscles that can stretch more than 1,000 percent of their size and lift more than 650 times their weight, reports Sid Perkins for Scientific American. The new fibers could have applications in robotics and prosthetic devices, Perkins explains, and “work more like real muscles: they do work by pulling on or lifting objects.”
Reporting for WBUR, Carey Goldberg highlights how MIT researchers have developed a new RNA editing tool that could be used to tweak a gene that raises the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. As the effects of RNA editing are not permanent, “it's almost like a small, pill-like version of gene therapy,” explains research scientist and McGovern Fellow Omar Abudayyeh.
MIT researchers have developed a new method for potentially increasing solar cell efficiency beyond the theoretical limit, reports Daniel Oberhaus for Wired. “What’s cool here is that this is a fundamentally different approach from traditional photovoltaics,” says Joseph Berry of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
A study by Prof. Daniel Rothman finds that if carbon emissions exceed a critical threshold, it could lead to a mass extinction, reports Martin Finucane for The Boston Globe. "We should limit carbon dioxide emissions,” says Rothman. “The carbon cycle is a non-linear system, and if you perturb it, surprising things may happen.”
Axios reporter Eileen Drage O’Reilly highlights how Prof. Feng Zhang and his colleagues have developed a new system that uses “jumping genes” to improve the accuracy of gene editing. “This is filling a gap we couldn't address before, to be able to insert DNA into the genome," says Zhang of the ability to insert large genomes in a directed way.
Researchers from MIT and other institutions have developed a new model for autism research that could enable new therapies and treatments, reports the Xinhua news agency. The model could “provide a basis for a deeper understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms of autism and the development of more transformative therapeutics.”
Boston Globe reporter Martin Finucane writes that a team of scientists, including MIT researchers, has uncovered evidence of a large mass, which could be the metallic core of an asteroid, under a crater on the dark side of the moon. “The results of this study provide new information on the violent history of our nearest celestial neighbor,” explains Prof. Maria Zuber, MIT’s vice president for research.
STAT reporter Sharon Begley writes that Prof. Feng Zhang and his colleagues have turned “a jumping gene — aka a transposon, or mobile genetic element — into a mini TaskRabbit gig worker: With an assist from CRISPR enzymes, it zips over to the part of the genome whose address it is given and delivers a package of DNA, pronto.”
On Science Friday, Prof. David Kaiser speaks with Ira Flatow and Annie Minoff about Albert Michelson, a physicist who was known for his work trying to detect evidence of the luminiferous ether, the hypothetical matter that for years scientists believed light traveled through.
MIT researchers have found that the universe’s first stars exploded in an aspherical manner, spewing heavy metals into the universe, reports Rachel Cromwell for Scientific American. “This is a beautiful paper,” says Volker Bromm of the University of Texas at Austin, noting that this type of stellar sleuthing is possible only with very high-quality data.
A new book by graduate student John Urschel chronicles his decision to retire from the NFL and pursue his passion for mathematics at MIT, reports the Associated Press. Urschel explains that through his book, he “wanted to share my love of math and also perhaps train certain peoples’ thinking about math and show them some of the beauty, elegance and importance of mathematics.”
President Emerita Susan Hockfield discusses her new book, “The Age of Living Machines,” her work as a neuroscientist, and the future of science and technology during a curated lunch conversation with HUBweek and Boston.com. Hockfield explains that a revolution spurred by the convergence of biology with engineering will lead to new technologies built by biology.
MIT alumnus Murray Gell-Mann, a pioneering physicist who “helped make sense of the very small,” died at the age of 89, reports George Dvorsky for Gizmodo. Dvorsky writes that Gell-Mann will be remembered for “bringing order to the chaotic field of particle physics, and for coining the term ‘quark.’”
The Associated Press memorializes the life and work of Murray Gell-Mann, an MIT alumnus who “transformed physics by devising a method for sorting subatomic particles into simple groups of eight.”
MIT alumnus Murray Gell-Mann, a Nobel laureate known for his work conceiving the idea of quarks, died on May 24, reports Martin Weil for The Washington Post. Gell-Mann, who earned a doctorate in physics at MIT, was a “pioneer in the development of what is called the ‘standard model’ of particle physics, a guide to the fundamental behavior of the constituents of the universe.”