153 articles from TUESDAY 24.8.2021

Bird communities threatened by urbanization

Urbanization is one of the most drastic forms of land-use change. Its negative consequences on biodiversity have been studied extensively in countries like Germany. However, there has been less research in tropical regions from the Global South. Researchers investigated the effects on farmland bird communities in Bangalore and found that urbanization filters out species with certain traits, such...

Using your smartwatch to reduce stress

An engineering researcher has modified a smartwatch to reduce stress. The new technology monitors sweat to infer brain stress and, when detected, sends a message through the smartwatch to calm down.

Quantum computing: Exotic particle had an 'out-of-body experience'

Scientists have taken a clear picture of electronic particles that make up a mysterious magnetic state called quantum spin liquid (QSL). The achievement could facilitate the development of superfast quantum computers and energy-efficient superconductors. The scientists are the first to capture an image of how electrons in a QSL decompose into spin-like particles called spinons and charge-like...

A “far out” take on transportation planning

As a boy, Eric Plosky ’99, MCP ’00, rode the New York subway with his grandmother to every city attraction on the map. “Whenever anyone asks me how I got into transportation, I always ask them, ‘How did you get out of it?’” he says. “Every little kid seems to love trains and subways and buses and cars and planes, and for some reason they ‘grow out of it.’ I never did.” Now,...

A musical postcard to MIT graduates

On February 11, I got a call from MIT’s executive director of Institute events and protocol, Gayle Gallagher. President Reif had just announced that MIT would again be conducting commencement online—and to open the ceremony, we needed a compelling piece of music that would evoke renewal as we began to emerge from the pandemic.  After nearly a year of socially distanced teaching,...

A window into the clean room

Abbie (Carlstein) Gregg ’74 remembers giving up on wearing lab gloves during her undergraduate research at MIT. There weren’t any small enough to fit her, at a time when undergraduate men outnumbered women on campus 15 to 1. Even so, it was the first time she’d met other women interested in engineering and technology—and she quickly found a home in the Metallurgy Department (now Materials...

“Rocket Woman”: from space shuttle engineer to space historian

Linda (Getch) Dawson ’71 grew up during the height of the space race between the US and the USSR. She recalls driving with her family to an observatory to hear the beeping of the Soviet satellite Sputnik as it passed overhead. “It’s funny how your path takes different turns, but I always came back to that first love: aerospace,” she says. Dawson’s path took her from MIT to NASA, then...

Log on all ye of MIT

A record-breaking total of more than 5,000 alumni and friends attended this year’s MIT Tech Reunions, held online June 4–6. There were special events for reunion-year classes, and the entire MIT community was invited to watch the online Tech Night at Pops, learn from faculty during Technology Day, and take virtual campus tours. Symphony Hall…

Pairing economics with empathy to study life in the developing world

Reshmaan Hussam ’09, PhD ’15, once dreamed of becoming a “psychohistorian” like the protagonist in Isaac Asimov’s Foundation novels who combines sociology, history, and statistics to save the world. Maybe, she thought, such a psychohistorian would be able to make sense of the stark and unnerving contrasts that marked her childhood living in suburban Virginia and visiting her parents’...

Technology Day: Pathways to the Future

Continuing an annual tradition, Technology Day offered alumni an inside view of MIT’s role in solving global challenges. The online symposium focused on online learning, cancer research, computing, and climate change. The first three topics were covered in updates from Curt Newton, director of MIT OpenCourseWare; Matthew Vander Heiden, director of the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer...

The practice of moving energy around

One of the things Rod Bayliss III ’20, MEng ’21, remembers most clearly from his childhood is his father’s 1964 Ford Mustang. “I was fascinated by that car,” says Bayliss. “Especially by the engine, this thing that converted oxygen and fuel into power.” Bayliss grew up in Augusta, Georgia. Math and physics came easily to him, and in high school he developed a passion for Latin,...

Virtual Photo Booth

Patrice Langford ’95 Paul Chai ’99 Claude Gerstle ’68 with his wife, Ellen Gerstle Claire DeRosa ’11, MEng ’12, and Kimberly Gonzalez ’11 John Paul Mattia ’86, SM ’91, Eng ’96, PhD ’96 Tara Chang Pettus ’08 with daughter Celeste and father Clifton Chang ’71...

NASA Invites Media to Launch of Lucy Mission to Study Trojan Asteroids

Portal origin URL: NASA Invites Media to Launch of Lucy Mission to Study Trojan AsteroidsPortal origin nid: 473478Published: Tuesday, August 24, 2021 - 16:22Featured (stick to top of list): noPortal text teaser: Media accreditation is open for the upcoming launch of NASA’s Lucy mission, which will send the first spacecraft to study the Trojan asteroids.Portal...

Studying the mechanism of metal extraction with ionic liquids

The heaviest known elements are the so-called "superheavy" elements, those with atomic numbers greater than 103. These elements are found only in laboratories, where they are made by fusing together two lighter elements. This process is unlikely to occur, so scientists have only tiny amounts (a few atoms) for experiments, and chemists are interested in the chemical properties of these elements....

Low-cost sensors measure real-time volcanic smog exposure

When Kīlauea Volcano erupted in 2018, lava covered parts of the Island of Hawaii, but a volcanic smog, known as "vog," inundated it. The vog contained dangerous levels of fine particulate matter and sulfur dioxide gas, which threatened the health of the downwind population on the island.

Evolutionary 'arms race' may help keep cell division honest

Eggs and sperm are special cells for many reasons, but one of the characteristics that sets them apart is that unlike other human cells, which have two copies of 23 chromosomes, one from the mother and one from the father, these sex cells, or gametes, have only one.

Potentially safer approach to opioid drug development

Opioids are powerful painkillers but their use is hindered because patients become tolerant to them, requiring higher and higher doses, and overdoses can cause respiratory depression and death. A recent study contradicts existing thinking about how opioid drugs cause tolerance and respiratory depression, and suggests a new, balanced approach to developing safer analgesics.

Healthy sugar origin in stingless bee honey revealed

Stingless bees are found throughout tropical and subtropical parts of the world and produce significantly less honey than their European honey bee counterparts (Apis mellifera) which are the world's major honey production species. However, stingless bee honey is highly prized as a specialty food, noted in Indigenous cultures for its medicinal properties, and attracts a high price. Now new research...

A novel gene involved in male infertility: ZFP541

A new gene that controls the completion of meiosis in spermatogenesis has been discovered. Until now, details of the mechanism that inactivates the expression of genes involved in the meiotic program during spermatogenesis had not been clarified. The researchers believe that this may lead to an advancement in reproductive medicine, like identifying causes for infertility from azoospermia or...

Record-breaking lithium-metal cell

A new type of lithium-metal battery reaches an extremely high energy density of 560 watt-hours per kilogram -- based on the total weight of the active materials -- with a remarkable stability. Researchers used a promising combination of cathode and electrolyte: The nickel-rich cathode enables storage of high energy per mass, the ionic liquid electrolyte ensures largely stable capacity over many...

Measuring how the Arctic responds to climate change

The Arctic has been warming more than twice as fast as the rest of the planet. Meanwhile CO2 measurements show substantial increases in the amount of carbon absorbed into and emitted by Arctic plants and soil. Scientists assumed this was playing a large role in changes to the Arctic carbon cycle. But they were not able to measure carbon uptake and release independently. This study provides...

Green hydrogen: Focus on the catalyst surface

Hydrogen produced from renewable energy sources with the help of electric power is deemed a key to the energy transition: It can be used to chemically store wind and solar energy in a CO2-neutral way. Researchers have studied water electrolysis processes on the surface of an iridium oxide catalyst.

There’s a bright side to being a ‘Debbie Downer’

New research shows that keeping busy with a variety of activities can elicit both positive and negative emotions, and some of the relationship could depend on your age. A new study finds that engaging in diverse daily activities is associated with a diverse set of emotions.

These robots can move your couch

Engineers have developed robots that can work independently and cooperatively to move unwieldy objects like a couch. In simulations, the robots were successful even when tasked to move an object in new, unfamiliar scenarios.

Climate change threatens seal hunting by Indigenous Alaskans

Climate change has severely reduced the length of the seal hunting season in a rural Alaska village, potentially threatening a key feature of the community's Indigenous way of life. The study led by Indigenous hunters, the Native Village of Kotzebue and scientists shows that over the past 17 years, the seal hunting season shrank about one day per year. Sea ice decline is a major cause of the...

Stressed teens benefit from coping online, but a little goes a long way

An adolescent's day can be filled with a dizzying array of digital technologies. For many teenagers, being online is a way to pass the time and communicate with friends. Cell phones and social media can also help teens cope with stressful events -- as long as they strike the right balance between spending time online and pursuing other coping activities.

Evolutionary ‘arms race’ may help keep cell division honest

Certain proteins may have evolved to tamp down 'cheating' during meiosis, the cell-division process that gives rise to eggs and sperm. While chromosomes can tip the scales in their favor of winding up in an egg, the team's new work identifies a mechanism that keeps the odds closer to 50-50, possibly reducing the likelihood that chromosomal abnormalities will arise during egg production.