31
Astronomers detect regular rhythm of radio waves, with origins unknown
Radio signals from deep space: Astronomers including researchers at MIT have detected the first periodic fast radio burst from 500 million light years away.
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32
Algorithm recovers speech from a potato-chip bag filmed through glass (2014)
Algorithm recovers speech from the vibrations of a potato-chip bag filmed through soundproof glass.
33
The largest open-source dataset of car designs, including their aerodynamics
DrivAerNet++, the largest open-source dataset for car aerodynamics developed to date, can be used to quickly train an AI model to generate novel car designs. This process could potentially lead to more fuel-efficient cars and electric vehicles with longer range.
34
Mouth-based touchpad enables people living with paralysis to use computers
MIT Media Lab Spin-off Augmental has developed the MouthPad, a device that allows users to interact with phones and computers using their tongue and other head gestures.
35
AI produces realistic sounds that fool humans
A video-trained system from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab could help robots understand how objects interact with the world.
36
An old patent inspired the new "Y-zipper", a three-sided fastener
A new system developed at MIT CSAIL helps users design three-sided fasteners called “Y-zippers,” then 3D prints them. The devices can be attached or embedded to camping equipment, medical gear, robots, and art installations, seamlessly switching each item between soft and rigid.
37
Solar-powered desalination device wins MIT $100K competition
The winner of the 2022 MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition was Nona Desalination, which is developing a low-cost, portable water desalination and purification device.
38
How strong is your knot?
MIT mathematicians and engineers have developed a mathematical model that predicts how stable a knot is, based on several key properties, including the number of crossings involved, and the direction in which the rope segments twist as the knot is pulled tight.
39
Sound-suppressing silk can create quiet spaces
MIT researchers developed a silk fabric, which is barely thicker than a human hair, that can suppress unwanted noise and reduce noise transmission in a large room.
40
Arvind has died
Arvind, a longtime MIT professor and leading scholar in computer architecture and programming languages, has died at 77. He transformed research in computer architectures and parallel computing, enabling faster and more efficient computation.
41
Self-healing material can build itself from carbon in the air
A new material developed at MIT can mimic plants by taking carbon dioxide from the air and turning it into a useful solid material, potentially helping in the battle against global climate change.
42
New lightweight material is stronger than steel
MIT chemical engineers have created a new material that is stronger than steel, as light as plastic, and can be easily manufactured in large quantities.
43
MIT class project turns into an FDA-cleared treatment for tremors
Encora Therapeutics, which developed a wrist-based device that reduces essential tremor, started as a project in MIT’s famous product-design class, 2.009 (Product Engineering Processes).
44
MIT engineers develop stickers that can see inside the body
MIT engineers designed an adhesive patch that produces ultrasound images of the body. The stamp-sized device sticks to skin and can provide continuous ultrasound imaging of internal organs for 48 hours.
45
Study helps explain why motivation to learn declines with age
MIT neuroscientists have identified a brain circuit critical for learning to make decisions that require evaluating the cost or reward of an action. They showed this circuit is negatively affected by aging and in Huntington’s disease.
46
Jeffrey Epstein and MIT: FAQs
Today, January 10, 2020, the Executive Committee of the MIT Corporation released the fact-finding report it commissioned to help the Institute understand the origins, nature, and extent of Jeffrey Epstein’s ties to MIT and learn from them. The questions and answers below provide context.
47
New finding may explain heat loss in fusion reactors
Solving a longstanding mystery, MIT experiments reveal two forms of turbulence interacting. The new finding may explain heat loss in nuclear fusion reactors.
48
From seawater to drinking water, with the push of a button
MIT researchers created a portable desalination unit that can remove particles and salts simultaneously to generate drinking water. The user-friendly unit, which weighs less than 10 kilograms and does not require filters, can be powered by a small, portable solar panel.
49
A manufacturing process that produces long strips of high-quality graphene
MIT engineers have developed a scalable manufacturing process that spools out strips of graphene for use in ultrathin membranes.
50
Python-based compiler achieves orders-of-magnitude speedups
Codon is a new tool that compiles Python code to run it more efficiently and effectively while allowing for customization and adaptation to various domains.
51
Study identifies reasons for soaring nuclear plant cost overruns in the U.S.
MIT researchers have analyzed the causes of many cost overruns on new nuclear power plants in the U.S., which have soared in the past 50 years. The findings may help designers of new plants build in resilience to prevent such added costs.
52
Evidence that the brain’s ability to control thinking relies on beta rhythms
MIT neuroscientists have found evidence that the brain’s ability to control what it’s thinking about relies on low-frequency brain waves known as beta rhythms.
53
Study urges caution when comparing neural networks to the brain
Neuroscientists often use neural networks to model the kind of tasks the brain performs, in hopes that the models could suggest new hypotheses regarding how the brain itself performs those tasks. But a group of MIT researchers urges that more caution should be taken when interpreting these models.
54
Tests show high-temperature superconducting magnets are ready for fusion
A comprehensive study of high-temperature superconducting magnets built by MIT and Commonwealth Fusion Systems confirms they meet requirements for an economic, compact fusion power plant.
55
Scientists make huge dataset of nearby stars available to public
Members of the public can search a newly released database of 1,600 stars to find signs of undiscovered exoplanets. The dataset, taken over two decades by the W.M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii, comes with an open-source software package and an online tutorial.
56
When muscles work out, they help neurons to grow, a new study shows
Exercise can have benefits at the level of neurons, through chemical and mechanical effects, MIT researchers find. The discovery could inform exercise-related therapies for repairing damaged and deteriorating nerves.
57
AI model detects asymptomatic Covid-19 infections through phone-recorded coughs
An artificial intelligence model can detect people who are asymptomatic with Covid-19, through cellphone-recorded coughs. The work was led by Brian Subirana and colleagues at the MIT Auto-ID Lab.
58
Gene-silencing tool shows promise as a future therapy against prion diseases
MIT Whitehead and Broad Institute researchers designed an epigenetic editor that can silence the prion protein gene, which could potentially be developed into a therapy against fatal prion diseases. The same approach could be used against other genetic diseases.
59
MIT engineers create an energy-storing supercapacitor from ancient materials
MIT engineers created a carbon-cement supercapacitor that can store large amounts of energy. Made of just cement, water, and carbon black, the device could form the basis for inexpensive systems that store intermittently renewable energy, such as solar or wind energy.
60
Model beats Wall Street analysts in forecasting business financials
MIT researchers have developed an automated machine-learning model that uses probability techniques to significantly outperform human Wall Street analysts in predicting quarterly business sales.