| Oobleck Science | | | | | | When you mix cornstarch and water, things get weird: Depending on how it’s handled, the solution can act like a liquid or a solid. Engineers have developed a mathematical model that could point to new uses for such “non-Newtonian fluids.” Full story via MIT News → |
| Longtime MIT Lincoln Laboratory researcher John Goodenough wins Nobel Prize in Chemistry One of three scientists recognized for developing the lithium-ion battery, Goodenough explored the physics of magnetic materials during his career at Lincoln Laboratory. Full story via MIT News → | |
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| This is how a “fuzzy” universe may have looked Scientists simulate early galaxy formation in a universe of dark matter that is ultralight, or “fuzzy,” rather than cold or warm. Full story via MIT News → | |
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| MIT alumna addresses the world’s mounting plastic waste problem Renewlogy’s system is converting plastic waste from cities and rivers into fuel. Full story via MIT News → | |
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| Alzheimer’s plaque emerges early and deep in the brain Clumps of amyloid protein emerge early in deep regions, such as the mammillary body, and march outward in the brain along specific circuits. Full story via MIT News → |
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| Using machine learning to hunt down cybercriminals Model from the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory identifies “serial hijackers” of internet IP addresses. Full story via MIT News → | |
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| I heard it before, so it must be true // Scientific American A study co-authored by Associate Professor David Rand finds repeated exposure to both plausible and implausible statements increases belief in all statements. Full story via Scientific American → |
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| Could a pill replace insulin shots? // HealthDay MIT researchers have engineered a capsule to deliver medications that currently have to be injected. Full story via HealthDay → |
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| Seeing Earth from space is life-changing — and incredibly lonely // HuffPost Former NASA astronaut Mike Massimino SM ’88, PhD ’92 describes the thrill and the loneliness of viewing the Earth from space. When something malfunctioned during a spacewalk, he says, “I looked at our planet, and I thought, there are billions of people down there, but there’s no way I’m gonna get a house call on this one. No one can help me.” Full story via HuffPost → |
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| Examining the future of pilotless airliners // BBC Future “Autonomous does not mean humanless,” writes research affiliate Ashley Nunes of the challenges facing the development of autonomous aircraft. “While sensors and software curb the need for manual labor, that need isn’t — contrary to [what] we’re told — purged entirely.” Full story via BBC Future → |
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| | | Wednesday was National Nanotechnology Day! MIT celebrated research at the nanoscale, on the date that corresponds to 1 nanometer, or one-billionth of a meter: 10^-9. It’s hard to imagine the nanoscale, since matter at that scale can’t be seen without very powerful microscopes. Now a new tool can help you grasp just how small nano really is: MIT.nano has just released a printable nano-estimator to let you compare nanometers to more familiar scales — inches and centimeters. Measure away! Get the estimator from MIT.nano → |
| 130,000 | | Miles of road around the world being studied for pavement quality through the Carbin crowdsourcing app from the MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub Learn more via MIT News → |
| | | In 1502, Leonardo da Vinci sketched a design for a bridge that would have had the world’s longest span. Karly Bast MEng ’19 and her collaborators built a scale model of the structure to test whether it would have worked. Spoiler alert: Leonardo knew what he was doing. Full story via MIT News → |
This edition of the MIT Weekly was brought to you by a train ride across America. 🚂
Thanks for reading, and enjoy your week!
—MIT News Office |
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