In a piece for National Geographic, Ed Yong writes about how a team of scientists from MIT has found a corresponding rhythm of behavior amongst marine bacteria. “The study reveals the power of sophisticated sampling devices for studying ocean features that were heretofore inaccessible,” says MIT Prof. Penny Chisholm.
Lauren Hitchings of New Scientist reports on findings showing that marine microbes exhibit daily patterns of behavior. “The researchers think this might be a result of the low nutrient levels in the open ocean, and the need for organisms to rely on one another for metabolic functions,” writes Hitchings.
Hal Hodson writes for The New Scientist about the Smart Morphable Surface developed by Professor Pedro Reis. The surface dimples into different depths and patterns to create the best aerodynamics for the conditions.
David Snzondy writes for GizMag about new materials created by a team that included Professor Nick Fang. These “metamaterials,” which are lightweight and can withstand weights 160,000 times their own, could have applications for the construction of aircraft and other vehicles.
A Slate video by Paca Thomas features new MIT research that shows particles from coughs and sneezes travel much farther than previously thought.
Rachel Nuwer writes for Scientific American about research from Professor Pedro Reis and his team that allows for more accurate rendering of curly hair in computer animations. “This is the first time someone described the full 3-D configuration of a single naturally curved hair,” explains Reis.
Washington Post reporter Fred Barbash reports on new MIT research that shows the importance of covering up coughs and sneezes. Researchers found that droplets from coughs and sneezes form a gas cloud that can travel further than previously thought.
“Researchers found that a droplet just a millionth of a meter in size (100 micrometers) can travel five times farther than previously thought, and a droplet just 10 micrometers in size can travel 200 times farther than previously thought,” writes Huffington Post reporter Amanda Chan of new research on coughing and sneezing.
“A new study from MIT that could change the way building ventilation systems are designed found that the germs stay airborne in gas clouds, spreading the droplets throughout an entire room,” writes Boston Herald reporter Jordan Graham of the MIT study on coughing and sneezing.
“In a new study, published in the Journal of Fluid Mechanics, researchers report that coughs and sneezes have “associated gas clouds that keep their potentially infectious droplets aloft over much greater distances than previously realized”,” writes Boston Magazine reporter Melissa Malamut about a new MIT on how coughs and sneezes spread disease.
Boston Globe reporter Deborah Kotz highlights research from Professor John Bush and Professor Lydia Bourouiba that shows virus droplets expelled through a cough or sneeze travel five to 200 times farther than they would as individual particles.
“Now, researchers at MIT, in Cambridge, Mass., and the Université Pierre-et-Marie-Curie (UPMC), in Paris, are teasing out the physics of curly hair,” writes Denise Chow of new MIT research to understand why and how hair curls.
Boston Globe reporter Carolyn Johnson writes about how MIT researchers have created a toolset to predict how hair curls. Findings could be used to create realistic animated characters, as well as in the telecommunications, medical, or oil and gas industries.