New York Times reporter Henry Fountain writes that researchers have found evidence that the ozone hole over Antarctica is getting smaller. “We are seeing the planet respond as expected to the actions of people,” says Prof. Susan Solomon. “It’s really a story of the public getting engaged, policy makers taking action, and business getting engaged.”
Researchers from MIT and other institutions have found that the Antarctic ozone hole has begun to heal, reports Chris Mooney for The Washington Post. “If you use the medical analogy, first the patient was getting worse and worse, and then the patient is stabilized, and now, “explains Prof. Susan Solomon, “the patient is really starting to get better.”
Researchers from MIT and the University of Washington have found that centuries-old ocean currents have been keeping the Southern Ocean cold, reports Sarah Emerson for Motherboard. The researchers found that “Antarctica’s unique currents and strong westerly winds are constantly dredging up ancient currents from deep beneath the ocean’s surface.”
Maria Zuber, MIT’s vice president for research, speaks with Science’s Jeffrey Mervis about her new role as chair of the National Science Board. “U.S. research and education are really what has kept this country at the forefront,” says Zuber. “I think that even in this environment… research spending ought to still be up.”
The Economist writes that MIT researchers have developed a new method for measuring changes in the world’s ice sheets, using earthquake sensors to monitor vibrations. “If more sensors are put into place, then Greenland’s ice sheets (and, presumably, those of other places) can be monitored on a daily basis.”
TIME reporter Jeffrey Kluger writes that researchers have discovered three potentially habitable planets. Kluger explains that the researchers observed the planets orbiting an ultracool dwarf star “at a distance at which water—the must-have ingredient for life as we know it—could exist in liquid form.”
Dr. Julien de Wit speaks with Nell Greenfieldboyce of NPR about the three potentially habitable planets that he and his colleagues recently discovered. "These planets are Earth-sized, they are temperate — we can't rule out the fact that they are habitable — and they are well-suited for atmospheric studies," de Wit explains.
Los Angeles Times reporter Deborah Netburn writes that researchers have discovered three potentially habitable planets orbiting an ultracool dwarf star 40 light years away. "The team took a big risk even looking for planets around these stars," says MIT postdoc Julien de Wit, co-author of the paper. "But it has really paid off."
A team of astronomers, including researchers from MIT, have discovered three potentially habitable planets, reports Ashley Strickland for CNN. Strickland writes that the “results are just the beginning of a study that will continue for years. The researchers are already working on observations to see if the planets have water or methane molecules.”
Astronomers at MIT, in collaboration with an international team of scientists, have detected three planets, located 40 light years away, that could potentially be habitable. The “planets likely have permanent day and night sides. The next step is to look for signs of biological conditions on the planets.”
Huffington Post reporter Michael McLaughlin writes that a new study co-authored by MIT postdoc Julien de Wit details the discovery of three Earth-sized planets. The “planets orbit a star in the Aquarius constellations named Trappist-1,” writes McLaughlin. “But the planets are close enough to the star to have ‘temperate’ conditions on their surface.”
Boston Globe reporter Astead Herndon writes that an international team of astronomers, including researchers from MIT, have discovered three potentially habitable planets. “This is a paradigm shift,” says Julien de Wit, a postdoc at MIT. “These planets are the best shots for us to search for other habitats, and maybe even life.”
Researchers have uncovered evidence about how “hot Jupiter” exoplanets form by studying a planet with an eccentric orbit, reports Eva Botkin-Kowacki for The Christian Science Monitor. "This planet is thought to be caught in the act of migrating inward," says MIT postdoc Julien de Wit. "By studying it, we are able to test theories of hot Jupiter formation."
Washington Post reporter Rachel Feltman writes that a new study co-authored by MIT postdoc Julien de Wit examines the eccentric orbit of an exoplanet with extreme weather variations. The researchers found that, “every 111 days, the planet swings close to its sun-like host star before being flung back out.”
A new study by MIT researchers suggests that sea sponges may have been the first animal on Earth, CBS Boston reports. “Based on new genetic tests, researchers can say with confidence that molecules produced by sea sponges have been found in 640 million-year-old rocks.”