Prof. Lydia Bourouiba has modeled how droplets are formed after a person sneezes, reports Jonathan Webb for BBC News. “The process is important to understand because it determines the various sizes of the final droplets - a critical factor in how a sneeze spreads germs,” writes Webb.
MIT researchers have found that the high-velocity cloud created by the average human sneeze can contaminate a room in minutes, writes Robert Preidt for U.S. News & World Report. Sneeze droplets "undergo a complex cascading breakup that continues after they leave the lungs, pass over the lips and churn through the air," explains Prof. Lydia Bourouiba.
Lincoln Lab researcher Albert Swiston speaks on NPR’s All Things Considered about the new sensor developed by MIT researchers that monitors vital signs through the gastrointestinal tract. “There are some bits of information from the body—namely the temperature of the body—that can only be monitored from inside the body,” explains Swiston.
Researchers at MIT and Massachusetts General Hospital have developed an ingestible device that monitors vital signs, reports Dialynn Dwyer of Boston.com. Dwyer explains that the device is a “pill-sized stethoscope with a microphone that, once swallowed, transmits data from inside the body.”
Nidhi Subbaraman reports for BetaBoston that MIT researchers have devised an ingestible microphone that allows doctors to monitor a patient’s vital signs. “A key innovation was developing algorithms that would distinguish important signals…from the noisy gurgling of the gut, and then translate them into numbers a physician can read and understand,” writes Subbaraman.
Researchers at MIT have developed an ingestible sensor that can measure vital signs without any external contact, reports Emily Reynolds for Wired. “The sensor works by using microphones—like ones found in mobile phones—that are able to pick up sound waves from the heart and lungs,” writes Reynolds.
Alexandra Ossola of Popular Science reports on an ingestible sensor that allows doctors to monitor vital signs by listening to the body’s gastrointestinal tract. The device could help treat “chronic illnesses, monitor soldiers in battle, or even help athletes train more effectively,” writes Ossola.
MIT researchers have developed an ingestible sensor that can monitor vital signs, reports Rae Ellen Bichell for NPR. "Trauma patients are a really clear winner here, because we can do vital sign monitoring without touching the skin," says Albert Swiston of Lincoln Laboratory.
In an article for Stat, Andrew Joseph writes that the Commonwealth Foundation for Cancer Research is committing $20 million to the Bridge Project, which funds research at the Koch Institute and Dana-Farber. “We’re looking for the best people, regardless of where they are, to tackle these very important problems,” explains Tyler Jacks, director of the Koch Institute.
MIT researchers have developed a new method of delivering drugs to the gastrointestinal tract via ultrasound waves, reports Alexandra Ossola of Popular Science. The new drug-delivery method could prove effective in treating diseases like Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis.
Robert Preidt writes for U.S. News & World Report that MIT researchers have found that ultrasound waves can be used to deliver drugs to the digestive system. Preidt explains that the new approach, “might potentially benefit people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.”
MIT researchers have developed an ultrasound device that can deliver medication to the digestive system, reports Leah Samuel for The Boston Globe. The researchers “found that using ultrasound enhanced absorption of the drugs they tested up to tenfold,” writes Samuel.
Lindsay Kalter reports for The Boston Herald that researchers from MIT, Philips, and Boston Medical Center are developing a non-invasive way to diagnose head injuries. Kalter explains that the study is part of a new collaboration between MIT and Philips and will “use data from an ultrasound machine taking measurements of blood pressure and flow.”
Researchers from MIT, Philips and Boston Medical Center are collaborating on new technology to diagnose brain injuries, reports Nidhi Subbaraman for BetaBoston. “The goal is to investigate whether ultrasound readers can help doctors assess the severity of a head injury,” Subbaraman writes.
In an article for The New York Times about the impact of patent laws on drug development, Austin Frakt highlights Prof. Benjamin Roin’s research that indicates pharmaceutical companies reject unpatentable drugs. To counter this problem, Frakt explains that Roin suggests “a period of market exclusivity…to any organization addressing an unmet medical need with a drug that isn’t patentable.”