UPI reporter Brook Hays writes about new MIT research examining how ocean acidification will impact phytoplankton. The researchers found that “more acidic waters could allow some species to outcompete and wipe out entire other species" of phytoplankton.
In an article for Forbes, Greg Satell applied Prof. Jeremy England’s theories about the meaning of life to the way new technologies are impacting humans. Satell writes that if England is right and “the purpose of life is to create order,” humans can find meaning in, “channeling our energies to adapt to that which is to come.”
Last weekend Institute Professor Mildred Dresselhaus became the first woman to receive the IEEE Medal of Honor for her pioneering work with carbon materials, reports Melissa Lott for Scientific American. Lotts writes that Dresselhaus is known “for her work with buckminsterfullerenes (buckyballs), nanotubes and graphene as well as her dedicated work ethic and caring nature.”
In an article for TIME, Jeffrey Kluger reports that MIT researchers have uncovered the mystery behind Saturn’s Earth-sized cyclones. The researchers found that lots of mini-storms combine to produce “one massive, long-lived one at the top of the planet.”
MIT physicists have cooled molecules to just above absolute zero, reports Macrina Cooper-White for The Huffington Post. “The team hopes to cool molecules to an even lower temperature, study the interactions between them, and learn more about the limits on their lifetime,” Cooper-White explains.
Jesse Emspak of Live Science writes that MIT researchers have successfully cooled molecules to just above absolute zero. The researchers found that when the molecules were cooled to 500 nanokelvins they “were quite stable, and tended not to react with other molecules around them.”
Huffington Post reporter Jacqueline Howard writes about how MIT researchers have uncovered what causes the rapid draining of the meltwater lakes atop Greenland’s ice sheet. Howard explains that, “the finding could help scientists better predict how much meltwater from the ice sheet is contributing to rising sea levels, especially as the climate in the region becomes warmer.”
Professor Vladan Vuletić and his colleagues have successfully developed a new technique for simulating friction between two surfaces at the nanoscale, reports Davide Castelvecchi for Nature. The research “could bring enormous savings by reducing friction between the moving parts of machines,” writes Castelvecchi.
Robert Ferris writes for CNBC that MIT researchers have developed a new technique for creating surfaces that can slide past each other without friction. The researchers hope to use the technique to “build devices that can preserve themselves by being nearly immune to friction.”
Washington Post reporter Chris Mooney writes that MIT researchers have found that giant cracks allow for the rapid draining of lakes on Greenland’s ice sheet. “We know that the ice sheet will continue to increase its contribution to sea level rise over the coming years,” explains lead author Laura Stevens. “The implications of this study show us more of how these processes will play out.”
MIT researchers have uncovered how the meltwater lakes atop Greenland’s ice sheet drain, reports Richard Valdmanis for Reuters. Lead author Laura Stevens explains that the findings will help “predict more accurately how supraglacial lakes will affect ice sheet flow and sea level rise.”
In this video, Monika Auger of The Wall Street Journal describes how MIT engineers have developed a robotic cheetah that can jump over obstacles autonomously. Auger explains that the robot’s vision and path planning systems give it "complete autonomous control over its movements.”
James Temperton writes for Wired about new developments in robotics, highlighting the MIT cheetah robot that can now autonomously jump over hurdles and the miniature origami robots developed by MIT researchers that can fold self-assemble, walk, swim and dissolve.
Carl Franzen reports for Popular Science that the researchers behind MIT’s robotic cheetah have developed new algorithms that allow the robot to detect and jump over obstacles. “Now that the Cheetah 2 is capable of trotting, galloping, and jumping, it might be time to crown a new king of the concrete jungle,” writes Franzen.
The robotic cheetah developed by MIT researchers is now capable of jumping over obstacles without human assistance, reports Nidhi Subbaraman for BetaBoston. “As the robot approaches and detects a hurdle, algorithms plan its jumping trajectory unaided by its minders, each adjusting for the speed and position of the robot and the height of the hurdle,” Subbaraman explains.