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Lava Spotted on Mercury

NASA flybys uncover planet's secrets

National Geographic Oct 30, 08 2:39 AM CDT

(Newser) - A spacecraft studying the planet Mercury has discovered evidence of enormous volcanic eruptions. The scale of the volcanic activity has astonished scientists, according to the National Geographic News . Images from the Messenger spacecraft reveal 3,600 cubic miles of solid lava inside a single crater—enough to drown the entire Baltimore/Washington metropolitan region under lava 12 times the height of the Washington Monument. More »

More about: NASA • MIT • spacecraft • Mercury

Multitasking
Is a Myth

Imaging shows brain quickly switches among tasks instead

NPR Oct 4, 08 9:33 AM CDT

(Newser) - Pull your ears away from that cell phone: Multitasking is a myth. New research shows we can’t really concentrate on two things at once; rather, the executive functions of the brain sweep quickly between multiple tasks. It’s thought that survival and the hunt made this rapid refocusing of attention an evolutionary boon. NPR checked in with researchers studying the phenomenon. More »

More about: MIT • scientific research • human evolution • University of Michigan • MRI • natural selection • multitask • executive function

Autism-Reversing
Drugs Show Promise

MIT scientists stumbled onto workaround for misfiring brain system

NPR Sep 24, 08 12:50 PM CDT

(Newser) - MIT scientists have discovered one of the mechanisms of Fragile X Syndrome, one cause of autism, and are developing drugs to treat it, NPR reports. The disorder, triggered by a genetic mutation, interferes with the normal links between brain cells, making those networks something like a car without a brakes. The new drugs limit acceleration, and have been successful in mice. More »

More about: brain • medical breakthrough • mental health • MIT • autism • scientific research • neurons

'Biohackers' Push DIY Science in the Basement

Movement aims to capitalize on American passion for invention

Boston Globe Sep 15, 08 12:28 PM CDT

(Newser) - Just as individual computer experts can create new programs and technological movements from home, a new generation of scientists wants to make do-it-yourself biology a household activity. Sessions such as those teaching laypeople how to extract DNA show "how much science can be about duct tape and having a few screws in the right place," one "biohacker" tells the Boston Globe. More »

More about: science • hackers • MIT • biology • science experiment

Colleges Adding Meow to Mix

MIT among higher-ed bastions allowing students to keep cats in dorms

Boston Globe Sep 9, 08 2:38 PM CDT

(Newser) - Colleges around the country are warming up to furry friends, the Boston Globe reports. MIT is in the vanguard, offering as an example its 8-year-old program that allows student-vetted felines to live in certain dorms. "They can really lighten the mood,” one senior says, “especially when students have been working many, many hours on problem sets"—though not all administrators are on board. More »

More about: college • pets • MIT • cats • college dorms

Suit Stops Hackers From Showing Subway Flaw

MIT students see bug in electronic fare cards; judge says zip it

Boston Globe Aug 10, 08 7:28 PM CDT

(Newser) - Boston’s mass transit system has blocked three MIT students from revealing a flaw in its electronic fare system, the Boston Globe reports. Most Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority customers use the CharlieCard, which allows them to store fares. By cracking it, the students vowed to give attendees at a Las Vegas computer conference “free subway rides for life." More »

More about: technology • Massachusetts • Boston • court • MIT • hacker • subway

Yoga Turning
B-Schoolers
on Their Heads

Capitalists latch on to search for inner peace

BusinessWeek Jul 20, 08 7:37 PM CDT

(Newser) - Inner peace through capitalism? Americans spend $5.7 billion a year on yoga classes and products, and now, BusinessWeek reports, yoga clubs are cropping up in some of the country's most high-pressured institutions: top business schools. "Having a yoga practice helped sort through the white noise," one MIT student said. More »

More about: business • Harvard • MIT • stress • University of Chicago • capitalism • Northwestern University • business school • yoga • BusinessWeek

Oil-Slurping Nanotechnology Next Front in Fighting Spills

MIT scientists create mesh that keeps water out, can hold 20 times its weight in crude

Economist Jun 4, 08 7:52 PM CDT

(Newser) - Cleaning up oil might soon get faster and cheaper, thanks to nanotechnology. Scientists at MIT have crafted a paper-like substance that can absorb up to 20 times its weight, the Economist reports. The mesh of nanowires, each 1/1,000th the diameter of a human hair, feels and looks like paper—and can repel water, making absorption of oil more efficient. More »

More about: environment • MIT • oil spill • nanotechnology • environmental damage

Robot Worms Offer
Cancer Hope

Tiny machines could identify, kill tumors early

ABC News May 13, 08 2:31 PM CDT

(Newser) - Little mechanical “worms” offer the latest hope for early detection—and eradication—of cancer. Researchers have created tiny machines that travel through the body, find tumors that are too small to see in normal scans, and then deliver drugs to kill them. The method has worked to spot tumors in mice, but it’s still years from human use, ABC reports. More »

More about: cancer • medical research • MIT • tumors • University of California at San Diego • University of California at Santa Barbara

Did the Egyptians
Invent Concrete?

New theory on the Pyramids: 'less sweat and more smarts'

Boston Globe Apr 22, 08 1:25 PM CDT

(Newser) - The Egyptians may have used concrete to build the pyramids, an MIT professor suggests, and he's using materials available at the time (and students as his slave labor), to test the theory on a small mock-up of a pyramid, reports the Boston Globe. "It could be they used less sweat and more smarts," says Linn Hobbs, a materials science prof, by casting in place blocks on the upper reaches of the pyramids using wooden molds. More »

More about: Boston • MIT • ancient Egypt • Pyramids

obituary

'Father of Chaos Theory'
Dead at 90

Edward Lorenz came up with concept of 'butterfly effect'

MIT News Apr 17, 08 10:13 AM CDT

(Newser) - The MIT scientist whose pioneering of chaos theory revolutionized science, has died at the age of 90, MIT News reports. Meteorologist Edward Lorenz came up with the concept of chaos theory after meticulously analyzing weather data and discovering microscopic differences could have huge effects, leading to his paper "Predictability: Does the Flap of a Butterfly's Wings in Brazil Set Off a Tornado in Texas?" More »

More about: science • MIT • scientific discoveries • meteorology

Sun Banks on Lasers
to Make Next Speed Leap

Using light, not wires, to connect chips could make computers 1,000 times faster

New York Times Mar 24, 08 1:49 PM CDT

(Newser) - Sun Microsystems is moving toward connecting computer chips using lasers instead of wires, a move that could make computers 1,000 times faster. The company snagged a $44 million Pentagon contract to continue work that could also mean smaller, more energy-efficient machines. It won’t be easy, though: A Sun researcher told the New York Times the chance of success is 50%. More »

More about: Pentagon • computer • Intel • MIT • IBM • computer chip • Hewlett Packard • Sun Microsystems • Stanford • supercomputer • University of California at San Diego • lasers

Scientists Find Planets Out of This World

Discoveries of, info about new heavenly bodies pour into NASA

Washington Post Mar 24, 08 9:30 AM CDT

(Newser) - Humans took centuries to discover the other planets in the solar system, but in the 13 years since the first additional planet was identified, planetary scientists have found 277 more worlds orbiting other suns. And those extrasolar planets are just the confirmed ones—many more are suspected, and excitement among scientists is building, reports the Washington Post. More »

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