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Quantum simulator could help uncover materials for high-performance electronics

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In the media - fast company.

MIT researchers developed a new method to model how climate change will impact the number of “outdoor days” and found that Southern states in the U.S. will lose a significant number of outdoor days, reports Kristin Toussaint for Fast Company . Prof. Elfatih Eltahir explains that the concept of outdoor days is, “an attempt for me to bring the issue of climate change home. When someone tells you global temperatures are going to increase by 3 degrees, that’s one thing. If someone tells you that your outdoor days will be dropping by 20% or 30%, that’s another thing.”

In the Media - Quanta Magazine

A team of MIT researchers discovered a hard limit for the “spooky” phenomenon known as quantum entanglement, reports Ben Brubaker for Quanta Magazine.  The researchers found that quantum entanglement does not weaken as temperatures increase, but rather it vanishes above specific temperatures, a behavior dubbed the “sudden death” of entanglement. “It’s a very, very strong statement,” says Prof. Soonwon Choi of the findings. “I was very impressed.”

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Recent Highlights

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In the media, the boston globe.

Prof. Stuart Madnick speaks with Boston Globe  reporter Scooty Nickerson about how to prevent and address data breaches. “Do not put all your eggs in one basket,” says Madnick. “Assume they are breaking in, and make it so they can’t break into every one of [your] systems.” 

Financial Times

Writing for the Financial Times , Prof. Fiona Murray highlights the importance of developing a new approach to capital gains tax increases. “By focusing on the underlying behaviors we want to incentivize, we can structure taxes more effectively,” explains Murray. “When we provide tax breaks to companies for spending on R&D, we do it to spur behavior we know is good for the overall health of the economy.” 

Times Higher Education

Prof. Simon Johnson, one of the recipients of the 2024 Nobel Prize in economics, speaks with Times Higher Education  reporter Jack Grove about his journey from a childhood in Sheffield as the son of a screw manufacturer to studying for his PhD at MIT and serving as chief economist at the International Monetary Fund. Speaking about how to help ensure AI is used to benefit society and workers, Johnson explains: “Big tech doesn’t like us, but we need a plan for this, and the role of economists like us is to get ideas like this out there so they can be hammered out in the policy world.”

Popular Science

Popular Science reporter Laura Baisas writes that MIT physicists have discovered, for the first time, a black hole triple. “Since the new triple system includes a very far-off star, the system’s black hole was potentially born through [a] gentler direct collapse,” writes Baisas. “While astronomers have been observing violent supernovae for centuries, this new triple system may be the first evidence of a black hole that formed from this more gentle process.” 

Using the James Webb Telescope, researchers at MIT have found quasars, “some of the brightest objects in the cosmos, adrift in the empty voids of space,” reports Mark Kaufman for Mashable . “This latest cosmic quandary is not just about how these quasars formed in isolation, but how they formed so rapidly,” explains Kaufman. 

Semiconductor Engineering

Researchers at MIT have demonstrated “fully 3D-printed semiconductor-free resettable fuses,” reports Jesse Allen for Semiconductor Engineering . “The researchers plan to further develop the technology to print fully functional electronics and aim to fabricate a working magnetic motor using only extrusion 3D printing,” writes Allen. 

Researchers at MIT have developed “Clio,” a new technique that “enables robots to make intuitive, task-relevant decisions,” reports Jennifer Kite-Powell for Forbes.  The team’s new approach allows “a robot to quickly map a scene and identify the items they need to complete a given set of tasks,” writes Kite-Powell. 

New Scientist

MIT scientists have discovered a complex form of carbon, crucial for life on Earth, outside our solar system for the first time, demonstrating how “the compounds needed for life could come from space,” reports Alex Wilkins for New Scientist . “Now, we’re seeing both ends of this life cycle,” explains Prof. Brett McGuire. He explains that we can see the chemical archaeological record in our solar system in asteroids and on Earth, “and now we’re looking back in time at a place where another solar system will form, and seeing these same molecules there forming. We’re seeing the start of the archaeological record.”

Prof. Daron Acemoglu, a recipient of the 2024 Nobel Prize in economic sciences, speaks with CNBC about the challenges facing the American economy. Acemoglu notes that in his view the coming economic storm is really “both a challenge and an opportunity,” explains Acemoglu. “I talk about AI, I talk about aging, I talk about the remaking of globalization. All of these things are threats because they are big changes, but they’re also opportunities that we could use in order to make ourselves more productive, workers more productive, workers earn more. In fact, even reduce inequality, but the problem is that we’re not prepared for it.” 

Liquid AI, an MIT startup, is unveiling a new AI model based on a liquid neural network that “has the potential to be more efficient, less power-hungry, and more transparent than the ones that underpin everything from chatbots to image generators to facial recognition systems, reports Will Knight for Wired. 

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Featured multimedia.

MouthIO, is a dental brace that can be fabricated with sensors and feedback components to capture in-mouth interactions and data. This interactive wearable could eventually assist dentists and other doctors with collecting health data and help motor-impaired individuals interact with a phone, computer, or fitness tracker using their mouths.

A team of physicists from MIT worked with an animator to create a new explainer of the atomic nucleus. For the first time shapes and structures of nuclei in the quantum realm are visualized using animations and explained in this video.

January Scholars is a program that brings MIT undergraduates to Paris for two weeks of cultural and linguistic immersion. This includes visits and conferences given by experts in their field, as well as the experience of Parisian culture and daily life.

Diffusion Forcing is a new method of diffusion training that combines the strength of full-sequence diffusion models and next-token models making sequence denoising considerably more flexible. This new method results in higher-quality artificial videos and more precise decision-making for robots and AI agents.

A new method of 3D printing called speed-modulated ironing leverages heat-responsive materials to print objects that have multiple colors, shades, and textures in one step. This novel technique is faster and produces less waste than other 3D printing methods.

• View more videos on MIT's YouTube channel →

Interactive mouthpiece opens new opportunities for health data, assistive technology, and hands-free interactions

Scientists discover molecules that store much of the carbon in space

A new method to enhance effectiveness of cartilage repair therapy

Study: Fusion energy could play a major role in the global response to climate change

Aspiring to sustainable development

Physicists discover first “black hole triple”

Brain pathways that control dopamine release may influence motor control

Study: Marshes provide cost-effective coastal protection

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