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March 16, 2024
Greetings! Here’s a roundup of the latest from the MIT community.
 
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Treating “Chemo Brain”
Glowing human brain illustration with brain waves crossing through center horizontally
   
Patients undergoing chemotherapy often experience memory impairment and difficulty concentrating — a condition commonly known as “chemo brain.” But stimulating gamma brain waves may protect cancer patients from these cognitive effects.
Full story via MIT News →
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A new sensor detects harmful “forever chemicals” in drinking water
The technology could offer a cheap, fast way to test for PFAS, which have been linked to cancer and other health problems.
Full story via MIT News →
 MIT Heat Island
Is this the future of fashion?
Developed by the Self-Assembly Lab, the 4D Knit Dress uses several technologies to create a custom design and a custom fit, while addressing sustainability concerns.
Full story via MIT News →
 MIT Heat Island
Alexis Boykins wins national titles in weight throw and shot put
The third-year chemistry major is the first student-athlete in MIT track and field history to win multiple events at the same NCAA Championship meet.
Full story via MIT Athletics→
 MIT Heat Island
For people who speak many languages, there’s something special about their native tongue
An MIT study finds the brains of polyglots expend comparatively little effort when processing their native language.
Full story via MIT News →
 MIT Heat Island
Divine economics
For Allison Thompkins PhD ’11, economics and spirituality are complementary pursuits, shaped by an expansive understanding of disability. 
Full story via MIT Technology Review→
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Eight reasons Pi Day is the best day of the year at MIT
“No pi versus pie pun is left untold — or uneaten.”
Full story via MIT Open Learning→
 MIT Heat Island
#ThisisMIT
Student wears welding mask and protective gear as they drill silver digits onto a cylindrical structure. Text via @‌mitprojectmanus: Metropolis Makerspace hosted a Pi Day Welding and Pie maker social today, where students and staff welded Pi digits onto a sculpture and ate homemade pie. We have welded more than 600 digits so far across multiple events.
Follow @mitprojectmanus on Instagram→
In the Media
Five research teams will receive $125 million to study cancer’s biggest challenges // Forbes
Researchers from MIT and elsewhere are studying how T-cell receptors recognize antigens. The team “hopes to develop antigen-specific immunotherapies which could also have treatment implications for infectious diseases and allergies.”
Full story via Forbes→
How human intelligence inspired AI // The Economist 
Professor Daniela Rus, director of CSAIL, discusses the history and future of artificial neural networks and their role in large language models.
Full story via The Economist→
Why are more young adults getting colorectal cancer? // Boston Herald
Researchers from MIT and elsewhere are investigating the “pathways, risk factors, and molecules” involved in the development of colorectal cancer.
Full story via the Boston Herald→
LLMs can predict the future as well as — and sometimes better than — humans // Fast Company
An MIT study showed that large language models (LLMs) can be used to predict the future as well as humans can.
Full story via Fast Company→
How MIT’s new climate center stands out // Axios 
MIT’s new Climate Policy Center, directed by Professor Christopher Knittel, will aim to produce “policy-relevant research on shorter timescales, while also pursuing more typical, long-term peer-reviewed work.”
Full story via Axios→
Scene at MIT
Three members of the MIT community wear chef hats and aprons while posing with Tim the Beaver behind a table of pies.
Tim the Beaver joined MIT community members in handing out some 5,000 pies in Lobby 13 on Thursday, in honor of Pi Day! The popular event was co-sponsored by the Undergraduate Advising Center and MindHandHeart.
Infinite Numbers
Collage of images from various locations that display the numbers of pi, "3.14159265358979323846264338327."
For Pi Day this year, we turned numerals seen around campus into an irrationally beautiful collage. Thanks as well to all who applied for admission to the undergraduate Class of 2028. Per tradition, decisions became available on Thursday at 6:28 p.m. ET (Tau Time).
This edition of the MIT Weekly was brought to you by “Beaverheimer.” 🎞️

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