MIT News Newsletter

	Massachusetts Institute of Technology
December 7, 2016
MIT News: top stories
A weekly digest of the Institute’s research and innovation

Unique visual stimulation may be new treatment for Alzheimer’s

Noninvasive technique reduces beta amyloid plaques in mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease.

How the brain recognizes faces

Machine-learning system spontaneously reproduces aspects of human neurology.

“Google Docs” for life sciences accelerates discovery

Cloud-based platform assists in managing, sharing data facilitates research.

Steppe by steppe

Mongolian anthropologist Manduhai Buyandelger studies a society in transition.

Design your own custom drone

CSAIL system lets users design and fabricate drones with a wide range of shapes and structures.

Community forum gives insight into how The Engine will run

MIT leadership answers questions about the mission and features of the new accelerator.

In the Media

Writing for The Atlantic, Ed Yong spotlights a study by MIT researchers that identifies a potential new treatment for Alzheimer’s – using pulses of light to stimulate brain waves. Yong writes that the study “heralds a completely new approach to dealing with Alzheimer’s—changing neural activity, rather than delivering drugs or chemicals.”

MIT researchers have found that water can stay frozen, even when heated to boiling temperatures, when molecules are placed inside tiny carbon nanotubes, reports Sam Lemonick for Forbes. The researchers hope to use the “ice-filled tubes as wires to move protons,” a key step in creating hydrogen fuel cells.

Wall Street Journal reporter Bob Davis writes about a study by Prof. David Autor that shows U.S. industries facing increased competition from China reduced R&D spending. Autor notes the findings show the importance of federal support for R&D.