New Hobby Shop + noncontact ultrasound + welcoming students + going vegan

[view in browser]( MIT Weekly [MIT Logo] September 9, 2023 Greetings! Here’s a roundup of the latest from the MIT community.  Want a daily dose of MIT in your inbox? [Subscribe to the MIT Daily](. Makerspace for All #[Hayami Arakawa, left, Director of the MIT Hobby Shop, and MIT alum Randall Briggs work in the new location of the MIT Hobby Shop on campus.]( Hayami Arakawa (left) and Randall Briggs ’09, SM ’18 work in the new MIT Hobby Shop. For 85 years, MIT community members have come to the [Hobby Shop]( to build their passion projects. “We provide the space, machinery, and materials needed to refine your idea and work on it without time restraints or grades,” says Director Hayami Arakawa. Now the shop is opening in a new location on Massachusetts Avenue that features new and upgraded machinery, an additional 1,000 square feet of workspace, and lots of natural light. [Full story via MIT News →]( Top Headlines Laser-based system achieves noncontact medical ultrasound imaging Noncontact Laser Ultrasound offers capabilities comparable to those of MRI and CT but at vastly lower cost, in an automated and portable platform. [Full story via MIT News →]( [MIT Heat Island]( Molecule reduces inflammation in Alzheimer’s models A potential new Alzheimer’s drug represses the harmful inflammatory response of the brain’s immune cells, reducing disease pathology, preserving neurons, and improving cognition in preclinical tests. [Full story via MIT News →]( [MIT Heat Island]( “Move-in day is kind of like our Superbowl” Here’s how three MIT teams orchestrate the launch of a new school year. [Full story via MIT News →]( [MIT Heat Island]( Device offers long-distance, low-power underwater communication The system could be used for battery-free underwater communication across kilometer-scale distances, to aid monitoring of climate and coastal change. [Full story via MIT News →]( [MIT Heat Island]( MIT engineers design more powerful RNA vaccines The new approach could lead to intranasal vaccines for Covid-19 and other respiratory diseases. [Full story via MIT News→]( [MIT Heat Island]( Feet on Earth, head in the stars These five women at the MIT Media Lab are advancing aerospace science and research, driven by a love of our home planet. [Full story via MIT Technology Review→]( [MIT Heat Island]( #ThisisMIT #[Group of students and staff members wearing MIT t-shirts and baseball hats while outside.]( [Follow @MITstudents on X→]( In the Media Why don’t more people go vegan? It could be the label // National Geographic In a new MIT study, researchers found that people were less likely to order a menu item when it was specifically labeled as “vegan” compared to when it was not. [Full story via National Geographic→]( Feel like an imposter? It might be good for your career. // The Boston Globe Assistant Professor Basima Tewfik discusses her work studying imposter phenomenon (sometimes called “impostor syndrome”). [Full story via The Boston Globe →]( An old health insurance scheme in China may have saved millions // The Economist A working paper co-authored by Professor Jonathan Gruber explores the impact of the New Co-operative Medical Scheme (NCMS), “a health-insurance plan for rural Chinese that was launched in 2003 and folded into a more comprehensive program in 2013.” [Full story via The Economist→]( How to wage war on conspiracy theories // Politico Professor Adam Berinsky’s new book, “Political Rumors: Why We Accept Misinformation and How to Fight it,” examines “attitudes toward both politics and health, both of which are undermined by distrust and misinformation in ways that cause harm to both individuals and society.” [Full story via Politico→]( An MIT Welcome #[Video still shows student in MIT t-shirt, sunglasses, and backpack, looking to her left while standing in front of Kresge Auditorium.]( “If I’ve learned anything in my first eight months at MIT,” says President Sally Kornbluth, “it’s that this is a community of people who work almost impossibly hard yet still find time to have fun. If you’re arriving at MIT for the first time, welcome, and if you’re returning to campus, welcome back!” [Watch the video→]( [“] When you come across an old wrecked car at a junkyard, you think, what was it like before it was wrecked? Who was driving it? What was their life like? It allows you to metaphorically put yourself in another person’s shoes and sink into their life. —David Lucsko PhD ’05, who followed his doctoral program at MIT with a unique career as an automotive historian [Full story via Slice of MIT→]( Watch This #[Video still shows four McGovern Institute researchers pose for portrait in front of black background. Two of them are holding brain models.]( What makes us special as humans? Is it our curiosity? Our emotions and creativity? Having a social and moral mind? Researchers at the [McGovern Institute]( set out to examine different aspects of the brain and human experience, including the neural circuits underlying chronic pain, the relationship between language and thought, and the dynamics that give rise to addiction. In this video, you’ll meet 12 researchers whose work is revealing a remarkable picture of the human experience. [Watch the video→]( This edition of the MIT Weekly was brought to you by [an academic tool kit to start the school year](. ✏️ Have feedback to share? Email mitdailyeditor@mit.edu. Thanks for reading, and have a great week! —MIT News [Forward This Email]( [Subscribe]( [MIT Logo] This email was sent to {EMAIL} because of your affiliation with MIT, or because you signed up for our newsletters. [subscribe]( [update preferences]( [unsubscribe]( [view in browser]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Youtube]( [Instagram]( MIT News Office · 77 Massachusetts Avenue · Cambridge, MA 02139 · USA