geekosystem

We've already spotted more than 800 exoplanets beyond our Solar System, and more than a hundred of these were identified by NASA's Kepler mission in the four years since its launch merely by observing one small swath of sky. But now NASA has its sights on even more worlds with the newly green-lit Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), a spacecraft set to launch in 2017. Hit the jump to find out what makes this one so different.

Physicists and astronomers have hypothesized the existence of dark matter for decades, but evidence for the substance (if we can call it that?) has been scant at best -- until now, that is. The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer experiment (aka AMS), that detector of cosmic rays mounted on the International Space Station, has identified millions of antimatter particles that may provide long-sought evidence for the existence of dark matter.

Folks over at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have crafted what they are calling an "intelligent co-pilot"  for cars. Essentially, the car performs a series of calculations whilst someone is driving and then decides whether or not it needs to take the wheel to avoid any unfortunate accidents. Most programs of this kind are set to perform autonomously and let the user sit back and enjoy the ride but this one instead only steps up to bat when something goes horribly wrong.

Not many folks I know enjoy having to receive an injection. Mostly this has to do with the fact that they don't like needles. Needles can leave bruises, aren't the most accurate of tools and involve piercing our protective layer of skin to even work. But that all might change soon with Massachusetts Institute of Technology's development of an incredibly accurate jet-injection device. Welcome to the future.

Getting ripened fruit to your local supermarket is actually a pretty complicated process. Many fruits ripen when ethylene binds to a particular receptor. That means that if the fruit is exposed to too much ethylene, they'll be overripe when they hit the stands. If not enough, they'll be sitting there looking just shy of ripe and therefore less likely to get purchased. Thank goodness for Timothy M. Swager and the folks on his team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. They've developed a carbon nanotube-based sensor that should eliminate our fruit ripening woes.

The trouble with supersonic travel is multifaceted: There's the cost, the sound, the efficiency, and the sound -- did we mention the sound? Sonic booms are, not surprisingly, incredibly loud, and what you may not know (I didn't) is that aircraft traveling at such speeds are making that noise the entire time they're flying. Perhaps it's not surprising that supersonic flight has been banned over land, out of concern for people's wellbeing and worry over the sound damaging local wildlife. However, when it comes to reducing sonic booms, two wings are better than one.

Renowned as a premiere institute of higher learning for the sundry sciences, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced a new program that will bring a free version of one of its classes online. The program is called MITx, and the first of its fully automated courses kicks off this fall with 6.002x Circuits and Electronics. In addition to no costs, there are no prerequisites, anyone anywhere can sign up, and will receive a certificate upon completion. Seems like everyone is giving away university courses these days, huh?

Darrell Irvine at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his colleagues have found an interesting way to upgrade the naturally occurring cells that fight cancer, the T-cells. The T-cells belong to a group of white blood cells focused on cell-mediated immunity. When cancerous cells are inside the body, certain T-cells swarm over and destroy the cancerous cells; however, various tumors tend to emit an unknown mix of chemicals that weaken T-cells if they get too close, thus preventing the T-cells from destroying the cancerous area. Irvine's team found they could strengthen these T-cells' fight against cancerous cells by attaching 100 nanoparticle capsules to a single T-cell without impairing the cell's function, and fill the capsule with drugs, essentially creating a nanopill that strengthens the T-cell.