Personalized Footwear

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With the 130th Boston Marathon on the horizon, MIT researchers have designed a running shoe with a midsole that uses granular convection to deliver individualized performance. The technology could one day be adapted for packaging, wheelchairs, and more, says Associate Professor Skylar Tibbits.

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MIT study reveals a new role for cell membranes

Long thought to be mainly a structural support, the cell membrane also influences how cells respond to signals and may contribute to the growth of cancer cells.

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A regulatory loophole could delay ozone recovery by years

Scientists say an exception in the Montreal Protocol for the use of ozone-depleting feedstocks could set the ozone recovery back seven years.

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A philosophy of work

As the NC Ethics of Technology Postdoctoral Fellow, Michal Masny is advancing dialogue, teaching, and research into the social and ethical dimensions of new computing technologies.

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#ThisisMIT

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Listen: How to engineer the ultimate marathon run // GBH Curiosity Desk

Professor Anette “Peko” Hosoi and Andy Harland of Loughborough University lace up their shoes to chat about how runners can optimize their marathon performance. The Boston Marathon “is an iconic race and it is challenging for a lot of different reasons,” Hosoi notes. “Boston starts on a downhill, so you feel great … but if you are not managing your energy by the time you get to Heartbreak Hill at mile 20 you are going to be suffering.”

Full story via GBH Curiosity Desk →

Did You Know?

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The “smoot” is a unit of measurement equal to 5 feet, 7 inches — the height of Oliver Smoot ’62 during his undergraduate days at MIT. The Massachusetts Avenue bridge is marked by the measurement, with its length spanning 364.4 smoots. As we prepare for Monday’s Boston Marathon, enjoy a recent photo of the 262-smoot line, which has a decimal point added to note the length of the marathon in miles. Can you calculate the marathon’s distance in smoots? Find the answer below!

This edition of the MIT Daily was brought to you by the journey to 30 pies. 🥧

Smoots answer: By converting the length of the Boston Marathon (26 miles, 385 yards) and 1 smoot to inches, then dividing the two, it becomes 1,661,220 inches / 67 inches = The Boston Marathon is about 24,794 smoots long!

In observance of the Patriots Day holiday, the MIT Daily will return on April 21.

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