Is this you? As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.
Claim your profile
Articles by Madeleine Turner
Shared book-reading to support early oral language and literacy skills: knowledge and practice of teachers in a UK nursery school
ABSTRACT Shared book reading plays a pivotal role in fostering children’s oral language and emergent literacy skills. Early years educators, as primary facilitators of early learning, are strategically positioned to harness the power of shared book reading for these crucial developmental skills. However, the degree to which early years educators recognise the importance of shared book reading and implement effective shared reading practices remains uncertain.
One lab's detective work reveals secrets of our immortal cells
Most cells in our body live and die. But the germline, the cells that produce eggs and sperm, must carry on forever. How the germline successfully produces the next generation is a long-studied question. Research Threads examines how answering one question uncovers more questions to be solved. In our first installment of Research Threads, we follow the research of Whitehead Institute Member Yukiko Yamashita.
Studying stasis to learn about aging
Closely related species can have wildly different lifespans — but why is that so? One strange but well-established fact is that animals that enter states of dormancy, such as daily torpor or hibernation, live much longer compared to closely related species. Curious to know how these animals might be pressing pause on aging, researchers in Whitehead Institute Member Siniša Hrvatin's lab have developed a way to induce a state of stasis in animals that don't normally experience periods of dormancy.
Video: What is the microbiome?
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Valhalla Fellow Lindsey Backman explains what the microbiome is and the roles that different members of our microbiomes play in health and disease.
Letter to the editor: Montana needs to address its oral health care
Access to oral health care is a pervasive issue, linking the American Indian reservations of Montana and rural regions in Kenya, where limited access sets the stage for a lifetime of health challenges. Geographical remoteness, absence of health insurance, and low health literacy contribute to this crisis, necessitating urgent efforts to enhance dental health services. Rural populations, distanced from healthcare facilities, grapple with timely access to care.
3 Questions: Honing robot perception and mapping
By Madeleine Turner | MIT Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems Luca Carlone and Jonathan How of MIT LIDS discuss how future robots might perceive and interact with their environment. Walking to a friend’s house or browsing the aisles of a grocery store might feel like simple tasks, but they in fact require sophisticated capabilities.
Honing robot perception and mapping
Walking to a friend's house or browsing the aisles of a grocery store might feel like simple tasks, but they in fact require sophisticated capabilities. That's because humans are able to effortlessly understand their surroundings and detect complex information about patterns, objects, and their own location in the environment. What if robots could perceive their environment in a similar way?
Exploring new methods for increasing safety and reliability of autonomous vehicles
Exploring new methods for increasing safety and reliability of autonomous vehicles by Madeleine Turner for MIT Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems Boston MA (SPX) May 24, 2023 When we think of getting on the road in our cars, our first thoughts may not be that fellow drivers are particularly safe or careful - but human drivers are more reliable than one may expect. For each fatal car crash in the United States, motor vehicles log a whopping hundred million miles on the road.
Exploring new methods for increasing safety and reliability of autonomous vehicles Original
When we think of getting on the road in our cars, our first thoughts may not be that fellow drivers are particularly safe or careful—but human drivers are more reliable than one may expect. For each fatal car crash in the United States, motor vehicles log a whopping hundred million miles on the road. Human reliability also plays a role in how autonomous vehicles are integrated in the traffic system, especially around safety considerations.
Strengthening trust in machine-learning models
Probabilistic machine learning methods are becoming increasingly powerful tools in data analysis, informing a range of critical decisions across disciplines and applications, from forecasting election results to predicting the impact of microloans on addressing poverty. This class of methods uses sophisticated concepts from probability theory to handle uncertainty in decision-making. But the math is only one piece of the puzzle in determining their accuracy and effectiveness.
Harnessing the immune system to fight cancer
Sometimes research takes scientists to unexpected places, even alpaca farms. Tobiloba Oni is one of two Valhalla Fellows at Whitehead Institute who are researching ways to harness our natural defenses to combat cancer, an approach called immunotherapy. Oni found himself at an alpaca farm last summer not to admire the alpacas' fluffy coats and endearing underbites, but to draw blood. In the alpaca blood, Oni hopes to discover antibodies that may recognize and bind to pancreatic cancer cells.
Form follows function: Structure of cell growth regulator GATOR2 finally revealed
An important function of our cells' signaling pathways is to coordinate growth with environmental cues, such as the availability of nutrients in the cell's environment. Cell growth plays an important role in normal cell function—for example, building muscle in response to exercise— and it also goes awry in diseases such as cancer.
Major pipelines hit legal snags. But it’s business as usual in Texas. Original
BLANCO, TX—Teri Albright and Milton Shaw, a couple living near Blanco, Texas, were bracing themselves as the coronavirus began appearing in the state. Both doctors working in long-term care facilities, the couple was busy learning new procedures to protect patients from the novel virus. On a Sunday afternoon in March, Albright tossed tea bags into a pitcher at home. Expecting the tint of iced tea, she was surprised to see the water turn a darker brown.
The battle over pipelines, population and property rights in Texas’ Hill Country
GILLESPIE COUNTY, Texas—On a mid-morning in August, Andy Samson plods up a steep hill, wading through thigh-high grass. We stop at the top, a perfect vantage point of Hershey Ranch. Below us, a white-tailed deer bounces between hedges. The landscape looks pristine. Oaks and cedars speckle the hillside green and golden-brown.
The battle over pipelines, population and property rights in Texas’ Hill Country
GILLESPIE COUNTY, Texas—On a mid-morning in August, Andy Sansom plods up a steep hill, wading through thigh-high grass. We stop at the top, a perfect vantage point of Hershey Ranch. Below us, a white-tailed deer bounces between hedges. The landscape looks pristine. Oaks and cedars speckle the hillside green and golden-brown.
Nutrient runoff starves corals in the Florida Keys
Rising ocean temperatures, a consequence of climate change, are known for bleaching and killing corals. But a study, published today in Marine Biology, reveals another overlooked culprit: excess nitrogen. Between 1984 and 2014, researchers from the Florida Atlantic University studied Looe Key, a reef off the Florida Keys. Three decades of data gave them an unprecedented look at the shifting quality of marine waters.
Nutrient runoff starves corals in the Florida Keys
Rising ocean temperatures, a consequence of climate change, are known for bleaching and killing corals. But a study, published today in Marine Biology, reveals another overlooked culprit: excess nitrogen. Between 1984 and 2014, researchers from the Florida Atlantic University studied Looe Key, a reef off the Florida Keys. Three decades of data gave them an unprecedented look at the shifting quality of marine waters.
“A friend is gone:” Handpicking hardy corals to save them from warming waters
When Steve Palumbi and a group of scientists arrived in American Samoa in 2017, they saw a grim scene. Acropora hyacinthus, a charismatic coral shaped like large plates, was dying out. Some of the researchers had known the dying corals on an individual basis for years. Palumbi first visited American Samoa in 2008, after learning about a lagoon with particularly warm waters. Despite balmy temperatures reaching up to 95 degrees Fahrenheit, the lagoon harbored a thriving coral reef.
“A friend is gone:” Handpicking hardy corals to save them from warming waters
When Steve Palumbi and a group of scientists arrived in American Samoa in 2017, they saw a grim scene. Acropora hyacinthus, a charismatic coral shaped like large plates, was dying out. Some of the researchers had known the dying corals on an individual basis for years. Palumbi first visited American Samoa in 2008, after learning about a lagoon with particularly warm waters. Despite balmy temperatures reaching up to 95 degrees Fahrenheit, the lagoon harbored a thriving coral reef.
Handpicking hardy corals to save them from warming waters
When Steve Palumbi and a group of scientists arrived in American Samoa in 2017, they saw a grim scene. Acropora hyacinthus, a charismatic coral shaped like large plates, was dying out. Some of the researchers had known the dying corals on an individual basis for years. Palumbi first visited American Samoa in 2008, after learning about a lagoon with particularly warm waters. Despite balmy temperatures reaching up to 95 degrees Fahrenheit, the lagoon harbored a thriving coral reef.
What’s in a name? Legislatures labor over lab meat label
Last Christmas, South Carolina State Representative Randy Ligon happened to read an article about cell-cultured meat. He asked his daughter, a biology graduate student, what she thought. "She just said, 'you know, that sounds suspect,'" Ligon told EHN. "Of course, she went back to school and left me hanging with nothing but, 'yeah, you ought to look into that, Dad.'" His interest soon turned into concern.
What’s in a name? Legislatures labor over lab meat label
Last Christmas, South Carolina State Representative Randy Ligon happened to read an article about cell-cultured meat. He asked his daughter, a biology graduate student, what she thought. "She just said, 'you know, that sounds suspect,'" Ligon told EHN. "Of course, she went back to school and left me hanging with nothing but, 'yeah, you ought to look into that, Dad.'" His interest soon turned into concern.
Getting off the Ground: Dee Ann Divis on the Power of Drone Journalism
Photo by Gregor Hartl During her time as editor of Inside Unmanned Systems, Divis has seen the miniature flying machines evolve into a newsroom must-have. In the midstream of a journalism career that had already taken her to the Washington Examiner, United Press International, and Inside GNSS, Dee Ann Divis decided to start a magazine — about drones. And in the five years since, she’s seen the miniature flying machines evolve from novel curiosity to newsroom must-have.
Writing Under Pressure: Simson Garfinkel on (Almost) Meeting His Deadline For ‘The Computer Book’
Computers are “devouring” the world, the journalist turned computer scientist told KSJ fellows last month. Three years ago, Simson Garfinkel received an email from an agent. Sterling Publishing was searching for an author to write “The Computer Book,” the latest in a series of coffee table books that each offer a visual history of a single technical subject.
In Pig Brains, Researchers Spark New Activity After Death
Conventional wisdom tells us that a mammal brain dies minutes after it stops receiving oxygen. But a recent study, published in Nature on Wednesday, brings into question our current definitions of life and death. Researchers from the Yale School of Medicine restored some cell function in the brains of dead pigs. Visual: Phil Hearing/Unsplash Researchers from the Yale School of Medicine successfully revived cellular activity in the brains of pigs slaughtered for meat.
Journalism in the Age of Disinformation
Photo by Elana Gordon Decker, a research fellow at Harvard’s Shorenstein Center, is working to understand disinformation—where it originates, how it spreads, and how it can be corralled. It took less than a month for Gritty—the furry, wide-eyed mascot of the Philadelphia Flyers hockey team—to go from lovable monster to cautionary tale of the post-truth era.
Meet this year's Knight Science Journalism Fellows: Rachel Gross
“I want to make stories that help women and everyone better understand their own bodies.” Rachel E. Gross has long been fascinated with science, religion, and the way the two intersect. The science part seems almost preordained. The California native grew up around a dad who was a theoretical physicist, a stepmom who was a molecular geneticist, and a mom who was a family practice medical doctor. And Gross learned early on about religion’s cultural sway.
Train Station Takeover Raises Awareness for Redwoods
Save the Redwoods League is bringing the beauty of the redwood forest to thousands of commuters at. For this limited time, images of the coast redwood forest cover the walls, floor, and ceiling of a 180-foot tunnel on the fare-gate level. You can reach the tunnel on Sansome Street just north of Sutter Street in the Financial District.
Show More
loading
Actions
Is this you?
As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.Get in touch with Madeleine
Contact Madeleine, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.
Learn more about Muck Rack