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Prof. Richard Hynes is one of the winners of this year’s Lasker Award, reports Benjamin Mueller for The New York Times, for his work describing how “cells bind to their surrounding networks of proteins and other molecules — findings that pointed the way toward treatments for a number of diseases.”

Prof. Paulo Lozano speaks with 7 News about NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft, which slammed into an asteroid Monday night, demonstrating how an asteroid threatening Earth could be deflected. Lozano notes that there are millions of space rocks in the solar system, “many of them are characterized but the grand majority are not, and these objects can basically take out a city. Being prepared for these kinds of events will be very important.”

Writing for The Boston Globe, Prof. Carlo Ratti discusses his research exploring the impact of remote work on social relationships. “There does not need to be a complete return to the office; remote work has undeniable benefits, not least flexibility,” writes Ratti. “However, businesses and organizations must develop a new work regime, a methodology that emphasizes the best of what physical space can do for us.”

Hasier Larrea MS ’15 - CEO of Ori, a company that creates expandable tiny apartments - writes for Newsweek about his journey and inspiration for developing expandable housing options. Larrea writes that Ori is focused on creating, “expandable urban apartments that are more flexible, functional, affordable and sustainable—in short, living spaces that can suit the amazing diversity of people who want to live in the world's most incredible cities.”

Katie Rae, CEO of The Engine, an entity created by MIT to help support tough tech startups, speaks with Akshat Rathi of Bloomberg about the importance of investing in climate technology. “We have fundamental risks that, if we don’t tackle with real deep science and engineering, that will take us a full step forward, or two steps forward, we’re in trouble,” says Rae.

Prof. Emeritus Donald Sadoway and his colleagues have developed a safer and more cost-effective battery to store renewable energy, reports David Abel for The Boston Globe. The battery is “ethically sourced, cheap, effective and can’t catch fire,” says Sadoway.

Prof. Peter Shor has been named one of four honorees for this year’s Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics for his contributions to the field of quantum information, reports Daniel Garisto for Scientific American. All of Shor’s work, “led to new views of quantum mechanics and computing,” writes Garisto. 

VulcanForms, an MIT startup co-founded by Prof. John Hart, is a 3D printing company that aims to provide cutting edge, clean and futuristic manufacturing, reports Timothy Aeppel for Reuters. “VulcanForms builds metal parts by layering on and fusing together materials bit by bit – rather than cutting them out of blocks of metal or stamping them out in metal foundries,” writes Aeppel.

MIT researchers have developed a new in-home device that can help monitor Parkinson’s patients by tracking their gait, reports Hiawatha Bray for The Boston Globe. “We know very little about the brain and its diseases,” says Professor Dina Katabi. “My goal is to develop non-invasive tools that provide new insights about the functioning of the brain and its diseases.”

Prof. Tanja Bosak speaks with Science reporter Eric Hand about how scientists plan to study rock samples from Mars for clues as to whether the planet once had a magnetic field and for signs of ancient life, such as the tough lipid molecules that can form cell walls. “You hope for an outline of a cell,” she says. “You will never find peptides and proteins, but lipids can persist.”

Researchers at MIT and elsewhere have discovered a new exoplanet within a star’s habitable zone, reports Popular Mechanics. The exoplanet “requires further investigation to see if [it] has a life-supporting atmosphere – and possibly water,” writes Popular Mechanics.