MIT researchers have developed a device that can remove carbon dioxide from the air, reports Nsikan Akpan for the PBS NewsHour. “I realized there was a gap in the spectrum of solutions,” says postdoc Sahag Voskian. “Many current systems, for instance, are very bulky and can only be used for large-scale power plants or industrial applications.”
Boston Globe reporter Scott Kirsner spotlights De-Ice, an MIT startup that is developing a new system to defrost planes. MIT graduate and De-Ice co-founder and CEO Alex Bratianu was inspired by wondering if he could “build something similar to your car’s rear-window defroster, where you press a button, and any frost would go away.”
Prof. Hugh Herr speaks with WGBH reporter Cristina Quinn about a new surgical technique that allows prosthetics to be controlled like human limbs. “The brain gets information about how muscles are moving, but the brain doesn’t get information about skin contact,” says Herr. “So what we are doing now, is we are putting skin cells next to the nerve.”
Wall Street Journal reporters Melissa Korn and Valerie Bauerlein write that MIT will receive more than $260 million from the Lord Foundation of Massachusetts. President L. Rafael Reif explains that the funds, which come with minimal restrictions, offer “the nimbleness to seize opportunities and address needs that can be hard to cover through traditional philanthropy.”
Washington Post reporter Susan Svrluga writes that MIT, Duke, USC and Cleveland Clinic will each receive $260 million from the Lord foundations. The funds will enable the institutions to “target priorities and needs that are pressing but may not be appealing to donors – whether that’s basic research, graduate-student scholarships, upgrades to outdated buildings or an ambitious drive to solve a global problem.”
AP writers Jeff Amy and Kantele Franko report that MIT is among four institutions that will each receive more than $260 million to support teaching and research. The more than $1 billion distribution to MIT, Duke, USC and Cleveland Clinic is one of the largest in the history of higher education.
Marissa Fernandez of Axios reports that MIT and three other institutions are each set to receive funds due to the sale of global technology and manufacturing company, Lord Corp.
New Scientist reporter Layal Liverpool writes that MIT researchers have developed a technique to fortify foods by encapsulating micronutrients in small protective particles. “The microparticles are made of a material that is resistant to heat, light and moisture, but which disintegrates when exposed to the acidic environment of the stomach."
Smithsonian reporter Emily Matchar writes that MIT researchers have developed a new navigation system that could be used to help delivery robots find their destination. “My vision there is that all our robots are going to be able to just understand really casual human instructions like, ‘hey, robot, go grab a coffee for me,’” explains graduate student Michael Everett.
New research by graduate student David Robinson finds that evictions are occurring at much higher rates in low-income, majority nonwhite neighborhood in Boston, reports Simón Rios for WBUR. In Roxbury,” one in 10 private market units had an eviction filing over three years,” explains Robinson. “That's a difference of 10 orders of magnitude between Roxbury and Beacon Hill.”
Writing for The Boston Globe, Prof. Paul Osterman examines how to improve low-wage jobs, underscoring the importance of effective job training programs and raising wages. “There is no single solution to the challenge of low wages and job quality,” writes Osterman. “We need a tool kit and a desire to invest in people, to set and enforce standards, and to work constructively with employers.”
Profs. Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee speak with Mark Whitehouse of Bloomberg about their new book, “Good Economics for Hard Times.” Banerjee notes that the book was written for, “people who feel they want a reasoned resolution to the conflicts of today but do not see how to get there.”
New York Times reporter Natalie Angier spotlights how MIT researchers have developed a new material with carbon nanotubes that captures at least 99.995 percent of incoming light. In an exhibit at the New York Stock Exchange, the material was used to cloak a 16.78-carat diamond, which makes the diamond appear to disappear.
LiveScience contributor Tim Childers writes that a new study co-authored by MIT researchers may shed led on what kickstarted the Big Bang by simulating “the critical transition between cosmic inflation and the Big Bang — a period they call ‘reheating.’”
Graduate student Elizabeth Wallace speaks with National Geographic reporter Robin George Andrews about her work investigating sediment found in blue holes in the Caribbean for clues as to the history of hurricanes in the Bahamas over the past 1,500 years.