Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi spoke at MIT’s Open Endoscopy Forum, where she discussed her past experience with sexual assault and her personal fight with endometriosis. Lakshmi “has been a longtime advocate of raising awareness for endometriosis since being diagnosed as a teen,” write Megan Johnson and Joelle Goldstein for People.
Prof. Tim Berners-Lee discusses his new startup Inrupt, which is “the first major commercial venture built off of Solid, a decentralized web platform he and others at MIT have spent years building,” writes Katrina Brooker for Fast Company. Inrupt’s mission is “to decentralize the web and take back power from the forces that have profited from centralizing it,” says Brooker.
Forbes reporter Amy Feldman highlights Desktop Metal, a company started by MIT graduate Ric Fulop and a number of MIT researchers, that has developed 3-D metal printers that are intended to “print fast enough and at a low enough cost to replace casting and CNC machining for numerous metal parts.”
Writing for The New York Times, Prof. Yasheng Huang examines what Jack Ma stepping down as executive chairman of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. signals about the future of China’s economy. Huang writes that Ma’s departure “adds to a gathering sense that China’s private sector, the engine of the economy, is losing steam — and faith.”
MIT spinout Affectiva Inc. has developed a new system that can study a driver’s face to help assess their mental state, reports Hiawatha Bray for The Boston Globe. Bray explains that the system “analyzes facial expressions to determine if a driver is distracted, angry, scared, sleepy, or drunk.”
A study by MIT and Yale researchers finds that the number of undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. may be two times greater than current estimates, reports Andres Picon for The Boston Globe. “Our goal was not to do anything political or policy-oriented; it was just to provide a better number, so that policy makers can debate over policies using it,” explains Senior Lecturer Mohammad Fazel-Zarandi.
A new book by Deborah Blum, director of the Knight Science Journalism Program, focuses on Harvey Washington Wiley’s “fight for pure food,” explains Joshua Johnson, host of NPR’s 1A. While food safety has improved, Blum believes “it’s not safe enough and that our safety mechanisms have been – as they were in Wiley’s time – weakened over the years.”
Forbes reporter Maribel Lopez writes about how researchers at the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab are tackling a variety of AI challenges with real-world applications. Lopez notes that it’s great to see organizations like MIT and IBM coming together to “bridge the gap between science and practical AI solutions that can be used for both commercial and social good.”
Bloomberg reporter Faye Flam writes about a study by Prof. Pierre Azoulay that examines how the death of a superstar scientist impacts intellectual progress. Azoulay and his colleagues found that, “a star's death is followed by an influx of new people into the field, coming from related fields, with different ideas,” Flam explains.
Akshat Rathi of Quartz reports that Breakthrough Energy Ventures will invest in Commonwealth Fusion Systems, a startup collaborating with MIT to make fusion energy a viable source of renewable energy. The closely-watched fund’s investment “signals to others that a breakthrough in fusion may be closer than most think,” writes Rathi.
Prof. Ibrahim Cissé has been named one of Science News’ 2018 SN 10 Scientists to Watch for his work investigating how genes are turned on, explains Science News reporter Tina Hesman Saey. Cissé is “everything you could want in a young scientist,” says Prof. Anthony Hyman of the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics.
The Clubhouse Network, which the MIT Media Lab helped launch 25 years ago, has opened its flagship headquarters in Dudley Square, reports Allison Hagan for The Boston Globe. Now in 100 cities in the U.S. and other countries, the program helps “young people to use technology for creative self-expression and collaborate with their peers and mentors,” explains Hagan.
“Top Chef” star Padma Lakshmi has been named a visiting scholar at MIT’s Center for Gynepathology Research and will be speaking at the center’s Open Endoscopy Forum, according to the Boston Herald. The forum will feature “top MIT minds and medical experts, all of whom will shine light on the push to make improvements within the specialty.”
CSAIL researchers have developed a technique that makes it possible to create 3-D motion sculptures from 2-D video, reports Jennifer Kite-Powell for Forbes. The new technique could “open up the possibility to study social disorders, interpersonal interactions and team dynamics,” Kite-Powell explains.
Boston Globe reporter Lillian Brown writes that Padma Lakshmi, host and executive producer of “Top Chef,” is joining the MIT Center for Gynepathology Research as a visiting scholar. “Too many people avoid talking about difficult subjects in women’s health,” said Lakshmi.