New York Times reporter Margot Sanger-Katz writes about a new working paper by Prof. Jonathan Gruber on the extent to which a fear of lawsuits increases the number of medical tests and treatments a patient receives. “There is defensive medicine,” says Gruber. But that “is not explaining a large share of what’s driving U.S. health care costs.”
MIT researchers have designed new robots the size of a human egg cell that can sense their surroundings, writes Brooks Hays for UPI. These nanoscale robots could one day be used to develop less invasive colonoscopies or aid in the search for structural vulnerabilities inside oil and gas pipelines, explains Hays.
WGBH reporter Gabrielle Emanuel speaks with Research Affiliate Catherine D’Ignazio about how she launched the Make the Breast Pump Not Suck Hackathon as a graduate student at MIT, and how the hackathon inspired new innovations in the breast pump industry. “In no other space of technology would the technology provide for such a terrible experience,” says D’Ignazio of the state of the breast pump.
Writing for Space.com, Chelsea Gohd reports that a team of researchers led by Hans Moritz Guenther at MIT’s Kavli Institute has observed a young star devouring a planet. “The researchers hope to get a better idea of what really goes on in the life of a young star and how infant planets manage to survive,” explains Gohd.
Reporting for Boston 25, Bob Dumas highlights the Warrior-Scholar Project, which introduces soldiers to universities such as MIT in an effort to help them transition back to civilian life. “We want to take our enlisted veterans, many of them first-generation college students, and expose what life would be like for them at a top-tier school,” explains the project’s executive director.
TechCrunch reporter Brian Heater writes that MIT researchers have developed self-powered robots the size of human cells that can float indefinitely in liquid or the air. Heater explains that the robots could be used to monitor hard to reach environments, such as pipelines or the human body.
In this video, VOA reporter Steve Baragona looks at different methods of harvesting water from fog. Baragona highlights a new system developed by MIT researchers, explaining that in some areas where the water supply is dwindling, “the technology is far cheaper than other options like desalination.”
Writing for HuffPost, Michael Windle and Tim Russell of the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics say the U.S. can better serve survivors of disasters like Hurricane Maria by offering more permanent opportunities to relocate. “Survivors should be able to choose between programs geared to returning and rebuilding, and those providing permanent relocation services,” urge the researchers.
The Echo Nest, an audio-tech company founded by MIT alumni, has identified the most danceable number one hit songs, writes Dan Kopf for Quartz. Echo Nest’s algorithm determines the “danceability” of a song based on the tempo and beat regularity, Kopf explains, “so a bridge that even briefly changes the mood is highly penalized.”
Using data from MIT’s Living Wage Calculator, CNBC "Make It" has mapped out the earnings needed for a single person to live comfortably in every state, reports Emmie Martin. The calculator, explains Martin, “takes into account factors such as child care and health insurance, in addition to food and other regular costs.”
CNBC reporter Courtney Connley spotlights Mareena Robinson Snowden, the first black woman to earn a PhD in nuclear engineering from MIT. Snowden’s advisor, Senior Research Scientist Richard Lanza, says that, “Mareena has that rare combination of passion, enthusiasm and technical and policy expertise."
Jesus Diaz of Fast Company writes that researchers from MIT’s Self-Assembly Lab are experimenting with the “truly wild” future of manufacturing with their 4-D printing technology that allows designers to rapidly print flexible, complex shapes. “It’s not hard to imagine the complex products and materials that this new technology could enable,” writes Diaz.
MIT alumna Stephanie Lampkin has been named to Fortune’s 40 Under 40 List. As the founder and CEO of Blendoor, Lampkin “is determined to mitigate systemic bias in tech and beyond,” writes Ellen McGirt for Fortune.
A new study co-authored by researchers at MIT finds that, “human activities are altering Earth's seasons in a way that is creating a greater contrast between summer and winter in much of North America, Europe and Eurasia,” reports Andrew Freedman for Axios.
The BBC’s Jane Wakefield attends a breast pump hackathon at MIT, where she meets with “a group of women determined to improve this old-fashioned tech.” MIT research affiliate Catherine D’Ignazio highlights matters like comfort, discretion and milk tracking capabilities as the type of issues the hackathon looks to solve.