A study co-authored by researchers at MIT finds that hospitalizations only cause about 4 percent of bankruptcies among nonelderly adults in the U.S., reports Tom Murphy of the Associated Press. Researchers gathered data from “more than a half million adults under 65 in California who had a hospitalization between 2003 and 2007 that wasn't tied to childbirth.”
“SoFi”, a robotic fish operated by a hydraulic pump and created from pieces made by a 3-D printer in CSAIL, could be the key to discretely observing marine life, writes Deborah Netburn of The Los Angeles Times. “I hope we can begin to peek into the secret lives of underwater creatures," said CSAIL director Daniela Rus.
The “One Laptop Per Child” project, originated in the Media Lab, was the subject of a study that revealed the importance of having a laptop in the home for “access to information, educational games, and tools for self-expression.” In an op-ed for Mashable, Sandra Nogry calls on educators to encourage the use of technology for learning in developing countries.
Using sound waves manipulated by a Super Nintendo controller, CSAIL’s “SoFi” robotic fish “may provide biologists a fish’s-eye view of animal interactions in changing marine ecosystems,” writes JoAnna Klein for The New York Times. SoFi is fairly inexpensive and hardly disturbs surrounding marine life, making it a promising solution for underwater observation.
Research scientist Bryan Reimer speaks to WBUR about the ramifications for the autonomous vehicle industry in response to the recent fatality caused by a self-driving Uber. “As we look forward…we need to work together in ways through policy, technology development, advocacy, to set a pathway to safety,” Reimer says.
CSAIL researchers have developed a soft robotic fish, known as SoFi, that can “capture high-resolution photos and video with a camera built into its nose,” writes Will Dunham for Reuters. “The robot can be used as a marine biology instrument and also to measure pollution in coastal waters, to create maps, to do inspection, to monitor and track,” said Prof. Daniela Rus.
In a new working paper, Prof. Daron Acemoglu and his co-author argue that the rise in automation is linked to the aging of the blue-collar population. “The study shows that workers feeling the brunt of automation in lost jobs and lower wages are between the ages of 36 and 55. Those findings should make it easier for policy makers to track down the most affected workers—and help them survive the robot rush,” writes Ana Campoy for Quartz.
Kagome metal, a new discovery made through research by Assistant Prof. Joseph Checkelsky and graduate student Linda Ye, allows for the transfer of electrical currents “across atomic layers in the crystal” without any energy loss. Aristos Georgiou for Newsweek writes that such material may enable quantum computers "to solve certain problems that even the most powerful classical computers struggle to calculate.”
Research led by Dheeraj Pasham, a postdoc at MIT's Kavli Institute, provides evidence “that black holes feed on passing stars then eject energetic jet streams,” writes Laney Ruckstuhl for The Boston Globe. “Such black hole jet streams can have large implications for the galaxies they enter. Pasham said they can regulate the growth of a galaxy because of their energy levels."
For his blog “In the Pipeline”, Science writer Derek Lowe discusses the potentials of graphene as a superconductor, highlighting research led by associate Prof. Pablo Jarillo-Herrero. He goes on to mention the same technology as enabling MIT’s “tokamak-design fusion reactor that is far more compact than any previous attempts.”
BBC News reports on the creation of Kagome metal, an “electrically conducting crystal, made from layers of iron and tin atoms,” that could be used in more powerful quantum computers. The shape of the conductor, developed by Assistant Professor Joseph Checkelsky and graduate student Linda Ye, mimics a popular pattern in Japanese basket-weaving.
Meghan Bartels of Newsweek discusses a discovery from the Kavli Institute of the first tidal disruption flare or “jet” that’s been produced due to a supermassive black hole consuming a star in space. “This is telling us the black hole feeding rate is controlling the strength of the jet it produces,” NASA Einstein Postdoc Fellow and lead researcher Dheeraj Pasham said.
Writing for Space.com, contributor Nola Taylor Redd describes new research from MIT and Johns Hopkins University that shows a black hole "gobbling down a stellar meal." The finding is "providing insight into how black holes devour matter and affect the evolution of galaxies," explains Redd.
Senior Lecturer Robert Pozen and Sloan Fellow Kashif Qadeer write for The Wall Street Journal about flaws in the SEC’s methodology for requiring companies to disclose “pay ratios”, which is “the CEO’s compensation divided by the median employee’s.” They point out adjustments must be made especially “for companies that depend heavily on part-time workers.”
Cogito, a Media Lab spinout, is used by MetLife to “detect signs of distress and other emotions in a customer’s voice,” writes Tom Simonite for Wired. The program helps customer service representatives more consistently use an appropriate tone when handling often sensitive customer calls.