MIT researchers have developed a new capsule that allows HIV medication to be delivered over the course of a week, and could allow patients to forgo daily pills, reports Ed Cara for Gizmodo. Researchers also found that using this method for the pre-exposure pill, “would manifest in approximately a 20 per cent increase in efficacy” for weekly dosage compared to the daily regimen.
In an article for NBC News about solar power, Corey Powell highlights Prof. Jeffrey Grossman’s work developing a material for a new chemical heat battery that could release energy on demand. “We’re creating materials that store thermal energy in completely new ways,” Grossman explains.
Writing for The New York Times, Thomas Edsall highlights research by Profs. Daron Acemoglu and David Autor examining how automation and trade impacted the 2016 presidential election. “The swing to Republicans between 2008 and 2016 is quite a bit stronger in commuting zones most affected by industrial robots,” explains Acemoglu. “You don’t see much of the impact of robots in prior presidential elections.”
Daniel Michaels and Andy Pasztor of The Wall Street Journal highlight Prof. Dava Newman’s BioSuit in an article about upgrades and improvements in space suits. Regarding the skintight, flexible suit, Michaels and Pasztor write that Newman’s suit differs in that, “pressure comes not from gas but from tiny electrically activated coils embedded in fabric.”
With additional cash expected as a result of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, public companies should make capital investments in sustainable project and programs, suggests Senior Lecturer Robert Pozen in a piece for Fortune. “Now is the time for public company executives to invest for the future—to create jobs and expand local facilities,” writes Pozen.
A study by Prof. Daniel Rothman shows that there could be enough carbon in the Earth’s oceans by 2100 to trigger a sixth mass extinction, reports Mark Fischetti and Jen Christiansen for Scientific American.
Scientific American reporter Prachi Patel writes that a new study by Prof. Elsa Olivetti found that demand for cobalt, which is critical to electric vehicle batteries, could soon outstrip supply. “The best lithium battery cathodes [negative electrodes] all contain cobalt, and its production is limited,” Olivetti explains.
HuffPost reporter Sophie Gallagher writes that MIT researchers have developed a new capsule that would allow patients to take a week’s worth of HIV medications in one dose. The researchers believe that, “the innovation could improve the efficacy of HIV preventative treatment by approximately 20%.”
MIT alumna Chrystal Kornegay has been appointed the executive director of MassHousing, reports The Boston Globe’s Adrian Walker. Kornegay, the first woman and person of color to hold the position, is tasked with finding ways to fund affordable housing.
With virtual personal assistants becoming more commonplace, Research Affiliate Jimena Canales suggests in an NPR article that it may be time to reconsider our views of them. Despite knowing that AI is not real, “the boundary between the simulated and the real is as contested as it ever was,” she writes.
MIT researchers have developed a new slow-release capsule that could free HIV patients from having to take a daily dose of medication, according to the BBC. “Changing a medication so it only needs to be taken once a week rather than once a day should be more convenient and improve compliance,” explains research affiliate Giovanni Traverso.
Prof. Junot Díaz speaks with Boston Globe reporter James Sullivan about his new children’s book, “Islandborn.” The book was inspired by two of his godchildren, who asked him to write a book featuring kids that looked like them. Díaz related to their request, noting that as a child, he felt “the world I was immersed in wasn’t represented at all.”
UPI reporter Alan Mozes writes that MIT researchers have developed a new capsule that could be used to deliver a week’s worth of HIV medications in a single dose. “The new pill sits in the stomach for a full week, as each of seven pill compartments opens up, one-by-one, to deliver a 24-hour dose of three HAART drugs,” Mozes explains.
During a broad-ranging conversation with Tom Moroney of Bloomberg News, President L. Rafael Reif discusses why education, the free-flow of talent and federal investment in fundamental scientific research are key components to America's success. Reif explains that, in his view, the foundation of our future is, “talent and believing that our research and investments will benefit the American economy.”
Neural networks developed by CSAIL researchers that can identify the contents of images, videos, and audio are the basis for a new system that has added background sound to Google Street View, writes Mark Wilson of Co.Design.