Postdoctoral associate Phillip Nadeau speaks with CBC reporter Nora Young about a new ingestible electronic device developed by MIT researchers that could potentially be used to transmit patient data or deliver medications. Young explains that the new device “doesn't require a battery, because it's able to create an electrical current from the acid in your stomach.”
Science Friday reporter Ira Flatow and Motherboard reporter Daniel Oberhaus discuss a wearable device developed by CSAIL researchers that can detect the emotional tone of a conversation. Oberhaus explains that the researchers hope the device could one day be “applied with much finer emotional granularity, to the point where you can tell if the story was exciting or funny.”
Katie Rae, CEO and president of The Engine, speaks with Boston Globe reporter Scott Kirsner about the new venture, which is aimed at supporting startups focused on “tough tech.” Rae says The Engine is “a very hopeful project in my mind — investing in important ideas over the long-term.”
Jonathan Amos reports for the BBC News that scientists around the world are close to obtaining the first image of a black hole. Data from multiple observatories will be compiled at MIT’s Haystack Observatory where “very smart imaging algorithms have had to be developed to make sense of the [Event Horizon Telescope]'s observations,” writes Amos.
Researchers at MIT have designed a new living material infused with cells that could one day be used as a wearable sensor, writes Brooks Hays for UPI. The researchers used the new material to “design gloves and bandages that light up when they come in contact with target chemicals.”
In this Wired video, Prof. Daniela Rus speaks about how her research group is developing and applying autonomous vehicle technology to other vehicles, in particular wheelchairs. Rus explains that she envisions the technology “impacting anyone who is confined in their motions. I see it applied in hospitals, in retirement communities, in assisted living communities.”
Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Akst writes that MIT researchers have developed a way to “tap into the insight of the expert minority within a crowd—a minority whose views would otherwise be swamped in a simple majority vote or poll.” The technique significantly enhanced “the wisdom of crowds, reducing errors by more than 20%.”
Boston Globe reporter Tim Logan writes that MIT has unveiled preliminary plans for the Volpe Center site. Logan writes that the plans currently include “1,400 housing units — one-fifth set at affordable rents — 1.7 million square feet of office and lab space, street-level retail and three acres of greenspace on the campus.”
Adam Vaccaro of The Boston Globe reports that Prof. Christopher Knittel is working with Uber to identify and reduce racial bias observed in ride-sharing services. Knittel explains that he is working on designing “follow-up studies to minimize the amount of discrimination that’s occurring.”
Prof. Thomas Kochan writes for Fortune that the new U.S. Secretary of Labor should support policies that unite the workforce and address issues brought forth during the presidential election. A strategy of investing in and empowering employees, “will generate both good long-term profits and support good wages and careers,” Kochan writes.
Boston Herald reporter Jordan Graham writes that a committee co-chaired by Prof. Richard Hynes has made a series of recommendations for the use of gene editing in humans. Graham explains that the committee recommended “leaving the door open to altering the human genome in ways that would affect the descendants of patients with hereditary diseases and disabilities.”
A committee co-chaired by Prof. Richard Hynes has presented a set of guidelines for using the CRISPR gene-editing tool in humans, reports Lauran Neergaard for the AP. Neergaard writes that Hynes noted, “safety is one reason for caution, as scientists will have to learn whether editing one gene has unwanted downstream effects.”
Washington Post reporter Sarah Kaplan writes that a new study by MIT postdoc Julien de Wit provides evidence of a star that pulses when in proximity to its orbiting planet. De Wit and his colleagues found that the “star's brightness oscillated according to the exact rhythm of its planet's orbit.”
In this episode of NOVA that explores how origami is being used in scientific innovations, Prof. Erik Demaine speaks about his work applying math to create new origami figures. “It’s mind blowing that the simple operation of folding lets you transform a boring square of paper into super complicated, crazy 3-D shapes," he explains.
Washington Post reporter Joel Achenbach writes that a committee co-chaired by Prof. Richard Hynes has presented a series of guidelines for applying CRISPR gene editing in humans. “We say proceed with all due caution, but we don’t prohibit germline, after considerable discussion and debate,” says Hynes. “We’re talking only about fixing diseases.”