In the Media

Kelsey Atherton of Popular Science writes that MIT researchers have created a hydrogel robot that could be used to create “soft, gentle hands that can help surgeons when they’re working inside squishy, delicate human bodies."

Paula Rogo of Essence writes that MIT senior Tiera Guinn, who currently works as a Rocket Structural Design and Analysis Engineer for NASA, is making history before she graduates. “She is showing us that you can aim for the stars, literally,” writes Rogo. 

CSAIL researchers Tuka Al-Hanai and Mohammad Ghassemi speak to the BBC’s Gareth Mitchell about their system that can detect the tone of a conversation. Ghassemi explains that this research will provide “the first steps toward feedback,” for people who struggle to read social cues. ​

A new study by Prof. John Van Reenen finds that Britain’s exit from the European Union could cause a “negative impact on gross domestic product per capita of almost four times that of previous estimates,” reports Lucy Meakin for Bloomberg. 

CNBC reporter Karen Gilchrist writes that a study by Prof. John Van Reenen shows that Brexit could end up reducing the incomes of people living in Great Britain by as much as 9.5 percent. “The report points to a 6.3 to 9.5 percent reduction in GDP per capita with the U.K. outside of the EU's single market,” Gilchrist explains. 

Boston Globe reporter Dan Adams writes that a new General Electric commercial featuring Prof. Mildred Dresselhaus imagines what it would be like if scientists were celebrities. The ad shows "adoring fans dressing up as Dresselhaus for Halloween, texting Dresselhaus emojis to one another, and chasing her down the street for a selfie.”

Prof. David Autor writes for The Huffington Post that imposing tariffs could slow the U.S.’s economic growth. A better solution, he writes, is smarter trade policy and to “aggressively enforce our current policies to protect intellectual property, enforce rule of law, and require equal treatment from our trading partners.”

Graviky Labs, co-founded by Media Lab alum Anirudh Sharma, is creating soot traps for exhaust pipes that can capture carbon emissions and turn the pollutants into inks. Known as Kaalink, the product “can collect enough carbon to produce one fluid ounce of ink, enough to fill a pen, in about 45 minutes,” writes Liz Stinson for Wired.  

MIT researchers have developed an ingestible device that is powered by stomach acid and can deliver drugs for up to one week, reports Brooks Hays of UPI. "Our work helps pave the way toward a new era of pill-sized electronics, which can operate over the course of weeks or even months in the gastrointestinal tract,” says Giovanni Traverso, a research affiliate at the Koch Institute.

MIT researchers have developed a pill that uses stomach acid to run sensors in the body and can deliver drugs over a long period of time, writes Hallie Smith of Boston Magazine. By attaching zinc and copper electrodes to the exterior of the pill it “reacts with stomach acid to create electricity,” explains Smith.

MIT’s Green Building was lit up with a blue “5” after the Patriot’s fifth Super Bowl win, reports Jaclyn Reiss of The Boston Globe.

CSAIL researchers have developed a wearable AI system that allows users to detect the tone of a conversation in real-time, reports Janet Burns for Forbes. Using two algorithms to analyze data, the researchers were able to “classify each five-second chunk of conversation as positive, neutral, or negative,” explains Burns.

Prof. Bob Weinberg of the Whitehead Institute spoke with Karen Weintraub at WBUR about the best ways to prevent cancer. Reducing obesity and smoking will lead to “decreases in cancer mortality, at least over the next decade or two, that dwarf anything I and my colleagues can produce in terms of new, miraculous cures,” he said.

An MIT study finds that online and in-store goods are sold at the same price 70 percent of the time, reports Meghan Woolhouse of The Boston Globe. Prof. Alberto Cavallo believes online and in store prices are typically the same because shoppers would likely react badly “to price differences for the same goods from the same retailer.”

Before she even graduates from MIT, senior Tiera Guinn is working for NASA’s Space Launch System, writes Zahara Hill of The Huffington Post. Guinn, who designs and analyzes parts for the rocket that will transport people to Mars, advises young girls with similar aspirations to “look forward to your dream and you can’t let anybody get in the way of it.”