A study by researchers from MIT’s AgeLab found many salespeople at Boston-area car dealerships were unable to thoroughly explain common automated driver assistance features, reports Aarian Marshall for Wired. “One of the myths about automation is that as the level of automation increases, less human expertise is needed,” explains research engineer Bryan Reimer.
MIT researchers have developed a new ultra-light material that is ten times stronger than steel, reports Tia Ghose for CBS News. Ghose explains that in the future, the material could potentially be used to build bridges, “which would be ultrastrong, lightweight, and insulated against heat and cold because of all the myriad air pockets in the material.”
Atlantic reporter Robinson Meyer writes about an MIT study that shows greenhouse gases lingering in the atmosphere will cause sea levels to rise for years. “The ocean remembers, and that’s really the key message,” explains Prof. Susan Solomon. “The sea takes a very, very long time to cool down once you’ve heated it up.”
In an article for Salon, Prof. Christopher Knittel notes there is a long history of discrimination against African-Americans in the transportation industry. While Prof. Knittel’s research shows ride-sharing services have decreased wait times in lower income areas, it also found “more frequent cancellations when a passenger used stereotypically African-American-sounding names,” among other discriminatory practices.
A study by MIT researchers examines how the growth in pet health care spending can provide insights into the increase in human health care costs, writes Austin Frakt for The New York Times. Emotional treatment spending may explain “high and sometimes heroic end-of-life health care spending whether on your dog or on your mother,” explains Prof. Amy Finkelstein.
Bruce Gellerman reports for WBUR that during an address at MIT, Sec. of State John Kerry urged action on climate change. “Unless we take the steps necessary to change the course that our planet is on, the impacts that we have already seen will pale in comparison to what we will witness in years to come," Kerry explained.
A new study co-authored by MIT researchers finds that methane lingering in the Earth’s atmosphere could cause sea levels to rise for hundreds of years after emissions have been curbed, reports Chelsea Harvey for The Washington Post. “The study underlines the importance of curbing greenhouse gas emissions as quickly as possible,” Harvey explains.
Boston Globe reporter Jim O’Sullivan writes about a speech Sec. of State John Kerry delivered at MIT on the perils posed by climate change. “If we don’t go far enough fast enough, the damage we inflict could take centuries to undo — if it can be undone at all. We don’t get a second chance on this one,” Kerry said.
During a speech at MIT on climate change, Sec. of State John Kerry urged researchers to continue developing clean energy technologies, reports Scott Malone for Reuters. Researchers and innovators will create "the technological advances that forever revolutionize the way we power our world," he noted.
Boston Globe reporter J.M. Lawrence writes about the legacy of D. Reid Weedon Jr., an MIT alumnus and life member emeritus of the MIT Corporation, who died at age 96. Lawrence notes that Weedon was a “key fund-raiser for MIT for 60 years,” and “worked with nine MIT presidents while mentoring many young fund-raisers.”
In an article about how to rebuild failed states, The Economist highlights Prof. Daron Acemoglu’s book “Why Nations Fail.” Acemoglu and his co-author Prof. James Robinson of the University of Chicago argue that political institutions largely determine a nation’s success, and that failed states provide “a general explanation for why poor countries are poor.”
Saqib Shah writes for FOX News that researchers from the Media Lab’s Electome project are launching an interactive tool “that compares tweets shared by the White House with a sampling of those shared by the public.”
By fusing graphene into a porous 3-D form, MIT researchers have created a strong, lightweight material, writes Brooks Hays for UPI. “The findings suggest a 3D material's tensile and compressive properties are dependent on the geometry of its structure, not the strength of the 2D material from which it is derived,” explains Hays.
MIT researchers have designed a strong, lightweight material that is ten times stronger than steel, reports Katharine Schwab for Co.Design. “If we can produce the material in big amounts, we can use that to somehow substitute some of the steel used for construction,” says research scientist Zhao Qin.
A study by MIT researchers provides evidence that California could see an increase in extreme precipitation events due to climate change, according to CBS San Francisco. “Using large scale future projections and factoring in policies to restrict global warming, researchers said the Bay Area could see more of those kinds of storms on a seasonal basis.”