Writing for The Huffington Post, Peyton Fleming spotlights MIT alumna Kate Cincotta’s efforts to improve drinking water in northern Ghana. Fleming writes that through her startup Saha Global, Cincotta aims to empower “local women in extremely poor villages like Yepala to treat the contaminated water - and make a little money in doing so.”
A paper-based test that can detect the Zika virus, developed by Prof. James Collins and his research team, is featured in a list of the year’s most important health innovations compiled Alyssa Favreau and Claire Maldarelli for Popular Science. Unlike conventional lab tests, the paper-based test can provide results within three hours.
A recent report co-authored by graduate student Jonathan Frankle finds that at least half of American adults are pictured in a facial recognition network used by law enforcement, writes Steven Nelson for U.S. News & World Report. “A minimum of 117 million adults have been entered into such a network because they are licensed,” Nelson writes.
MIT alumna Margaret Guo was named the 2016 NCAA Woman of the Year during a ceremony in Indianapolis, reports Emily McCarthy for The Boston Globe. Guo says the award “reflects the amount of support I’ve had and the people around me who have pushed me to become better than I could have been by myself.”
Prof. Donald Sadoway speaks with Tom Ashbrook of NPR’s On Point about potential alternatives for lithium-ion batteries. “If we could make a battery based on aluminum we’d have something that is powerful, safe, and cheap,” says Sadoway.
Melik Kaylan writes for The Wall Street Journal about “Syria: A Living History,” an exhibit curated by Prof. Nasser Rabbat. Kaylan writes that the exhibit is “a poignant, cathartic show. The visitor can’t help feeling awe and veneration for the immortal works of art mixed with a bittersweet sense of what humans are capable of—at their best and worst.”
MIT researchers have developed a stretchy, biocompatible material that could be implanted in a patient’s body and used to stimulate cells or detect disease, according to FOX News. The hydrogel “could bend and twist in a patient’s body without breaking down.”
Damian Carrington writes for The Guardian that MIT researchers set a new world record for the highest plasma pressure ever recorded using the Alcator C-Mod reactor. Carrington notes that the “MIT record shows that using very high magnetic fields to contain the plasma may be the most promising route to practical nuclear fusion reactors.”
Prof. Nasser Rabbat curated an exhibit at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto showcasing Syria’s legacy and important contributions to world heritage, reports Nigel Hunt for CBC News. Prof. Rabbat hopes the exhibit will “weave from the history of Syria a glimmer of hope for the future.”
Guardian reporter Amy Fleming spotlights Prof. Robert Langer’s work revolutionizing medicine. Fleming notes that “Langer’s trailblazing research in nanotechnology, which ranges from haircare to cancer treatments, has already improved the lives of at least 2 billion people.”
CBC reporter Nora Young explores how MIT researchers have developed a new material, inspired by beaver fur, that could help keep surfers warm. “In sports technology there's a great need for textiles that have great insulating properties in water, but still let you stay agile and nimble,” explains graduate student Alice Nasto.
In an article for The New York Times, Maria Konnikova writes that in his new book, Tim Hartford cites MIT’s Building 20 as an example of how autonomy and flexibility can inspire creativity and new innovations. Konnikova writes that Building 20 “gave rise to some of the best ideas of the 20th century.”
Ian Sample of The Guardian writes that the Human Cell Atlas project, which will be co-led by the Broad Institute, aims to map the cells in the human body . “This will have a substantial impact on our scientific understanding and as a result, on our ability to diagnose, monitor and treat disease,” says Prof. Aviv Regev.
Researchers from the Broad Institute will co-lead an initiative aimed at mapping and describing every cell in the human body, writes Kate Kelland of Reuters. "We now have the tools to understand what we are composed of, which allows us to learn how our bodies work, and uncover how all these elements malfunction in disease," explains Prof. Aviv Regev.
MIT was named the number one midsize school in the Northeast in The Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education rankings. MIT took the number two spot in the overall rankings.