Professor Otto Scharmer writes for The Guardian about potential ways to modernize the 21st century economic system to more effectively create well being for everyone. “The most important driving force lies in our outdated paradigms of economic thought, which continue to represent a blind spot to measuring wellbeing,” writes Scharmer.
Issie Lapowsky writes for Wired about an MIT study that demonstrated that students who completed a physics class online learned as effectively as those who took it in person. “What’s more, the results were the same, regardless of how well the online students scored on a pre-test before taking the class,” Lapowsky writes.
Professor Rolland Pellenq’s team has developed a new formula that would reduce the greenhouse gas emissions associated with concrete production by half, reports Julia Pyper for Scientific American. The mixture also achieves "two times the resistance of normal cement, in mechanical resistance to fracture,” says Pellenq.
“People need to help each other out, right?” Those are the words of an MIT student whose act of kindness prompted one nearby witness to share the story in a letter to the Boston Globe.
Tech reporter Tushar Kamath writes that officials have announced a period of reflection on the community’s recent losses. “This is our way of saying the community does care and we want to be there for each other and provide support to each other,” says Chancellor Cynthia Barnhart.
In a piece for Scientific American, Amy Robinson, creative director of EyeWire, writes about multiphoton microscopy, which is used to study how the human brain adapts and grows new synapses. Robinson’s piece is part of a series about emerging neurotechnologies at MIT.
Heather Kelly of CNN writes about the breast pump hackathon hosted at MIT recently. The winning design, the Mighty Mom utility belt, turned a “pump into a hands-free portable device that is worn discreetly under clothes and can work while the wearer goes about her regular routine,” writes Kelly.
Keith Wagstaff of NBC News reports on a new MIT study, which found that students who complete online courses end up with the same learning gains as those who attend class in person. “That goes for people of all education levels, from those with a high school diploma to those with a Ph.D.,” writes Wagstaff.
Nathan Matias, Ph.D. student at the MIT Center for Civic Media, will lead a discussion at the Mozilla Festival in London on creating better online social interactions, writes Steve Annear for Boston Magazine. “Hopefully we will be able to create a guide to partying on the Internet,” says Matias.
A hackathon held over the weekend at the MIT Media Lab sought to develop a better design for the breast pump, writes Rachel Ehrenberg for The Atlantic. “[M] ost women will tell you that the experience of using the breast pump sucks, literally and figuratively,” says Media Lab researcher Catherine D'Ignazio.
William Becker writes for The Huffington Post about a study from the MIT Energy Initiative and the Harvard University Center on the Environment that examined American public opinion on energy sources. "Americans don't really divide along partisan lines when it comes to their energy preference,” the researchers reported.
Richard Harris reports on research by Professor Richard Larson that found that the effects of funding changes to the National Institute of Health on research are amplified due to the way the institute distributes grants. “Larson's analysis offers lessons for avoiding the pain of boom-and-bust funding,” writes Harris.
In a piece for The New Yorker, Michelle Nijhuis writes about the Make the Breast Pump Not Suck! hackathon, held at the MIT Media Lab. The winning team came up with an idea for a, “portable, hands-free pump that could be used while commuting or caring for small children,” writes Nijhuis.
Aviva Rutkin of New Scientist writes about the breast pump hackathon held at the MIT Media Lab. "These days, we have smart everything," says Catherine D’Ignazio, a research affiliate at MIT who co-organized the event. "Why isn't the breast pump a little bit smarter too?"
“Nestled in the heart of MIT’s campus, the MIT Media Lab is one of the most important storehouses of invention — developing imaginative technologies that might one day have common, everyday uses for all of us,” writes BetaBoston reporter Dennis Keohane in a piece about the MIT Media Lab.