In the Media

“The concept was conceived two years ago when Bill Gates visited Robert Langer’s MIT lab,” writes Sarah Gray for Salon about a new implantable, contraceptive microchip. The chip can be controlled remotely and lasts for 16 years.

Rachel Raczka writes for Boston.com about MIT startup MicroCHIPS’ new remote-controlled contraceptive device. The implantable microchip releases levonorgestrel, an active ingredient in certain forms of oral contraception, and can be turned on or off with the flip of a button.

BBC News reporter Dave Lee writes that MIT researchers have developed an implantable contraceptive chip that can be controlled via remote control. "The ability to turn the device on and off provides a certain convenience factor for those who are planning their family," explains Robert Farra.

Boston Globe reporter Bryan Marquard memorializes the life and work of MIT Professor John G. King. “John G. King wanted students, and essentially everyone else, to watch science unfold before their eyes. It was, he believed, the only way to truly learn a subject,” Marquard writes.

In a piece for The Washington Post, Gregory Rodriguez highlights new MIT research on diversity. “The authors concluded that homogenous groups ‘were actually further than diverse groups from an objective index of accuracy,’” Rodriguez writes. 

John McDermott of The Financial Times interviews Professor Junot Díaz about his childhood, his career as an author and teaching at MIT.  

Callum Borchers of The Boston Globe writes about MIT startup Phoodeez, an online catering service that, “handles just about every aspect of a client’s meal plan. It can supply a smorgasbord of cuisines, keeps track of gluten-free dishes and other dietary needs, and plans a different menu for the office every week.”

In a piece for Wired, Robert McMillan examines new MIT research showing that computers “powered by the latest ‘deep learning’ algorithms,” are catching up in tests that compare their intelligence to those of monkeys. 

Wall Street Journal reporter Elizabeth Yuan writes about the OrigamiUSA convention and Professor Erik Demaine’s talk about his work designing multi-functional origami systems that can be programmed. “You can imagine a piece of furniture that turns into a chair, folds into an umbrella, anything you want,” Demaine explains. 

Gill Plimmer of The Financial Times interviews Professor Graham Jones about how social media has influenced how people gossip. “English speakers are increasingly talking not just about what other people say and do, but about the thoughts and feelings behind their words,” writes Plimmer. 

Hal Hodson writes for The New Scientist about the Smart Morphable Surface developed by Professor Pedro Reis. The surface dimples into different depths and patterns to create the best aerodynamics for the conditions.

In a piece for Slate, Jane Hu examines a new study that finds that elite male faculty members in the life sciences tend to hire fewer women than their female counterparts. “Fifty-two percent of biology Ph.D.s are women, but their representation shrinks to 39 percent at the postdoc level, and only 18 percent at the tenured professor level,” Hu reports. 

Nature reporter Elizabeth Gibney examines a new study that highlights gender bias in elite research labs. “We do think that maybe this shows the need for elite faculty members to make a stronger, more proactive effort to reach out to talented women,” says graduate student Jason Sheltzer.

Institute Professor Noam Chomsky writes for The Huffington Post about how U.S. foreign policy is determined. Chomsky argues that U.S. policy urgently needs reexamination in order to address proximate and existential threats such as nuclear weapons and climate change.

“The study suggests that when female trainees are shut out of the top labs, they don’t get access to the resources, networking, and other opportunities that are critical to advancing their careers in academic science,” The Chronicle of Higher Education writes of a new study on gender bias in elite research labs.