Salon reporter Scott Eric Kaufman writes that MIT researchers have created a system that can read the pages of a closed book and could be used to examine manuscripts too fragile to handle. “The system works by shooting pulses of radiation from a terahertz camera and measuring how long it takes for them to bounce back."
CSAIL Director Daniela Rus speaks with Peter High of Forbes about the lab’s research, history and mission. Rus notes that CSAIL researchers are focused on "inventing the future of computing. We want to use computer science to tackle major challenges in fields like healthcare and education.”
MIT researchers have developed a new computational imaging technique that can read closed books, reports G. Clay Whittaker for Popular Science. The technique could be useful for “rare book research, where opening a book may be impossible due to damage, or not worth the risk of damage.”
Prof. Earl Miller speaks with Phyllis Korkki of The New York Times about why aging makes learning new skills more difficult. “Your mind’s bandwidth is smaller. You learn at a slower rate because less information is getting in,” explains Prof. Miller. To make learning easier, Miller says it's “important to keep yourself cognitively engaged.”
MIT researchers have developed a handheld sensor that can determine the ripeness of a piece of fruit, reports Deborah Netburn for The Los Angeles Times. The new device could “help farmers determine the optimal time to harvest fruit, or help them rapidly sort apples in storage facilities based on their ripeness.”
Prof. Robert Langer talks to Jessica Harris from NPR about his research on tissue engineering and drug delivery, the commercialization of his discoveries, and the many companies he has started. Langer says he started his lab based off his desire to improve people’s lives by conducting research “at the interface of chemical engineering and medicine.”
In a study of students offered $100 in bitcoin, MIT researchers found that early users were more likely to not use new technology if there were delays in accessing it, writes Kevin Lewis for The Boston Globe. The researchers found early adopters, “were more likely to cash out of their bitcoin if they had been delayed in getting it.”
Prof. Rosalind Williams reviews James Gleick’s new book about the history of time travel for The Washington Post. Prof. Williams writes that Gleick “gathers an engaging cast of characters who wrote these stories or otherwise explored the possibilities of time travel.”
MIT researchers have developed a new algorithm to create videos from still images, writes G. Clay Whittaker for Popular Science. “The system "learns" types of videos (beach, baby, golf swing...) and, starting from still images, replicates the movements that are most commonly seen in those videos,” Whittaker explains.
Writing for The Boston Globe, Sonia Rao spotlights the second annual HUBweek - a festival founded by MIT, MGH, Harvard and The Boston Globe – aimed at showcasing work from across the Boston area and inspiring “creativity among industry leaders and attendees.”
MIT researchers have developed a system that allows users to interact with video simulations, writes Joanna Goodman for The Guardian. The system “uses video to virtualize physical content so that it can interact with virtual content, so that when you see – on your smartphone – a Pokémon interact with a flexible object, you also see that object react.”
In a New York Times travel guide to Cambridge, Mass., Ethan Gilsdorf recommends that visitors explore the MIT campus, spotlighting the Ray and Maria Stata Center, the List Visual Arts Center and MIT’s collection of outdoor art. He also writes that “to study Cambridge’s innovative, D.I.Y. spirit, look no further than the MIT Museum.”
Angus Chen reports for NPR that MIT and Harvard researchers have captured footage showing bacteria invading antibiotics and transforming into superbugs. Postdoc Tami Lieberman explains that she hopes the visualization will help illustrate that “drug resistance is not some abstract threat. It's real."
Jericka Duncan of CBS Evening News speaks with Prof. Antoinette Schoar about her research investigating how credit card companies target consumers based, in part, on their level of education. “Customers who are more educated and financially more sophisticated receive very different credit terms,” she explains.
In an article for U.S. News & World Report, Robert Preidt writes that researchers from MIT and the University of Oxford have found that atrial fibrillation is tied to a wider range of conditions than initially thought. The researchers found that the disorder was associated with “heart disease, heart failure, kidney disease, sudden cardiac death and death from all causes.”