Research led by Professor Paul Osterman in 2013 indicates that policymakers’ focus on the “skills gap” among American workers may be misplaced, writes David Scharfenberg for The Boston Globe. According to the study, “employers, for the most part, are simply not demanding the high-level talents that the skills gap rhetoric would suggest.”
Sam Henken writes for BostInno about MIT’s Kendall Square Initiative. "This project is really important to the academic mission of MIT," said Provost Marty Schmidt. "MIT as an institution really focuses on how we can take the ideas on this campus and move them out so they have impact."
Pheobe Gavin reports for Slate on self-assembling origami robots developed by Professor Daniela Rus’ team that could one day be refined for use in surgery or other medical applications: “The origami robot can walk, swim, push objects, climb inclines, and carry objects twice its weight.”
Casey Quackenbush reviews MIT visiting artist Anicka Yi’s new olfactory exhibition ‘Aliens and Alzheimers’ for The New York Observer. "Her exhibit is supposed to challenge the way we overlook our sense of smell in favor of taste and sight," writes Quackenbush.
WBUR reports on MIT’s plan to create six new buildings in Kendall Square. Three of the buildings would be used for “research and development, two for housing and one for retail and office space.”
MIT lecturer Ben Shields writes for USA Today about how Deflategate will impact business for the Patriots. “When all is said and done…the Patriots, the NFL and even Brady all stand to emerge as winners in business over the long-term,” writes Shields.
MIT researchers have found that different parts of the human brain work best at different ages, reports Susan Pinker for The Wall Street Journal. “Some abilities mature early, such as how fast we recall names and faces. Others, like vocabulary and background knowledge, are late bloomers,” Pinker explains.
Barb Darrow reports for Fortune that MIT researchers have discovered a vulnerability in Tor, a network known for cloaking user identities and locations, as well as a way to fix the problem. It’s estimated that 2.5 million people use Tor daily, Darrow explains.
Popular Science reporter Levi Sharpe writes that MIT researchers have developed an object recognition system that can accurately identify and distinguish items. “This system could help future robots interact with objects more efficiently while they navigate our complex world,” Sharpe explains.
MIT researchers have “developed a new ring-like device made of a polymer that can deliver drugs to the stomach over the course of a week,” writes Alexandra Ossola for Popular Science. The team anticipates that the technology could be used for a variety of medical applications.
A new study on cancer drug development by MIT researchers found that pharmaceutical firms overlook drugs for early-stage tumors, writes Jordan Graham for The Boston Herald. “There’s dramatically more investments in the late-stage treatments,” says Prof. Benjamin Roin.
Tim Logan of The Boston Globe writes about MIT’s plans “to turn a string of Kendall Square parking lots into six new buildings for lab space, offices and apartments,” describing it as “the latest bid to turn the bustling innovation district into a 24/7 neighborhood and meet soaring demand from both companies and residents to be there.”
Fred Thys reports for WBUR that the MIT connection shared by U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and Ali Akbar Salehi, head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, likely had a positive impact on the nuclear negotiations. “Salehi and Moniz likely bonded over their shared connection to MIT — and ultimately, the pair were able to help forge a historic deal,” Thys explains.
Justine Hofherr writes for Boston.com about Prof. Dava Newman, highlighting her new role as deputy administrator of NASA, her work planning for a manned mission to Mars and her goal to encourage more young girls to pursue careers in STEM. “I’m motivated every single day because my passion is exploration,” says Newman.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton writes for The Boston Globe about the importance of businesses sharing profits with their employees, highlighting Prof. Zeynep Ton’s research on the topic. “Research out of MIT has shown that well-paid and well-trained employees tend to work more efficiently, stay on the job longer, and provide better customer service,” Clinton explains.