Dr, Susan Whifield-Gabrieli discusses the importance of understanding the default mode network (DMN) in the human brain to the study of schizophrenia in a NOVA feature by Allison Eck. “This is first time we’ve found a neural system that actually reveals your inner self,” says Whitfield-Gabrieli.
Writing for Smithsonian’s section on the American Ingenuity Award winners, Matthew Shaer examines Professor Hugh Herr’s work developing bionic limbs. “To spend any time with Hugh Herr is to understand that he is already thinking beyond a world where bionics are used only to enable wounded people and toward a future where bionics are an integral part of everyday life.”
Sacha Pfeiffer of WBUR speaks with Jonathan Eig, the author of a new book on the history of birth control, about the role of MIT alumna Katherine McCormick in the development of the birth control pill. McCormick, a pioneer of the women's suffrage movement, funded much of the research that led to the creation of the pill.
David Weinberg of Marketplace reports that MIT researchers have developed a formula for concrete that reduces its greenhouse-gas emissions. Dr. Roland Pellenq explains that to make a “greener” cement, researchers examined concrete’s properties at the “sub-micron or big-nano level.”
Nidhi Subbaraman of BetaBoston writes that eyeMITRA, a new system developed by Professor Ramesh Raskar’s Camera Culture group, is a finalist in the Nokia Sensing XChallenge. The system monitors a wide range of health conditions by taking pictures of the retina. “Your eyes are a window into your health,” says Raskar.
Slate reporter Joshua Keating writes about a new paper, co-authored by Prof. Richard Nielsen, which examines why governments ratify human rights agreements. The authors found that “governments sometimes see ratification as a small concession to their domestic political opponents.”
Washington Post reporter Nick Anderson writes that edX, the online learning platform from MIT and Harvard, is now offering free online AP courses. Anderson writes that edX offering AP courses is a “potentially significant milestone for a movement that aims to bring college-level courses to high school students.”
Hannah Kulcher writes for The Financial Times about Jibo, a family robot created by Professor Cynthia Breazeal. “We call it the world’s first family robot as it is really about engagement with people; more like a helpful partner, rather than being a tool,” says Breazeal.
“Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have invented a glass screen that corrects bad vision, without the need for spectacles or contact lenses,” the BBC News reports. “The device is compatible with phones, tablets, TVs and even car dashboards.”
Rona Kobell writes for The Boston Globe writes about her experience at MIT’s annual Food Boot Camp. Attendees “learn about all aspects of food science, from our increasing resistance to antibiotics to why it’s so hard to remove dangerous bacteria from spinach.”
Wall Street Journal reporter Steven Rosenbush interviews Ben Fried, the CIO for Google, about the link between technology and company culture. In his interview, Fried highlights Prof. Alex Pentland’s work measuring social interactions among employees at specific companies, part of an effort to understand what makes teams successful.
Emma Stickgold of The Boston Globe writes about the life and work of Institute Professor Emeritus John S. Waugh, who passed away in August. “His pioneering research expanded the range of nuclear magnetic resonance as he showed how the phenomenon, which previously was used to examine liquids, could also be used to study solids,” writes Stickgold.
Mark Shanahan and Meredith Goldstein of The Boston Globe report that Professor Hugh Herr, postdoctoral associate Xu Liu and graduate student Steve Ramirez were recipients of the 2014 American Ingenuity Awards. Liu and Ramirez were honored for their discoveries on how memories form and Herr for his development of a bionic leg.
Boston Globe reporter Cate McQuaid writes about the growing popularity of performance art at Boston-area museums, highlighting the MIT List Visual Arts Center’s long tradition of presenting the medium. “But the List, at an institution as forward-thinking as MIT, is exceptional,” writes McQuaid.
In an article about new technologies that read people’s desires, Colin Barras of BBC News highlights MIT startup Affectiva, which uses computer programs to judge people’s reactions.