MIT scientists have uncovered how memories are linked with positive and negative emotions, reports Dennis Thompson for CBS News. "The memory information stored is not only about what happened, but also about the context in which the event occurred," says Professor Susumu Tonegawa.
Carolyn Johnson writes for The Boston Globe about Professor Susumu Tonegawa’s research into rewiring memories in rodents. “That adds to a body of research from MIT over recent years that has shown that administering a drug can wipe out a negative memory in mice,” writes Johnson.
A team led by Professor Susumu Tonegawa effectively manipulated the emotions associated with certain memories in mice, reports Jonathan Webb of BBC News. “By artificially activating circuits in the brain, scientists have turned negative memories into positive ones,” writes Webb.
In a piece for Finance & Development, the International Monetary Fund’s quarterly magazine, Carmen Rollins highlights 25 economists influencing the global economy. The list includes five MIT faculty members: Esther Duflo, Amy Finkelstein, Kristin Forbes, Parag Pathak and Iván Werning.
Steve Annear of Boston Magazine writes about the rollercoaster constructed as part of the festivities that welcomed MIT students back to campus. “I’m so grateful to be here at MIT and surrounded by such amazing people who can pull off such awesome projects,” says MIT student Rachel Davis. “I’m happy that I can call this place my home.”
Seth Borenstein of the Associated Press speaks with Professor Kerry Emanuel about a draft report on climate change released by the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Emanuel explains that the report raises the problem of how much risk we are willing to accept, as scientists are unsure about how much the world will warm.
James Hamblin of The Atlantic reports on the new MIT study that shows implementing a cap on carbon emissions would result in health care savings. An economy-wide cap and trade program "would result in a net benefit of $125 billion in human health costs,” writes Hamblin.
Slate reporter Jordan Weissman writes about Professor David Autor’s new paper, presented at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas’s City’s Economic Symposium. In the paper, Autor argues that robots and computers will not replace humans in the labor market as they lack the ability to reason like the human brain.
Charles Pulliam-Moore of the PBS NewsHour reports on new research from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab showing that humans are happier and more productive when robots are in control. The research, “could lead to situations in which human employees could be empowered by machines, rather than replaced by them,” Pulliam-Moore writes.
Sara Murray of The Wall Street Journal speaks with MIT Sloan student Erica Swallow about the gender gap in large venture capital firms. Swallow discusses her op-ed recounting her experience interning with a venture capital firm over the summer.
Ken Silverstein writes for Forbes about research conducted at MIT that indicates enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) could help reduce carbon emissions. A panel assembled at MIT in 2012 estimated that geothermal energy could provide 100,000 megawatts of electricity in the U.S. in 50 years.
CBC News reports on the MIT study examining how carbon reduction policies impact health care spending. “They discovered that the greatest health savings came from the cap-and-trade program, with savings coming in at 10.5 times the $14.5-billion cost of such a program,” CBC reports.
Professor M. Taylor Fravel speaks with Edward Wong of The New York Times about the controversial new maps released by the Chinese military that display disputed regions with India as Chinese. Fravel argues the maps “get undue attention, as they almost always reaffirm existing claims rather than depict new ones.”
Boston Globe reporter Kathleen Burge writes about the MIT Open Style Lab, which was founded by MIT graduate Grace Teo to bring together teams of students to “design clothing for clients with amputations, spinal cord injuries, early-onset arthritis, and other disabilities.”
Boston Globe reporter Kelly Gifford writes about CampBio, a science camp co-hosted by the Whitehead Institute, aimed at sparking middle schoolers’ interest in science. “Kids are natural explorers,” says MIT Professor Susan Lindquist. “But it’s been surprising to me to see how many of them lose their excitement about science as they pass from middle school to high school.”