In the Media

"The federal government is handing out funding to five New England universities collaborating in transportation research, including three schools in Massachusetts."

"Around windows, headlights and interior trim, automakers are using materials that mimic chrome but save weight and expense. Now, a development in the world of nanotechnology could help car owners enjoy a chromelike luster longer without the environmental hazards of chrome plating, which can leave behind toxic waste."

"Astronomers have spotted a 'dwarf' galaxy some 10 billion light-years away which may be made mostly of the mysterious material called dark matter."

"Increased presence and visibility of female politicians in local government raises the academic performance and career aspirations of young women in India, according to a new study based on a survey of roughly 8,000 girls and their parents."

"As contentious as it is to quote Obama these days, he got one thing right: 'To win the future, we have to out-innovate, out-educate and out-build the rest of the world, tapping the creativity and imagination of our people.'"

"The director of MIT’s Center for Theoretical Physics does not usually prepare for a lecture by watching a Keanu Reeves film. Then again, he doesn’t usually speak about 'Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure.'"

"But one piece of advice that's driven me the most came from a commencement speech by then-MIT president Charles Vest. He said to keep on moving. Cheesy, but it's amazing how true it is. Don't talk about stuff. Do it. When your organization is paused, and when the spirit of just seeing what happens dies, that's when you should be worried." -MIT alum Sal Khan

"As a companion to their recently released comic book, M.I.T. health care economist Jon Gruber and illustrator Nathan Schreiber teamed up with the Center for American Progress to produce an three-minute animated explanation of how the health reform law works."

"Astronomers are setting up a virtual telescope as wide as our planet to capture the first picture outlining our galaxy's monstrous black hole."

"Shale gas has transformed the U.S. energy landscape in the past several years—but it may crowd out renewable energy and other ways of cutting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, a new study warns."

"For centuries, this is how science has operated — through research done in private, then submitted to science and medical journals to be reviewed by peers and published for the benefit of other researchers and the public at large. But to many scientists, the longevity of that process is nothing to celebrate."

"WristQue is the key to controlling 'the immersive world of interactive media that will one day surround us,' says Joe Paradiso, director of the Responsive Environments Group at MIT's Media Lab, who is working with colleagues to design it."

"All sorts of walls come tumbling down in “World of Wires,” Jay Scheib’s slap-happy, mixed-media murder mystery at the Kitchen. Divisions between reality (that old chimera) and perception — not to mention the borders that separate screen from stage and human from machine — are stomped upon with the glee of a precocious, permanently stoned, science-fiction-reading 14-year-old who has just discovered, like, philosophy, dude."

"In no other U.S. recovery since World War II have companies been simultaneously faster to boost spending on machines and software, while slower to add people to run them."

"Yet depreciation may be the only remaining hope for the euro’s survival, as long as it is carried out through swift and coherent policy support."