A system of small block-shaped robots developed by MIT researchers can now self-assemble to form new structures, reports Darrell Etherington for TechCrunch. Etherington explains that the “blocks can now use their communication system and their ability to move themselves around to perform tasks including producing various shapes, or even following arrows or light signals.”
Prof. Charles Leiserson speaks with Chronicle of Higher Education reporter Lindsay Ellis about how stand-up comedy can help early-career academics better express themselves and connect with audience members at research talks. “If you think you have good ideas and wish to have impact with them, then you need to connect with people,” says Leiserson.
USA Today reporter Jennifer Jolly spotlights MIT startup Rendever, which provides virtual experiences for senior living communities. Jolly explains that Rendever users can, “get swept away on a virtual visit to their childhood home, stroll down an alley in Paris, or even attend a grandchild’s soccer game through a secure ‘family engagement portal.’”
MIT researchers have developed a new double-sided tape for tissues that could one day be used to rapidly seal wounds or incision sites after surgery, reports the BBC. The new adhesive was “inspired by the way spiders exude ‘glue’ to catch their prey in the rain.”
MIT researchers have developed a new control system that can allow a two-legged teleoperated robot to maintain its balance while running and jumping, reports Devin Coldewey for TechCrunch. The new system could make “on-site rescue robots and others on uncertain footing more reliable,” Coldewey explains.
Mashable highlights how CSAIL researchers have developed self-assembling robotic cubes that can jump, spin and flip. “The blocks use a novel, magnetic and precise system,” Mashable explains. “This allows the blocks to follow 3d paths, form lines and form a group based off light aggregation.”
CBS Boston reports that MIT researchers have developed a new double-sided surgical tape inspired by the sticky substance spiders use to catch their prey. Dr. Mallika Marshall explains that the tape “absorbs water from wet tissues and binds them together in just five seconds. Then over time, the tape dissolves.”
Forbes contributor Trevor Nace writes that MIT researchers have developed a new technique to efficiently remove carbon dioxide from the air. Nace explains that the new approach “uses a unique battery that can absorb carbon dioxide while it is charging up and release pure carbon dioxide when the battery is discharged.”
Writing for The Boston Globe, Profs. Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo examine how to effectively tackle the issue of bias. “The most effective way to combat prejudice may not be to directly engage with people’s views,” they write. “Instead, it may be to convince citizens it is worth their while to engage with other policy issues.”
A new study by Prof. Pierre Azoulay explores the connection between age and high-growth entrepreneurship, reports Mark Travers for Forbes. Azoulay’s findings point to, “founders being especially successful when starting businesses in middle age or beyond.”
Prof. Christopher Knittel writes for The Los Angeles Times about what makes tackling climate change so daunting. “Past environmental problems offered far easier solutions,” writes Knittel. “The pollution that caused the hole in the ozone layer, for example — chlorofluorocarbons — were also a global pollutant and were tied to widely used products such as refrigeration, air conditioning and hairspray. But there were cheap, readily available alternatives.”
TechCrunch reporter Darrell Etherington writes that MIT researchers have developed a system that “uses minute changes in shadows to predict whether or not a vehicle can expect a moving object to come around a corner.” Etherington adds the took could be used not only in autonomous vehicles, but also “in robots that navigate shared spaces with humans — like autonomous hospital attendants.”
MIT researchers have developed a new system that allows autonomous vehicles to see around corners, reports Andrew Liszweski for Gizmodo. The system could be used to “pre-emptively spot other vehicles or moving hazards that human drivers would never see coming.”
NPR’s Lulu Garcia-Navarro explores the history of a 25-year-old carton of milk at Random Hall that has become a “mini-icon on campus.” “It's kind of fun to think that maybe a future Nobel Prize winner that's living in the dorm - that they got a little bit of fun, had a little bit of a better time because I forgot about milk in the fridge,” says alumnus Justin Cave.
A study co-authored by graduate student George Ward examines the relationship between happiness and productivity at work, reports The Economist. The researchers found that, “workers made 13% more sales in weeks when they were happy than when they were unhappy,” reports The Economist. “In happy weeks, they made more calls per hour and were more efficient at converting those calls into sales.”