In the Media

Writing for The Washington Post, Profs. Jonathan Gruber and Simon Johnson argue that to ease income inequality, the federal government must increase federal support for research and development in areas of the country that have underutilized technical talent. “To boost economic growth, we should strengthen scientific fields where breakthroughs are imminent and where any other country — China in particular — threatens to forge ahead,” they write.

WBUR’s Pamela Reynolds spotlights the new Becca Albee installation at the MIT List Visual Arts Center.  “It's thinking about singular, intimate moments, somebody reflecting on a friendship or a relationship that was in the near past and then stepping back and thinking about time on a geologic scale,” says Yuri Stone, who curated the exhibit.

A new instrument device developed by MIT researchers improves the detection of gravitational waves by squeezing the vacuum of spacetime, reports Ryan Mandelbaum for Gizmodo. “The method enables us to increase the distance in the universe at which we can detect gravitational waves,” explains principal research scientist Lisa Barsotti.

Popular Science reporter Sara Chodosh spotlights a new oral contraceptive capsule developed by researchers at MIT and Brigham and Women’s Hospital that would only need to be taken once a month. Chodosh notes that, “ultimately, this new device could help people worldwide.”

Writing for Forbes, Ethan Siegel highlights how MIT researchers have developed a new instrument that has improved LIGO’s ability to detect gravitational waves. Siegel explains that the new instrument offers “greater potential for discovering unknown sources of gravitational waves.”

Boston Globe reporter Martin Finucane writes that MIT researchers have built a new instrument that has increased the number of gravitational waves LIGO can detect. “With an accompanying increase in the power of the lasers used, the detectors have extended their range to more than 400 million light years, allowing it to detect about one wave a week,” Finucane explains.

MIT researchers have created a star-shaped capsule that could be used to deliver monthly doses of contraceptive drugs, reports Eric Cheung for CNN. “The capsule is coated with gelatin that can remain in the stomach for weeks after being swallowed,” Cheung explains.

CNN reporter Emma Tobin writes that a new study by MIT researchers examines how to reduce airplane emissions. “Both air quality and climate impacts,” explains research scientist Sebastian Eastham, “should be considered together if we want to bring down the environmental damages associated with flying.”

A new long-lasting pill developed by MIT researchers could be used to deliver contraceptive drugs on a monthly basis, reports Michelle Roberts for the BBC News. “The prototype is a star-shaped drug delivery system packaged into an easy-to-swallow dissolvable capsule no bigger than a regular fish oil tablet,” Roberts reports.

MIT researchers have developed a new star-shaped device that unfolds in the stomach and gradually releases a drug, reports Lauran Neergard for the Associated Press. “We developed this capsule system that looks like a starfish, that can stay in the stomach several days, weeks, even a month at a time,” says Prof. Giovanni Traverso.

MIT researchers have created a new long-lasting capsule that has been designed to survive in the human stomach for 30 days and could be used to deliver monthly doses of oral contraceptive drugs, reports Alice Park for TIME. “We see an enormous number of potential applications,” says Prof. Robert Langer.

New Scientist reporter Jessica Hamzelou writes that MIT researchers have developed an oral contraceptive capsule that may only need to be taken once a month. “The goal here was to develop a discreet, non-invasive system that can provide long-acting oral contraception,” explains Prof. Giovanni Traverso.

A new study co-authored by MIT researchers examines the accuracy of climate models published over the past five decades, reports David Roberts for Vox. The researchers found that even “crude early models were fairly accurate, which is remarkable given the sophistication of the science and the available computing power. “

Wired reporter Aarian Marshall writes that CSAIL researchers have developed a new system that could help autonomous vehicles predict the decisions other drivers will make. “The technique improves self-driving vehicles’ predictions about human drivers’ decisions, and therefore the vehicles’ on-road performance, by 25 percent, as measured by a test involving merging in a computer simulation,” writes Marshall.

A new long-lasting pill developed by MIT researchers could be used to deliver contraceptive drugs on a monthly basis, reports Michelle Roberts for the BBC News. “The prototype is a star-shaped drug delivery system packaged into an easy-to-swallow dissolvable capsule no bigger than a regular fish oil tablet,” Roberts reports.