Cristela Guerra of The Boston Globe highlights Pi Day celebrations around Boston, including the Star Wars-themed MIT admissions decision video starring Dean of Admissions Stu Schmill as Luke Skywalker.
Prof. Linda Griffith has developed ten miniature models of human organs “to create the closest we’ve come yet to a human-on-a-chip,” writes Jessica Hamzelou for New Scientist. “This is still only a minimal representation of a human,” said Griffith, but this kind of system could eventually eliminate the need for animal testing.
New research from visiting scientist Judah Cohen suggests that “severe winter weather in the United States is often tied to (relatively) high heat in the North Pole,” writes Eleanor Cummins for Popular Science. “If the Arctic is cold, that favors less severe winter in the eastern U.S.,”said Cohen. “When the Arctic is warm, it’s the opposite relationship.”
Deepa Seetharaman of The Wall Street Journal speaks to Michael Casey, Senior Advisor for Blockchain Opportunities at the Digital Currency Initiative about new uses for blockchain and its potential to cut costs. “[B]ecause of all of this reconciliation, all of this multiple back-checking” Casey suggests that logistics and the financial sector are two areas that will benefit from blockchain technology.
Matt Simon of Wired describes research led by visiting scientist Judah Cohen, which used the “Accumulated Winter Season Severity Index”, to reveal that warming in the arctic is associated with severe winter weather conditions. “[The researchers] looked at peaks in arctic temperatures and found that these anticipated severe weather by five days, which would suggest a link,” Simon writes.
A study from senior researcher Rolland Pellenq finds that grid-like cities retain more heat than those that are less-linear, due to the “Urban Heat Island” effect. “For new cities, or even neighborhoods, our findings can be used…in designing block layouts that would help optimize temperature,” Pellenq explains to Marlene Cimons of Popular Science.
Robert C. Pozen, a senior lecturer at Sloan, writes for The Boston Globe about how the new tax act would create potentially major fiscal challenges for “cities with large unfunded liabilities for pension benefits and retiree health care.” He addresses several ways in which cities might make adjustments to mitigate the losses, citing data from JP Morgan.
The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard is utilizing cloud computing to support its genomic sequencing programs, which “allows for large-scale data processing, and makes it easier for researchers to share data securely,” writes Steven Norton for The Wall Street Journal. Currently, the Institute has reduced the cost of genome processing on the cloud from about $45 to $5.
A study led by graduate student Hilary Richardson provides evidence that by age 3, children “have begun developing brain networks used to understand the beliefs and feelings of others,” writes Laney Ruckstuhl for The Boston Globe. “Richardson said researchers previously believed the networks used in theory of mind reasoning were not developed until at least age 4,” explains Ruckstuhl.
Prof. Junot Diaz appeared on CBS This Morning to speak about his new children’s book "Islandborn," which was partly inspired by his experience as a young immigrant from the Dominican Republic. "A lot of us can't remember our origins,” said Diaz. “We're shaped by places and people that we've never, ever met. And that's something important to recognize."
Nellie Bowles of The New York Times writes about Dropbox CEO Drew Houston ’05, one of the few tech startup founders who stayed with their company from inception to its initial public offering. “Founders like him [typically] get pushed aside for someone with a finance or management background,” said Jeffrey Mann, a VP at research firm Gartner. “But he managed to stay there.”
Colleges and tech companies are beginning to use blockchain technology to develop “trustworthy, quickly verifiable digital diplomas and résumés,” writes Henry Williams of The Wall Street Journal. MIT recently started issuing blockchain diplomas in addition to traditional ones, which provides “the ability to give the student stewardship over their own records,” says Registrar and Senior Associate Dean Mary Callahan.
Prof. Bill Aulet and Aman Advani ’13, CEO of Ministry of Supply, speak with Brian Burnell of NECN about The Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship and why it’s a great resource for students. "We came in with enough humility to know that we didn’t know what was next,” said Advani, “and that’s where the Trust Center was such a helpful resource.”
Larry Greenemeier of Scientific American writes about a study from researchers at Sloan and the Media Lab that finds “false news” is “70% more likely to be retweeted than information that faithfully reports actual events.” “Although it is tempting to blame automated “bot” programs for this,” says Greenemeier, “human users are more at fault.”
Prof. Junot Diaz speaks with Karen McPherson of The Washington Post about his new children’s book, Islandborn, about a girl from the Dominican Republic growing up in an urban immigrant community. “The best stories provide us with opportunities for recognition and estrangement — to be spoken to most directly, or to feel that we are eavesdropping,” Diaz says.