Cynthia Graber writes for The Boston Globe Magazine that MIT researchers developed a robot to collect sewage samples, in an effort to gain a better understanding of public health problems. The samples can pinpoint harmful environmental factors as well as “neighborhoods with high rates of infectious diseases or even obesity, levels of illegal drug use, and pollutants.”
Speaking with Ellie Bothwell of Times Higher Education, President L. Rafael Reif emphasizes MIT’s “commitment to tackling big, important problems for humanity – climate change, clean energy, cybersecurity, human health – with colleagues of every identity and background.”
Prof. Iyad Rahwan speaks with the AP about the moral dilemmas posed by driverless cars. "There is a real risk that if we don't understand those psychological barriers and address them through regulation and public outreach, we may undermine the entire enterprise," Rahwan explains. “It would stifle what I think will be a very good thing for humanity."
On Reuters TV, President L. Rafael Reif emphasizes the importance of fundamental scientific research. On the need for federal support for discovery science, he explains that at “places like MIT, we want to make the world better, and to make the world better you have to try to answer the most fundamental questions.”
MIT researchers have developed a new 3-D printing method that allows users to alter the printed object, writes Amelia Heathman for Wired. The new printing method enables users to “add polymers that alter the material's chemical composition and mechanical properties.”
Boston Globe reporter Andy Rosen writes about a new MIT study examining how the brain perceives rhythm that finds people tend to reorganize random series of beats into familiar patterns. “We think that these biases on rhythm, they probably are really important to how you hear music,” explains Prof. Josh McDermott.
In an article for Salon about extreme weather, Paul Rosenberg highlights a new study by MIT researchers that shows climate change could cause California to “experience three more extreme precipitation events per year by 2100, although the number could be reduced by half that if aggressive policy measures are pursued.”
In an article about how employers can help encourage their workers to learn new skills, The Economist highlights how “MIT has launched an initiative to conduct interdisciplinary research into the mechanics of learning and to apply the conclusions to its own teaching, both online and offline.”
MIT researchers have created a new strong, yet lightweight material by using a 3-D printer to fuse flakes of graphene into a sponge-like object, reports Nick Kwek for BBC News. “The newfangled product could be used in the construction of airplanes or buildings,” says Kwek.
MIT researchers have used computer models to turn flakes of graphene into 3-D structures, creating one of lightest, strongest materials, writes Nicola Davison for CNN. "Once they combine and fuse together, all the flakes contribute to the strength of the overall structure," research scientist Zhao Qin explains.
Melvin Konner writes for The Wall Street Journal about new MIT research that shows mobile-money services helped lift at least 194,000 Kenyan households out of extreme poverty. The researchers found that the services significantly helped women, and estimated that mobile banking “induced 185,000 women to switch into business or retail” from farming, and increased saving.
MIT researchers have found similarities in how the brains of babies and adults respond to visual information, reports Courtney Humphries for The Atlantic. “Every region that we knew about in adults [with] a preference for faces or scenes has that same preference in babies 4 to 6 months old,” explains Prof. Rebecca Saxe.
President L. Rafael Reif speaks with Dominic O’Connell of BBC Radio 4’s Today program about innovation, climate change and the importance of scientific research. On how MIT researchers bring innovations to the marketplace, Reif explains what is needed is “a desire to impact society in a positive way.”
Researchers at MIT have fused flakes of graphene into a sponge-like shape, creating one of the strongest lightweight materials, writes James Temperton for Wired. Flakes of graphene were compressed using heat and pressure, then 3-D printers were used to create a “strong, stable structure similar to some corals” for stress tests.
The Media Lab will serve as one of the first anchor institutions for a new initiative, the Ethics and Governance of Artificial Intelligence Fund, which will “support research and development to make AI beneficial for humans,” reports Jordan Graham for the Boston Herald.