Unnatural selection
In a new book, “Risky Business,” Amy Finkelstein examines the core issue of the insurance industry: Who gets to be a customer?
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Chess players face a tough foe: air pollution
Study: Even chess experts perform worse when air quality is lower, suggesting a negative effect on cognition.
Preparing to be prepared
Miho Mazereeuw, an architect of built and natural environments, looks for new ways to get people ready for natural disasters.
Study: Extreme heat is changing habits of daily life
New research quantifies how much very hot temperatures restrict outdoor activity in China.
Living the history of Cairo
Nasser Rabbat’s new book explores the life and legacy of al-Maqrizi, Egypt’s most influential historian.
Should we tax robots?
Study suggests a robot levy — but only a modest one — could help combat the effects of automation on income inequality in the U.S.
Physician, heal thyself?
Research shows doctors and their families are less likely to follow guidelines about medicine. Why do the medically well-informed comply less often?
Energy, war, and the crisis in Ukraine
An expert panel examines the implications of energy use and energy policy during Russia’s invasion.
Study: Automation drives income inequality
New data suggest most of the growth in the wage gap since 1980 comes from automation displacing less-educated workers.
Facing reality, however painful it may be
In his new book, “Life Is Hard,” MIT philosopher Kieran Setiya offers guidance for tackling the (many) problems we face.
Can your phone tell if a bridge is in good shape?
A new study suggests mobile data collected while traveling over bridges could help evaluate their integrity.
Q&A: David Kaiser on Freeman Dyson, the relentless freethinker
MIT physicist and historian of science has edited a new volume about Dyson, a famed quantum theorist and futurist.
On campus, a warm welcome for MIT’s next president, Sally Kornbluth
“This is your moment,” the Institute’s 18th president tells an MIT audience at a community introduction event.
Q&A: Melissa Nobles on guest-editing Nature to examine racism in science
MIT chancellor and colleagues help lead special project examining how bias has distorted the scientific enterprise — and how to make things better.
Bringing it all back home
In MIT visit, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf PhD ’81 offers a road map for creating more manufacturing jobs in the U.S.