In a piece for Forbes, John C. Goodman writes about a new study co-authored by MIT Professor Heidi Williams that examines why the U.S. infant mortality rate is about twice that of other developed countries. The researchers found that “the US postneonatal disadvantage is driven almost entirely by excess mortality among individuals of lower socioeconomic status.”
In a piece for the Washington Post about infant mortality rates, Christopher Ingraham highlights a new study co-authored by Professor Heidi Williams examining why the U.S. infant mortality rate is so high. The researchers found that the higher mortality rates are due, “entirely, or almost entirely, to high mortality among less advantaged groups."
Lauren Leamanczyk reports for CBS Boston on organjet.com, a website created by Professor Sridhar Tayur that helps patients determine where waiting times for organ transplants are shorter. Tayur says that the system can cut years off the time a patient spends on the list.
Heather Kelly of CNN writes about the breast pump hackathon hosted at MIT recently. The winning design, the Mighty Mom utility belt, turned a “pump into a hands-free portable device that is worn discreetly under clothes and can work while the wearer goes about her regular routine,” writes Kelly.
A hackathon held over the weekend at the MIT Media Lab sought to develop a better design for the breast pump, writes Rachel Ehrenberg for The Atlantic. “[M] ost women will tell you that the experience of using the breast pump sucks, literally and figuratively,” says Media Lab researcher Catherine D'Ignazio.
In a piece for The New Yorker, Michelle Nijhuis writes about the Make the Breast Pump Not Suck! hackathon, held at the MIT Media Lab. The winning team came up with an idea for a, “portable, hands-free pump that could be used while commuting or caring for small children,” writes Nijhuis.
Professor Andrea Louise Campbell writes for Time about how government healthcare policy has forced her brother and sister-in-law into poverty in order to qualify for long-term care. Campbell argues that the solution for her family and others in the same situation is “[a] universal social insurance program for long-term care.”
Carey Goldberg of WBUR writes about the winning designs from the MIT Media Lab’s breast-pump hackathon held over the weekend. The “Mighty Mom” utility belt “a fashionable, discreet, hands-free wearable pump that automatically logs and analyzes your personal data” took the first prize.
Margot Sanger-Katz cites research by Professor Jonathan Gruber in this New York Times article on rising health insurance premiums. Gruber’s findings indicate that prior to the Affordable Care Act, premiums rose at higher average rates for individuals than they have since the legislation went into effect
David Pogue of the PBS show NOVA examines Professor Paula Hammond’s work developing a new type of vaccine that delivers a DNA patch via tiny microscopic needles. Using DNA as the vaccine is a “very unique but also very powerful” approach, Hammond explains.
Professor Steven Spear writes for Fortune about new funding authorized by Congress to help fix the struggling U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Spear argues that new VA Secretary, Bob McDonald “has to go beyond Congresses’ prescriptions and change the agency’s internal dynamics” in order to be successful.
Boston Globe reporter Michael Farrell writes about Smart Scheduling Inc., an MIT startup formed during a health care hackathon at MIT in 2012. The company aims to use data science to predict which patients are the most and least likely to show up for an appointment.
BBC News reports on new efforts to integrate robot-assisted training into the rehabilitation process for stroke victims. "The whole concept is revolutionising the practice of rehabilitation medicine by applying robotics that can assist and enhance recovery," explains Dr. Hermano Igo Krebs.
Wall Street Journal reporter Ed Silverman interviews Professor Andrew Lo about his proposal that a public-private partnership could solve funding issues for drugs research and development. “Right now, the risk of failure [in developing an Alzheimer’s treatment] is far too high for any single pharmaceutical company to take on,” Lo explains.
Kelly Kennedy of USA Today reports on Prof. Jonathan Gruber’s research showing that health insurance premiums went up 10% on average in the three years before the Affordable Care Act took effect. "The two main lessons are the notion that there was a pre-existing double-digit trend, and that it was variable," says Gruber.