A study by Prof. Tanveet Suri shows that a mobile-money service called M-Pesa had a long-term impact on poverty in Kenya, writes Tina Rosenberg for The New York Times. The researchers found that M-Pesa “helped women graduate from subsistence agriculture to small business, perhaps because having an M-Pesa account gives a woman her own money…and a greater sense of agency.”
BBC News reporter Roland Pease explores the burgeoning field of synthetic biology. “I think what makes synthetic biology interesting is that it's bringing together engineers and physicists with molecular biologists to model, design, and build molecular components that can then be used to rewire and reprogram living cells for a variety of applications,” explains Prof. James Collins.
In an article for The Washington Post, Prof. Fotini Christia and graduate student Tugba Bozcaga analyze whether Turkish referendum rallies held in Europe influenced election results. The researchers found that rallies did not influence the election outcome, and that "deep-seated cleavages between Turks and Kurds, as well as divisions within Turks…ultimately determined the outcome of the referendum.”
Prof. Abhijit Banerjee and Prof. Vipin Narang were highlighted as part of Open Magazine’s list featuring some of the leading thinkers on India. Banerjee was spotlighted for his research on alleviating poverty in India, and Narang for his work examining India’s nuclear doctrine.
Prof. Eric Lander, founding director of the Broad Institute, writes for The Washington Post about the importance of federal funding for scientific research, noting that scientific advances help drive the American economy. “When scientific breakthroughs spawn new industries and jobs, those benefits occur right here in the United States,” Lander explains.
In an article for Scientific American, Kavya Balaraman writes that MIT researchers have found that climate change could impact rainfall conditions over the Nile, potentially exacerbating water conflicts. Prof. Elfatih Eltahir explains that with the increased frequency of El Niño and La Niña, “we are projecting enhanced variability in the Nile flow.”
Researchers in the MIT Self-Assembly Lab have developed a new method for 3-D printing that could enable large-scale production of 3-D printed objects, reports Alexandra Simon-Lewis for Wired. The process, called rapid liquid printing, “enables the precise creation of customized products,” in a liquid gel suspension.
The New York Times' David Leonhardt writes about a study by Prof. Amy Finkelstein showing that as health care premiums rise, low-income families increasingly forgo insurance and use emergency care. Leonhardt explains that emergency care, “tends to be expensive, raising costs for other patients, and it’s often not as good as preventive care.”
CNN reporter Kaya Yurieff writes that MIT researchers have developed a robotic system that can 3-D print a building. Yurieff explains that the researchers, “want to deploy their system in remote regions, such as in the developing world or in disaster relief areas, for example after a major earthquake, to provide shelter quickly.”
In an article for Scientific American about the future of robotics, Prof. Emeritus Rodney Brooks highlights Prof. Dina Katabi’s work developing devices that use wireless signals to detect a person’s emotions.
Boston Magazine reporter Jamie Ducharme writes that CSAIL researchers have developed a device that can measure walking speed using wireless signals. The device can “also measure stride length, which may come in handy when studying conditions that are characterized by small steps, such as Parkinson’s disease.”
MIT researchers have developed a robotic system that can 3-D print the basic structure of a building, writes Amina Khan for the Los Angeles Times. Khan explains that 3-D printing buildings, “has a number of advantages, many of which allow the robot to design and build more in the way that living systems in nature do.”
MIT researchers have developed a robotic 3-D printer that can construct a building, reports TechCrunch’s Brian Heater. “Our future vision for this project is to have self-sufficient robotic systems,” explains alumnus Steven Keating. “Just like a tree gathers its own energy, our platform is being developed toward the design goal of being able to gather its own energy.”
NuTonomy, an MIT startup, will soon start testing self-driving cars in Boston’s Seaport District and Fort Point areas, writes Doug Newcomb for Forbes.
MIT researchers have developed a new robotic system that can 3-D print the basic structure of a building, writes Michelle Starr for CBS News. Starr explains that the system is “free moving, can be customized to print on any suitable surface and is intended to be self-sufficient.”