In this video, Wired spotlights how Prof. Michael Strano and his team developed spinach plants that can detect explosives in groundwater. Strano explains that in the future he thinks people will be “surprised about what you can do with a living plant.”
Appearing on WCVB-TV’s Chronicle, Provost Marty Schmidt explains why Kendall Square is a hub for innovation, highlighting how the region brings together organizations working on everything from computer science and biotech to brain and cognitive sciences. Schmidt explains that Kendall Square’s innovation ecosystem means research “coming out of MIT (can) be immediately translated to impact.”
Researchers at MIT and Stanford found that assuring online learners that they belong in a course increased persistence and course completion rates for people in less developed countries, writes Carl Straumsheim for Inside Higher Ed. The findings suggest that something “as simple as a one-time, 10-minute exercise can double persistence and completion rates” for at-risk learners.
Mike LaCrosse of WBZ-TV News spotlights Broad Institute research affiliate Theresa Oei and her work both in the lab and on the field as a cheerleader for the Patriots. Oei says she enjoys sharing her love of science with children, adding that “leaving the path to science open is really important, and showing that it can be a lot of fun.”
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.