Forbes correspondent Hilary Brueck writes about Prof. Eric von Hippel’s research exploring the burgeoning maker movement in industrialized countries around the world. Von Hippel and his colleagues found that “5.2% of adult consumers are developing products for their own use – that’s 16 million people making new or modified products the rest of the country has never seen.”
Nurith Aizenman reports for NPR on a new study that shows mobile banking can help lift people out of poverty. Prof. Tavneet Suri says she was “blown away” by the study’s results, which showed that women-led families with access to mobile-money services, “set aside 22 percent more in savings between 2008 and 2014.”
Grace Leslie, a Media Lab visiting scientist, is creating music using the signals produced by the electrical activity of her brain and changes in her heart rate, writes Richard Gray for BBC Future. Leslie believes that this new form of musical expression “could be used to help those who have difficulty interacting with the world, such as those with autism.”
Writing for The Boston Globe, Prof. Jonathan Gruber details the adverse effects of repealing the Affordable Care Act. Gruber notes that the law “expanded health insurance to more than 20 million Americans through several different approaches, including Medicaid expansion, subsidies for private coverage, the elimination of the ban on preexisting conditions, and an individual mandate.”
MIT researchers have found that flashing lights could potentially be used to stave off Alzheimer’s disease, writes Oscar Williams for The Huffington Post. “Light stimulation directed to the hippocampus, the part of the brain that processes memories, led to a reduction of…beta amyloid,” which is found in Alzheimer’s disease.
Popular Science reporter Kate Baggaley writes that a new study by MIT researchers shows that mobile money services helped two percent of households in Kenya rise out of poverty. “Women especially have benefitted from the spread of mobile money, which has helped many move from farming into business,” writes Baggaley.
Prof. Tavneet Suri has found that mobile money services helped lift almost 200,000 Kenyan households, many headed by women, out of poverty, reports Neda Wadekar for Reuters. Suri explains that when mobile payment systems “came to an area, women shifted their occupations and their savings went up."
Financial Times reporter Clive Cookson writes that MIT researchers have found evidence that flashing lights could potentially be used as a noninvasive treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. The researchers found that “lights flashing on and off 40 times per second restored ‘gamma oscillation’ waves that were suppressed in the disease.”
Writing for Fortune, Prof. Earl Miller makes the case that humans cannot multitask successfully and that trying to do so ruins productivity, causes mistakes and interferes with creativity. “When you try to multitask, you typically don’t get far enough down any road to stumble upon something original because you’re constantly switching and backtracking,” explains Miller.
MIT researchers have found that flashing light may reduce the buildup of beta amyloid protein in the brain, which is associated with Alzheimer’s disease, writes Michelle Roberts for the BBC News. The researchers hope that “clearing beta amyloid and stopping more plaques from forming could halt Alzheimer's and its symptoms.”
Writing for The Atlantic, Ed Yong spotlights a study by MIT researchers that identifies a potential new treatment for Alzheimer’s – using pulses of light to stimulate brain waves. Yong writes that the study “heralds a completely new approach to dealing with Alzheimer’s—changing neural activity, rather than delivering drugs or chemicals.”
MIT researchers have found that exposure to flickering lights at a precise frequency may help fight off Alzheimer’s disease, reports Melissa Healy for The Los Angeles Times. The technique recruits “neurons and other cell types in the brain to sort of enable the brain’s inner ability to repair itself,” explains Prof. Li-Huei Tsai, director of the Picower Institute.
Guardian reporter Hannah Devlin writes about a new study by MIT researchers that shows that strobe lighting can reduce levels of toxic proteins found in Alzheimer’s disease. The researchers found that “exposure to flickering light stimulated brain waves, called gamma oscillations, that are known to be disturbed in Alzheimer’s patients.”
In an in-depth piece for The New York Times Magazine, Chris Jones spotlights Prof. Sara Seager, exploring her quest for an Earthlike exoplanet. Jones writes there has been an explosion of knowledge about exoplanets in part because of “Seager’s pioneering theoretical work in using light to study the composition of alien atmospheres.”
Wall Street Journal reporter Bob Davis writes about a study by Prof. David Autor that shows U.S. industries facing increased competition from China reduced R&D spending. Autor notes the findings show the importance of federal support for R&D.