Research

In an article for Forbes, Bill Hardekopf highlights a new hack-proof chip developed by MIT researchers. Hardekopf explains that the chip could help make credit cards more secure. 

BetaBoston reporter Curt Woodward writes that a new study co-authored by MIT researchers finds that startups perform better when venture capitalists are one plane ride away. The researchers found that “startups that were connected to their investors’ cities by a new direct flight were granted about 3 percent more patents.”

Boston.com reporter Hilary Sargent writes that MIT researchers have developed a new device that could help guide the visually impaired. Sargent explains that a prototype system the researchers developed “is about the size of a binoculars case and is designed to be worn around someone’s neck.”

MIT researchers are developing a smart bandage that could monitor and help heal wounds, according to Reuters. Prof. Xuanhe Zhao explains that if sensors in the bandage detected “an abnormal increase in temperature, for example, it will send out a command. Then the controlled drug delivery system can deliver a specific drug to that specific location.”

In this video, Reuters reporter Ben Gruber explores how MIT researchers are using brain scans to identify children at risk of depression. Prof. John Gabrieli explains that the goal of the research is to “ identify early children who are at true risk, help them before they struggle, and learn from those that are resilient.”

MIT has launched a number of new initiatives “to expand and research digital and online education for learners of all ages,” reports Inside Higher Ed. 

In an interview with the BBC, Prof. Heidi Williams argues that there should be more incentives for developing cancer prevention techniques and treatments for early-stage cancers. "If you look at drugs that get approved by the FDA, they all tend to be for very late stage cancer patients,” says Williams. 

In an article for Fortune, Prof. Deborah Lucas examines how worried investors should be worried about debt-burdened cities in China. Lucas writes that a new MIT study found that “while the massive debt buildup in China presents challenges, the situation is not as dire as a full-blown debt crisis.”

Prof. Edward Boyden speaks with Boston Globe reporter Murray Carpenter about how scientists need more powerful computers to help gain a better understanding of brain function. “The cool part of neuroengineering is that we have all these unmet needs,” Boyden says. “I think there is an enormous amount of hope generated by bringing new tools into neuroscience.”

Wall Street Journal reporter Alexandra Wolfe profiles Prof. Cynthia Breazeal and examines her latest work developing a robot, dubbed Jibo, that can assist humans with daily tasks and serve as a companion.  “I’m really thinking about social robots as an extender of our human capacity,” Breazeal explains.

In this Today Show segment, Prof. Earl Miller and Prof. Robert Desimone discuss how the brain reacts to the information overload that comes from using multiple digital tools at once. “The brain has a great deal of difficulty processing multiple bits of data at once,” explains Miller. "We are very, very single minded.” 

STAT reporter Andrew Joseph writes that MIT scientists have developed a potential new treatment for diabetes. Joseph explains that the new technique could allow healthy insulin-producing cells to be successfully transplanted into patients.   

Prof. Paul O’Gorman spoke at Columbia University regarding a study he conducted on how climate change might impact extreme snowfall, reports Andrea Thompson for Scientific American.  O'Gorman found that while average annual snow amounts and extreme snowfalls would decline as temperatures rose, “extreme snowfalls would become a bigger proportion of all snow events.”

Alumnus Anmol Madan, co-founder and CEO of MIT startup Ginger.io, writes for The Huffington Post about how to improve mental health care in the U.S. In his piece, Madan highlights how MIT researchers have found “vast potential for the application of mobile sensing to mental health.”

In an article for The Boston Globe, David Abel writes about MIT’s efforts to combat climate change. Abel notes that, “MIT is embarking on an unprecedented program to accelerate progress on low-carbon energy technologies.”