Last weekend Institute Professor Mildred Dresselhaus became the first woman to receive the IEEE Medal of Honor for her pioneering work with carbon materials, reports Melissa Lott for Scientific American. Lotts writes that Dresselhaus is known “for her work with buckminsterfullerenes (buckyballs), nanotubes and graphene as well as her dedicated work ethic and caring nature.”
In a special issue on the Internet of Things, Politico’s Danny Vinik compiles an oral history to describe the origins of the Internet of Things. “I’m sure there’s a sci-fi novel somewhere that talks about this,” quips Sarma, who features prominently in the piece, which also references MIT’s Auto-ID Lab.
Professor César Hidalgo writes for The Huffington Post about his new book “Why Information Grows: The Evolution of Order, from Atoms to Economies.” Hidalgo explains his view that, “by understanding economies as computers we get much more than a predictive theory of future economic growth.”
Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Akst writes about a study by researchers at MIT and Northwestern that identified consumers who purchased new products likely to fail. If consumers with high “flop affinity” scores bought a product “that was a good sign that the item would be a bust.”
Professor Kenneth Oye co-authored a commentary that urges regulators to work to prevent abuse following a study that finds that opioids can be home-manufactured by genetically engineering yeast, reports Eryn Brown for The Los Angeles Times. “[A]ll of these technical steps should be done beforehand,” says Oye. “Afterwards, it's too late."
According to The Economist, a new paper from Prof. Daron Acemoglu compared growth rates and levels of political freedom, and found that countries undergoing a democratic transition grow faster than their autocratic counterparts. Acemoglu found that permanent democratization, “leads to an increase in GDP per person of about 20% in the subsequent 25 years.”
The Broad Institute is teaming up with Google to “create a simpler way to help far-flung scientists pursue their own research online,” reports Robert Weisman for BetaBoston. “Our mission is to empower the biomedical revolution that’s happening around the world,” explains Prof. Eric Lander, founding director of the Broad Institute.
MIT engineers have developed an ultralow-power circuit that can efficiently harvest energy from solar power, reports Robert Ferris for CNBC. Ferris explains that the circuit “lends itself well to creating self-powering electronic sensors that can be used in a wide range of applications.”
CNN reporter Meera Senthilingam writes about LIVE Singapore, a project from the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) that aims to use big data to improve urban living. "We can analyze the pulse of the city, moment to moment," says Professor Carlo Ratti director of MIT’s Senseable City Lab.
Lauren Said-Moorhouse reports for CNN that Prof. Sangbae Kim and his colleagues have developed a new algorithm that allows their robotic cheetah to independently leap over objects. "You have to manage balance and energy, and be able to handle impact after landing,” says Kim. “Our robot is specifically designed for those highly dynamic behaviors."
Scientific American reporter Cynthia Graber speaks with Prof. Sangeeta Bhatia about her new research that shows how bacteria could be used to detect cancer. “I think there's really a whole world of possibilities once you start thinking about using bacteria as a platform upon which to engineer functions,” says Bhatia.
A new report produced by MIT researchers and the EPA finds that reducing greenhouse gas emissions “could prevent tens of thousands of deaths and hundreds of billions in economic losses in the United States,” writes William Yardley for The Los Angeles Times.
Professor Yet-Ming Chiang’s company 24M has devised a manufacturing process that cuts the cost of producing batteries in half using liquid-battery technology, writes Brooks Hays for UPI. “The new method brings the benefits of liquid technology to big batteries—but without the baggage.”
Washington Post reporter Joby Warrick reports on a new study by researchers from MIT and the EPA that found that inaction on climate change will cost the U.S. economy billions of dollars. The report “concludes that every region of the country could be spared severe economic disruptions that would result if greenhouse gas concentrations continue to soar.”
Scott Kirsner writes for BetaBoston about 24M Technologies, a company co-founded by Professor Yet-Ming Chiang that has produced a safer, cheaper, and more durable lithium-ion battery. “We’re reinventing the lithium ion battery,” says Chiang. “The cost of the product is too high, and the manufacturing process is too complex.”