Jim Morelli reports for CNN on a wheelchair developed by Professor Amos Winter to help to meet the needs of people in the developing world. “We essentially had to reinvent the wheelchair,” says Winter of the wheelchair’s design, which is built to handle rough terrain and can be easily repaired.
A new MIT report examines the growing innovation deficit caused by declining government support for basic research, reports Sharon Begley for Reuters. Prof. Marc Kastner, who led the committee that prepared the report, explained that the decline in basic research funding, "really threatens America's future."
Craig Lemoult of WGBH News speaks with MIT researchers about a new report examining the impacts of declining government support for basic research. Prof. Marc Kastner notes that many of the “technologies that have made our lives better” stem from basic research advances.
Inside Higher Ed highlights a new report prepared by a committee of MIT researchers that examines the need for increased federal funding for basic research. The report “examines the lost opportunities for science and for U.S. competitiveness vs. other nations due to inadequate federal support for basic research.”
A group of experts convened by MIT’s Abdul Latif Jameel World Water and Food Security Laboratory recently published a report on plans for the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, reports William Davison of Bloomberg News. The report’s authors urge greater coordination between Egypt and Ethiopia “to ensure water is shared fairly during periods of reduced flows.”
A team of MIT researchers won the grand prize in a competition that challenged participants to develop sustainable desalination technologies, reports Jeff Daniels reports for NBC News. The MIT researchers designed a solar-powered "electrodialysis reversal system that desalinates water using electricity.”
Chuck Bednar writes for redOrbit that a team of MIT researchers has developed a method for defending against cyberattacks in the cloud and implemented their new technique in computer chips. “By adapting the technology to chips used in home systems, they are looking to key prying eyes from stealing your computer’s data,” Bednar reports.
In an article for Popular Science, Mary Beth Griggs reports that a team of MIT researchers won the Desal Prize, a competition judging the effectiveness of new desalination systems. The MIT team developed a system that uses solar panels to power “a system that removes salt from the water through electrodialysis.”
Lindsay Kalter reports for The Boston Herald that MIT researchers are developing a device that can be implanted into a tumor to help determine the best course of cancer treatment. “We wanted to bring the laboratory into the human body,” says Langer.
MIT researchers have developed a new detector that can identify individual neutrons, reports Brid-Aine Parnell for Forbes. “While being able to spot an electron with such a small detector is major step forward in itself, it also takes the team further down the road of being able to measure the mass of a neutrino,” Parnell writes.
UPI reporter Brooks Hays writes that a team of MIT researchers has developed a tabletop device that can detect electrons and could potentially be used discover the mass of neutrinos. “Researchers recently used the device to observe the behavior of more than 100,000 electrons from decaying krypton gas,” Hays writes.
In an article for The Huffington Post, John Tirman argues that the wave of migration from African and Latin American countries is a crisis caused partially by economic and political policies that American and European leaders have played a role in shaping. “Until the first world policies change, the third world will keep coming, at all costs,” Tirman writes.
Researchers at the MIT Media Lab have designed a miniature wireless track pad that fits on a thumbnail and allows users to control their devices while their hands are busy, reports Liz Stinson for Wired. “The value of NailO lies in pondering more discreet interaction with our gadgets,” Stinson writes.
MIT researchers have developed a new device that turns your thumb into a miniature wireless track pad, reports Tessa Verenson for TIME Magazine. The device could allow users to “answer the phone while cooking, control their cell phones even when they hands are full or discreetly send a text.”
Michael Blanding writes for Forbes about Professor Michael Cusumano’s new book “Strategy Rules: Five Timeless Lessons from Bill Gates, Andy Grove, and Steve Jobs. Cusumano and his co-author examine and draw lessons from the careers of the three tech pioneers.