Los Angeles Times reporter Amina Khan features new MIT research examining a child’s ability to decipher when adults are committing “sins of omission.” Researchers found that, “kids can tell when someone isn’t giving them the whole story – and they learn not to trust the information that person gives them,” Khan reports.
Kelly Kennedy of USA Today reports on Prof. Jonathan Gruber’s research showing that health insurance premiums went up 10% on average in the three years before the Affordable Care Act took effect. "The two main lessons are the notion that there was a pre-existing double-digit trend, and that it was variable," says Gruber.
In a piece for CNBC, Dan Margan reports that a new study by Professor Jonathan Gruber shows that individual health care premiums experienced large hikes and a high variability in rate hikes before the Affordable Care Act took effect.
Wired reporter Klint Finley writes about how a team of MIT and NASA researchers broke the networking speed record from the earth to the moon. “The technology could soon send scientific research data between earth and the moon far more quickly,” Finley explains.
“Researchers at NASA and MIT have figured out how to beam wireless connectivity from a ground base in New Mexico to the moon using telescopes and lasers,” writes Timothy McGrath in a piece posted on Salon.
MIT researchers have helped to produce an algorithm that applies professional photograph editing to self-portraits, writes Billy Steele for Engadget. The software uses existing works to make a match with the captured image, explains grad student YiChang Shih.
The BBC reports on a suit developed by the MIT AgeLab that simulates the aging process and the physical difficulties that come with age. The suit is designed to give young people a better idea of the challenges faced by the elderly.
Wall Street Journal reporter Brenda Cronin features David Autor’s new research on inequality. “Two ‘destructive’ points that Mr. Autor tries to skewer with his most recent work are the idea that prospects are dim for all but the financial elite—and the notion that too many students are giving rise to a “college bubble,” Cronin writes.
“A new study has revealed an overlooked trend: tropical cyclone activity is shifting away from the tropics and toward the poles,” writes Andrea Thompson in a Huffington Post piece on new research from MIT Professor Kerry Emanuel.
NPR reporter Scott Neuman writes about how researchers have found that storms are, “migrating out of the tropics, reaching their peak intensity in higher latitudes, where larger populations are concentrated.”
Scientific American reporter David Biello discusses new research that shows that major storms are shifting towards the poles. “The record reveals that peak cyclone location has been shifting toward both poles at a rate of about 35 miles per decade, roughly one-half a degree of latitude,” Biello explains.
A new study co-authored by MIT’s Kerry Emanuel finds that as the Earth’s oceans have warmed, destructive storms have moved further from the equator, writes Jason Samenow for The Washington Post.
Benjamin Winterhalter interviews graduate student Michael Chen for this Atlantic article about the importance of scientific research that enhances our understanding of the world in general. “Without these theoretical realizations, we'll never get to new places," says Chen.
Bloomberg Businessweek reporter Peter Coy writes about how researchers from MIT and other universities simulated 549 storm surges in New York City and analyzed the effectiveness of different defenses. The researchers found that the most cost-effective method is to allow storm waters to flood the city while protecting critical infrastructure.
Austin Hess reports on MIT’s new environment initiative in an article for The Tech. “MIT undertakes initiatives to inspire genuinely new ideas and the initiative on the environment will be no exception,” Maria T. Zuber, MIT Vice President for Research, told The Tech.