New Scientist reporter Donna Lu writes that MIT researchers have developed a new portable, solar-powered device that could be used to sterilize medical instruments in resource-limited areas. “The new tool works even in hazy or cloudy conditions,” writes Lu. “It consists of a solar component that heats water to generate steam, which is then connected to a pressure chamber.”
Prof. Fadel Adib speaks with BBC reporter Gareth Mitchell about a new battery-free underwater navigation system that his group developed. Adib explains that one of the key developments behind the new sensors is that they can “harvest power from sound.”
Three years after President L. Rafael Reif delivered an “intellectual call to arms” to examine the impact of technology on jobs, the MIT Task Force on the Work of the Future has published its final set of recommendations. “In an extraordinarily comprehensive effort, they included labor market analysis, field studies and policy suggestions for changes in skills-training programs, the tax code, labor laws and minimum-wage rates,” writes Steve Lohr for The New York Times.
Prof. James Collins speaks with Boston 25 reporter Julianne Lima about the growing issue of antibiotic resistant bacteria and his work using AI to identify new antibiotics. Collins explains that a new platform he developed with Prof. Regina Barzilay uncovered “a host of new antibiotics including one that we call halicin that has remarkable activity against multi drug-resistant pathogens.”
Fast Company reporter Adele Peters writes that a new mask developed by Prof. Giovanni Traverso is embedded with sensors that change colors when it is properly positioned. “When you put on the mask, if the edge is in contact with the skin, you will have that temperature change indicating that you have contact,” says Traverso. “If not, then there won’t be that color change, and you can tell immediately.”
Popular Mechanics reporter Kyro Mitchell spotlights how MIT researchers have created a new material, inspired by camel fur, that could be used to help insulate food and medical supplies. “Field tests on the new material show that it can provide cooling of more than seven degrees Celsius,” writes Mitchell. “It can also maintain that low temperature for five times longer than using hydrogel alone.”
Smithsonian reporter Corryn Wetzel spotlights how MIT researchers have developed a new technology inspired by camel fur that could be used to keep food and medical supplies chilled. The researchers hope the new system could be applied to “lots of areas that require passive cooling—meaning no external energy needs to power the process. Possible applications include insulating food storage, medical supplies and buildings.”
MIT researchers have created a new material that mimics camel fur and could be used to help keep food and medical supplies cool without electricity, reports Layal Liverpool for New Scientist. “We achieve evaporation and insulation at the same time, extending the cooling period significantly,” explains Prof. Jeffrey Grossman.
Graduate student Lilly Chin, winner of the 2017 Jeopardy! College Championship, reminisces with Tiziana Dearing of Radio Boston about "Jeopardy!" game show host Alex Trebek. “Alex really enjoyed being on the job, but also enjoyed sort of being an uncle to the contestants, as well as America at large,” recalls Chin.
Fast Company reporter Yasmin Gagne spotlights MIT startup Spyce, which has developed a robotic restaurant kitchen. “With a global pandemic ongoing, a meal cooked with a robotic system might be just enough of a differentiator to help Spyce thrive in an era that has decimated the restaurant industry,” writes Gagne.
Financial Times reporter John Thornhill writes that Prof. Tim Berners-Lee’s startup Inrupt, which is aimed at developing a new data architecture for the web, has launched its first enterprise-ready servers. Thornhill explains that Inrupt’s technology is aimed at empowering “users to create their own Pods (personal online data stores). This enables them to control their own data and grant access to third-party apps at their discretion.”
A new study by MIT researchers finds that super-spreading events are larger drivers of the Covid-19 pandemic than originally thought, reports Carey Goldberg for WBUR. “We found in our study that super-spreading events can indeed be a major driver of the current pandemic,” says postdoc Felix Wong. “Most people generate zero or one cases, but it's the people generating hundreds of cases that we really should be worried about.”
AP reporter Mark Pratt writes that Gov. Charlie Baker has nominated Dalila Argaez Wendlandt SM ’93 to fill an open seat on the state’s highest court. Pratt writes that Baker noted, “Wendlandt’s background in science and the law gives her a unique perspective.”
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker has nominated Dalila Argaez Wendlandt SM ’93 to the Supreme Judicial Court, reports Katie Lannan for WBUR. "Engineering requires you to look at the data and follow it where it goes, and to roll up your sleeves when there's a problem that looks like it's unsolvable," says Wendlandt. "For me the law is very similar especially when you do high-end legal work. Often, the answer is not clear, but if you're confident in your skills, you roll up your sleeves, you bring out the big guns and you just do your job."
A new algorithm developed by MIT researchers could be used to help detect people with Covid-19 by listening to the sound of their coughs, reports Zoe Kleinman for BBC News. “In tests, it achieved a 98.5% success rate among people who had received an official positive coronavirus test result, rising to 100% in those who had no other symptoms,” writes Kleinman.