MIT researchers have developed a new drug-releasing coil that could be used to help treat tuberculosis, reports Ruby Prosser Scully for New Scientist. Scully explains that the coil is “too large to leave the stomach, so it stays there, and the medicines threaded onto it leach out at a rate depending on the type of drug and the polymer the developers use to make the pills.”
TechCrunch reporter Brian Heater writes that researchers at CSAIL and Harvard have developed a soft robotic gripper that can both handle delicate objects and lift items up to 100 times its own weight. “The gripper itself is made of an origami-inspired skeletal structure, covered in either fabric or a deflated balloon,” explains Heater.
Gizmodo reporter Ed Cara writes about a study by MIT researchers have finds “inactive” ingredients in pills could trigger a patient’s allergies or intolerances. “We’re not saying that everyone should stop taking these medications,” explains Prof. Giovanni Traverso. “But people with an allergy or intolerance should definitely have the opportunity to find out if they have to worry about certain medications.”
MIT researchers have found that many pills contain “inactive” ingredients that could be troublesome for patients, reports Richard Harris for NPR. Prof. Giovanni Traverso explains that if a patient with lactose intolerance takes a pill containing lactose, “it's probably not going to manifest in any significant symptoms. But as the number of pills you're taking [increases], then certainly you might cross that threshold."
AP reporter Lauran Neergaard writes that a new study by MIT researchers finds that pills often contain “inactive” ingredients capable of causing allergic or gastrointestinal reactions. The researchers found that “it’s hard for those patients, or even their doctors, to tell if a pill contains an extra ingredient they should avoid,” Neergaard explains.
In this video, HuffPost highlights a robotic cheetah created by MIT researchers that can perform a backflip from a standing position. HuffPost notes that the robot has a “range of motions, making it agile enough to pick itself up if knocked to the ground.”
Forbes reporter Eric Mack writes about the latest iteration of MIT’s robotic cheetah: A new miniature version that weighs 20 pounds. “The cheetah has heavyweight skills like walking over uneven terrain, picking itself up after a fall or a swift kick and of course, its ability to pull off a 360-degree reverse flip from a standing position,” Mack explains.
Washington Post reporter Peter Holley writes that MIT researchers have created a mini robotic cheetah that can perform a backflip and walk right-side up or upside down. “Legged robots will have a variety of uses where human or animal-like mobility is necessary, but it may be unsafe to send a person,” explains technical associate Benjamin Katz.
Fortune reporter Alyssa Newcomb writes that MIT researchers have developed a 20-pound robotic cheetah that can successfully execute a backflip and nail the landing. “The robotic mini cheetah can also gallop over uneven terrain twice as fast as the average human,” writes Newcomb.
A miniature version of the robotic cheetah developed by MIT researchers provides a testbed for researchers to experiment with new maneuvers like backflips, reports David Freeman for NBC Mach. “Having a platform that's relatively small and safe and cheap makes running experiments very easy,” says technical associate Benjamin Katz, “you don't have to worry about breaking the robot or getting hurt.”
MIT researchers have developed a miniature robotic cheetah that can perform a wide range of maneuvers, reports Brian Heater for TechCrunch. “The robot is capable of running up to five miles per hour, can perform a 360-degree backflip from a standing position and will right itself quickly after being kicked to the ground,” Heater explains.
Verge reporter Chaim Gartenberg writes that MIT researchers have developed a new mini cheetah robot that can perform backflips. Gartenberg notes that the robot is the first four-legged robot that can do a backflip, adding that it weighs “around 20 pounds, and can trot along at up to 2.45 meters per second (around 5.5 miles per hour).”
Profs. Regina Barzilay and Dina Katabi discuss how AI could transform the field of medicine in a special episode of CNBC’s Squawk Box, broadcast live from MIT’s celebration for the new MIT Schwarzman College of Computing. Barzilay explains that her goal is “to teach machines to do stuff that humans cannot do, for instance predict who is going to get cancer within two years.”
WBUR’s Deborah Becker speaks with Prof. Regina Barzilay about her work applying AI to health care and Prof. Sangbae Kim about how the natural world has inspired his robotics research during a special Radio Boston segment highlighting innovation in the greater Boston area.
Prof. Eric Alm speaks with New Scientist reporter Elie Dolgin about his work building a repository of gut microbes. “What we are doing is taking a snapshot of the biodiversity of human gut microbes on Earth today,” Alm explains, “and then preserving that for future generations so that we always have the biodiversity that co-evolved with us stored somewhere.”