Kate Baggaley of NBC News highlights a team of MIT researchers who have developed a computer model to explain how albatrosses fly so efficiently. “Unlike other birds that flap their wings frequently, the albatross rides the wind,” which researchers are hoping to duplicate as they attempt to create drones that fly by harnessing power from the wind and sun, she explains.
MIT researchers have developed a new sensor that can be applied to the leaf of a plant and could be used to help predict droughts, reports Alyssa Meyers for The Boston Globe. Prof. Michael Strano explains that in the future, “One of the most useful ways of using this sensor is to design more stress-tolerant crops.”
Sara Clemence writes for Bloomberg that MIT is working with Lamborghini on developing a new electric supercar. Working with two labs at MIT, Lamorghini plans to essentially turn the car into a battery by making “supercapacitors out of carbon fiber panels that can be used to form the body of the car,” explains Clemence.
Prof. Yossi Sheffi writes for The Wall Street Journal that students should be learning soft skills such as communications, leadership and teamwork, tools that are necessary for managing organizations and supply-chains successfully. Sheffi writes that, “professionals need to hone their ability to communicate with people working across a wide range of disciplines and a variety of geographies.”
MIT researchers have teamed up with Lamborghini to create an electric sports car, reports Jordan Graham for the Boston Herald. Graham explains that the research, could be used to, “make the cars lighter and make batteries out of carbon nanotubes. The batteries can be made in any shape, and could be designed to fit inside the car’s side panels.”
Researchers from MIT and Lamborghini have unveiled a new concept supercar incorporating futuristic design elements and new technologies, writes Nicole Wakelin for Boston.com. Led by Profs. Mircea Dinca and Anastasios John Hart, the teams are “focused on the development of energy storage systems and the use of innovative materials,” writes Wakelin.
CNN reporter Peter Valdes-Dapena writes that MIT researchers are working with Lamborghini to develop a battery-free, electric supercar. Valdes-Dapena explains that instead of running on batteries, the body of the car, which would be made from exotic carbon nanotubes, would be used as a supercapacitor.
Graduate student Anish Athalye speaks with the BBC about his work examining how image recognitions systems can be fooled. "More and more real-world systems are starting to incorporate neural networks, and it's a big concern that these systems may be possible to subvert or attack using adversarial examples,” Athalye explains.
New Scientist reporter Abigail Beale writes that MIT researchers have been able to trick an AI system into thinking an image of a turtle is a rifle. Beale writes that the results, “raise concerns about the accuracy of face recognition systems and the safety of driverless cars, for example.”
In an article published by The Wall Street Journal about the future of programmable materials, Kelly and Zach Weinersmith highlight Prof. Daniela Rus’ work developing “origami bots that can shape themselves into tools to perform medical procedures or deliver drugs inside the body.”
Guardian reporter Alex Hern writes that in a new paper MIT researchers demonstrated the concept of adversarial images, describing how they tricked an AI system into thinking an image of a turtle was an image of a gun. The researchers explained that their work “demonstrates that adversarial examples are a significantly larger problem in real world systems than previously thought.”
WGBH’s Craig LeMoult reports on the future of work conference held at MIT this week, which examined how automation may impact the labor market. Prof. Erik Brynjolfsson explained that, “we're using technologies to augment not just our muscles but our brains, allowing us to control the world and make them figure things out more effectively.”
In a WBUR segment about how technology is increasingly being used to assist seniors and caregivers, Rachel Zimmerman highlights Rendever, an MIT spinout, and speaks with Prof. Paul Osterman, Prof. Dina Katabi and Dr. Joseph Coughlin about their work. Zimmerman explains that Coughlin believes “a mix of smart devices and other personal services,” will help people age well.
MIT scientists have developed a technique that could potentially be used one day to treat diseases of the brain, muscles, liver and kidneys by using CRISPR to edit RNA, writes Melissa Healy for The Los Angeles Times. Making edits to the chemical message of RNA, “doesn’t effect a permanent change in a cell’s architectural plan; rather, it essentially alters the implementation of that plan,” explains Healy.
Prof. Feng Zhang and his colleagues have created a CRISPR-based system that can edit RNA in human cells, reports Amy Dockser Marcus for The Wall Street Journal. “The new RNA-editing system, which the scientists have dubbed Repair, allows the editing of individual RNA letters, correcting a common mutation known to play a role in a number of diseases.”