CNN reporter Kaya Yurieff writes that MIT researchers have created a device that can harvest drinking water from the air, even in desert climates. “I'm most excited about being able to realize a functioning device in these remote areas and to be able to provide clean water to all the people who need it," says Prof. Evelyn Wang.
In an article published by Scientific American, Amin Al-Habaibeh writes about a device developed by MIT researchers that can extract drinking water from the atmosphere. Al-Habaibeh notes that the device’s ability to harvest water in dry regions, only using solar power, makes it a “particularly promising technology for harvesting water in arid or desert regions of the world.”
MIT researchers have developed a device that draws water from the air using solar power, writes David Morris for Fortune. The device could serve as a possible solution for regions facing issues with water access, and “could unleash massive growth in regions where it’s still a problem, both at home and abroad,” concludes Morris.
Joe Palca of NPR reports on a device developed by researchers from MIT and the University of California at Berkeley that uses a new technique to extract water from the air. Palca explains that the device uses “less power and works in drier environments,” than other technologies designed to turn water vapor into drinking water.
STAT reporter Eric Boodman writes that MIT researchers have engineered living materials that glow when they detect certain chemicals. Boodman notes that the researchers hope the living sensors “could at some point be used to pick up dangerous toxins or the chemical signs of disease.”
TIME reporter Alice Park writes that MIT researchers have modified the CRISPR gene-editing system so that it could be used to diagnose disease. Park explains that the researchers, “used CRISPR to recognize specific substances that bacteria and viruses make. Picking up even the slightest whisper of these products can alert doctors that an infection is active.”
A device co-developed by Prof. Evelyn Wang can remove water vapor from the air, producing almost 3 liters of water a day, writes Robert Service for Science. The device could eventually be used to provide homes in the driest parts of the world with “a solar-powered appliance capable of delivering all the water they need, offering relief to billions of people.”
Prof. Evelyn Wang and her colleagues have developed a device that can remove water from the air, writes Sam Lemonick for Forbes. “The technology could be a boon to people living in arid regions or places where there is extreme drought,” writes Lemonick.
MIT researchers have developed a new technique that uses the CRISPR gene-editing system to diagnose diseases, reports Joel Achenbach for The Washington Post. Achenbach explains that the tool could potentially be used to “detect not only viral and bacterial diseases but also potentially for finding cancer-causing mutations.”
Newsweek reporter Hannah Osborne writes that researchers from MIT and the University of California at Berkeley have developed a device that can extract drinking water from the air using power generated by sunlight. “Because this device is passive you can really reach out to remote areas that don’t have infrastructure,” explains Prof. Evelyn Wang.
Boston Globe reporter Robert Weisman writes about how a new startup is using technology developed in part by Prof. Robert Langer to try to reverse hearing loss. The company is applying Langer’s research to “regenerate sensory hair cells in the inner ear to treat the noise-induced hearing loss that affects an estimated 48 million Americans and millions more worldwide.”
Graduate student Frank Wang speaks with WGBH reporter Ciku Theuri about an encryption system developed by MIT researchers that can provide web users more online privacy. Wang explains that the system hits a “sweet point where we can actually say … we have pretty good security and we're pretty practical.”
Boston Globe columnist Scott Kirsner speaks with Professors Regina Barzilay and Tommi Jaakkola about their Introduction to Machine Learning class. Jaakkola explains that the course connects “the more theoretical, algorithmic stuff students are learning to actual data and problems.”
Prof. Tim Berners-Lee has been awarded the Association for Computing Machinery’s (ACM) Turing prize for his work developing the World Wide Web, reports Hiawatha Bray for The Boston Globe. “It is hard to imagine the world before Sir Tim Berners-Lee’s invention,” says ACM President Vicki Hanson.
MIT graduate student Ari Ofsevit has created a chart plotting all the colors from the country’s transit systems to compare the hues, writes The Washington Post’s Martine Powers. “Orange in one city does not mean orange in another,” says Ofsevit.