Defense Secretary Ash Carter has announced that the nation’s first textile manufacturing institute will be based out of MIT, according to the AP. "Fibers and fabrics are among the earliest forms of human expression, yet have changed very little over the course of history," explains Prof. Yoel Fink. "All this is about to change."
WBUR reporter Zeninjor Enwemeka reports on the new textiles manufacturing institute, to be led by MIT, which was announced by White House and state officials last week. “We’re expecting to see the rebirth of fabrics and really a new industry come up around this area, and Massachusetts is very well position to do it,” says Prof. Yoel Fink.
In a roundup of top science images of the week, Popular Science reporter Claire Maldarelli highlights a new machine developed by MIT researchers “that can synthesize multiple kinds of drugs, including antidepressants, antihistamines, and a local anesthetic.”
Scientific American reporter Bob Roehr writes that MIT researchers have developed a manufacturing system that can produce a variety of drugs. The researchers created a “drug-producing process that is not only faster but also more precise, more efficient and cheaper than production methods now in use," explains Roher.
Washington Post reporter Matt McFarland writes about the new consortium, led by MIT, aimed at developing the next generation of fabrics. “While the tech industry talks of “wearable” devices…next-generation fabrics would literally create wearable computing devices that hang in our closets. What looks like a typical shirt might actually have some of the abilities of your smartphone or smartwatch.”
A public-private consortium led by MIT has won a national competition to create a manufacturing institute aimed at moving the textile industry into the digital age, reports Steve Lohr for The New York Times. “This is about reimagining what a fabric is, and rebirthing textiles into a high-tech industry,” says Prof. Yoel Fink.
Boston Herald reporter Jordan Graham writes that a new nonprofit founded by MIT has been selected as the winner of a Department of Defense contest to establish a fiber research center. “The center and the institute is going to go anywhere fiber and fabric goes,” explains Prof. Yoel Fink, who led the proposal for the institute.
A consortium led by MIT has won a competition to host a federally funded research program focused on bringing the textile industry into the digital age, reports Jon Chesto for The Boston Globe. “Here is a bold vision that’s not just manufacturing stuff that we know about but also enabling a whole new interpretation of the fabric industry,” says Prof. Yoel Fink.
Science reporter Robert Service writes that MIT researchers have developed a drug synthesis machine that can produce a variety of medications. Service writes that such a machine “could someday help pharmaceutical companies meet unexpected surges in demand and help health officials respond to disasters and medical emergencies worldwide by producing medicines when and where they are needed.”
MIT researchers have developed a programming language for living cells, reports Erika Check Hayden for Nature. “What we’re finding over time is that biology isn’t this kind of mysterious unpredictable substrate; it just felt that way because we didn’t really have the tools to see what was going on,” Prof. Christopher Voigt says.
NPR reporter Michelle Andrews writes about a new paper, co-authored by Prof. Andrew Lo, that proposes developing health care installment loans to help patients access treatments that are prohibitively expensive. Lo explains that the loans are a "private sector stopgap way to deal with” the high prices of certain medications.
MIT researchers are collecting information from sewer systems in an effort to better understand human health, writes Nicola Davis for The Guardian. “The beauty of looking at the sewage is there is a possibility that you can look not only for that pollutant, but some version of that pollutant that’s been modified by the human body,” explains Prof. Eric Alm.
Prof. Feng Zhang has been named a recipient of the 2016 Canada Gairdner International Award for his work on the development of the CRISPR gene-editing system, reports CBC News. CRISPR "may prove to be a ‘powerful therapeutic’ for treating human diseases by editing out harmful genetic mutations.”
Globe and Mail reporter Ivan Semeniuk spotlights Prof. Feng Zhang and his role in developing the CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing system, for which he was honored as a recipient of the 2016 Canada Gairdner International award. “CRISPR genome editing technology is a really powerful platform,” says Zhang. “It think it will advance both our ability to understand disease and to develop treatments.”
Alumna Tish Scolnik, CEO of GRIT, speaks with Justine Hofherr of Boston.com about how an MIT class inspired her career. Scolnik explains that the idea for GRIT, an MIT startup that produces wheelchairs that allows users to traverse rugged terrain, “started back at MIT as a class project.”