Suzanne Jacobs writes for Grist about Professor Jessika Trancik’s research and her focus on the scalability and efficiency of clean technologies. “It’s not a matter of can this technology scale up; it’s the question of can it scale up quickly enough to make a difference,” says Trancik.
Boston Magazine reporter Paul Albani-Burgio speaks with two of MIT’s newest Institute Professors, Sally “Penny” Chisholm and Marcus Thompson. Chisholm says that one of the most rewarding aspects of her job is working with MIT students. “They’re just a constant source of renewal and excitement,” she explains.
Fortune reporter Jonathan Vanian writes that researchers from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory have developed a new method to restore old, malfunctioning code. The system, called Helium, “discovers the most crucial lines of code that the original programmers developed to make it function, and then builds a revised version of the program.”
Christian Science Monitor reporter Joe Uchill writes about a new system developed by MIT researchers that can automatically detect and fix software bugs by borrowing functionality from other applications. Uchill explains that the researchers hope “automating the detection and patching processes will reduce the chance that an attacker can take advantage of the bug within a system.”
Larry Greenemeier writes for Scientific American about why government agencies want access to encrypted data, highlighting a report co-authored by MIT researchers that warns against providing special access. The researchers argue that providing access would “make software and devices much more complex, difficult to secure and expensive for tech companies to maintain."
MIT biologists have developed a genetically modified version of a common gut bacteria that could be used to treat disease, reports Catherine Woods for the PBS NewsHour. “You could engineer a Bacteroides to live in the gut and detect when inflammation is just starting…so that you can seek treatment right away,” explains Prof. Timothy Lu.
Researchers at MIT have developed tools that could one day allow intestinal bacteria to monitor, diagnose and treat diseases, writes Eryn Brown for The Los Angeles Times. "Just as you'd program computers, we're starting to learn how to program cells by modifying their DNA," says Prof. Timothy Lu.
Network World reporter Tim Greene writes that a committee of security experts state in a new report that allowing government agencies access to secure data could increase data breaches. MIT Principal Research Scientist Daniel Weitzner, who led the preparation of the report, explains that allowing special access creates “vulnerabilities to infrastructure being used in the commercial sector.”
Cat Zakrzewski writes for TechCrunch that a new report co-authored by MIT researchers details how giving law enforcement agencies access to encrypted communications could pose security risks. The report, “tells us that a backdoor for the government and law enforcement also provides an opening that could be exploited by hackers.”
Danny Yadron, Damian Paletta and Jennifer Valentino-Devries write for The Wall Street Journal that in a new report MIT cybersecurity experts argue that allowing governments access to encrypted data is “technically impractical and would expose consumers and business to a greater risk of data breaches.”
Government proposals for access to data would put digital communications at risk, according to a paper by CSAIL security experts. The New York Times’ Nicole Perlroth calls the report “the first in-depth technical analysis of government proposals by leading cryptographers and security thinkers.”
Financial Times reporter Richard Waters writes about how graduate student Abe Davis’ motion magnification research could be used to create more realistic virtual worlds. Waters writes that Davis’ work presents the “possibility of capturing and manipulating real-world objects in virtual space.”
MIT startup LiquiGlide has announced that they are partnering with the international food packaging company Orkla to use their non-stick coating inside mayonnaise bottles, reports Katie Palmer for Wired. Palmer explains that LiquiGlide has “created an algorithm to optimize the thermodynamic relationships between a textured solid on the inside of the bottle, its liquid 'lubricant,' and the product in question.”
MIT spinout LiquiGlide has signed a deal with Orkla that will allow the company to use LiquiGlide’s non-stick coating in their mayonnaise bottles, reports Chris Foxx for the BBC. Foxx explains that a customized version of the LiquiGlide “coating is created for each product, resulting in a "permanently wet" surface inside containers that helps the product slip out.”
In this video, BBC Click’s LJ Rich explores how researchers at MIT CSAIL have devised a system that can reconstruct sound from a video recording. “I think what’s really different about this technology is that it provides you with a way to image this information,” says graduate student Abe Davis.