Chuck Bednar writes for redOrbit that a team of MIT researchers has developed a method for defending against cyberattacks in the cloud and implemented their new technique in computer chips. “By adapting the technology to chips used in home systems, they are looking to key prying eyes from stealing your computer’s data,” Bednar reports.
In an article for Popular Science, Mary Beth Griggs reports that a team of MIT researchers won the Desal Prize, a competition judging the effectiveness of new desalination systems. The MIT team developed a system that uses solar panels to power “a system that removes salt from the water through electrodialysis.”
Lindsay Kalter reports for The Boston Herald that MIT researchers are developing a device that can be implanted into a tumor to help determine the best course of cancer treatment. “We wanted to bring the laboratory into the human body,” says Langer.
Boston Globe reporter Hiawatha Bray writes about how Prof. Amos Winter and graduate student Natasha Wright are testing their solar-powered desalination system in a competition aimed at finding cheaper and more efficient ways to provide clean water to the developing world. “It’s a two-billion-person problem,” says Winter. “That’s a pretty motivating problem.”
Graduate student Lina Colucci speaks with Elisabeth Pain of Science about combining her passion for dance with her work as an engineer. Colucci explains that she is using her knowledge of “biomechanics to change the materials and structural design” of ballet shoes.
Lauren Beavin of Boston Magazine speaks with A.M. Turing Award recipient Michael Stonebraker about why Boston is such a great place for computer scientists. The Boston tech scene "is way above critical mass, and the quality of life here is very, very high,” Stonebraker explains.
In an article for The Huffington Post about teaching kids computer programming, Joni Blecher highlights the robotic garden developed by researchers from the Department of Mechanical Engineering and CSAIL. The garden has “over 100 flowers that can be controlled via a Bluetooth-enabled device.”
In an article for Bloomberg Businessweek about batteries, Christopher Martin highlights how Prof. Donald Sadoway’s liquid metal battery will be deployed this year. The batteries, which are being commercialized by Sadoway’s startup Ambri, will power solar and wind farms and store surplus energy for a power company in Manhattan.
In a Scientific American podcast, Cynthia Graber examines MIT research showing typing speed can indicate if a person is fatigued and can help diagnose certain diseases. Typing speed could be used as a “safety feature on software programs for night shifts” or could diagnose Parkinson’s “by tracking changes in someone’s ability to manipulate the common keyboard.”
BetaBoston reporter Nidhi Subbaraman writes about how graduate student Steven Keating's thirst for knowledge may have saved his life. After experiencing phantom odors, Keating urged his doctors to perform a brain scan, which revealed a tumor. Since then, Keating has “open-sourced” his illness, and become a “champion of a movement to provide patients with more information about their health.”
Researchers at MIT have developed software that tracks typing speed in order to help diagnose Parkinson’s disease, writes Alexandra Ossola for Popular Science. Ossola explains that the researchers "hope that this type test could eventually lead to earlier diagnoses of Parkinson’s.”
Steve Lohr of The New York Times writes about how allowing patients like brain cancer survivor and MIT graduate student Steven Keating greater access to their medical records can not only improve patient health, but also benefit medical research. The sharing of medical records could be a “huge crowdsourcing opportunity for research,” Keating explains.
In a New York Times article, Steve Lohr spotlights how graduate student Steven Keating’s active participation in his medical care led to early detection of a brain tumor. In describing patient access to medical records, Keating explains his belief that “data can heal.”
The ACM has awarded the A.M. Turing Award, widely regarded as the “Nobel Prize in Computing,” to CSAIL researcher and adjunct professor Michael Stonebraker, reports Barb Darrow for Fortune. Stonebraker is “famous for arguing that database is not a one-size-fits-all category."
Michael Stonebraker, a principal investigator at the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab and an adjunct professor at MIT, has won the A.M. Turning Award for his work with database management systems, reports Nidhi Subbaraman for BetaBoston. “This is every computer scientist’s lifetime dream, and it came true for me,” said Stonebraker.