Inside Higher Ed reporter Lindsay McKenzie writes that a new AI system developed by MIT researchers to summarize the findings of technical scientific papers could “be used in the near future to tackle a long-standing problem for scientists -- how to keep up with the latest research.”
Inside Science reporter Yuen Yiu writes that MIT researchers have developed a new AI system that can summarize scientific research papers filled with technical terms. Yiu writes that the system “is a dramatic improvement from current programs, and could help scientists or science writers sift through large numbers of papers for the ones that catch their interest.”
Writing for WBUR, Prof. Marcia Bartusiak examines the significance of astronomers capturing the first image of a black hole, and how information gathered from studying black holes could provide insights into the origins of our universe. “Continued efforts like the Event Horizon Telescope project will provide astronomy’s next steps in separating fantasy from reality,” writes Bartusiak.
An excerpt published in National Geographic from a book by Deborah Blum, director of the Knight Science Journalism Program at MIT, examines how Henry Heinz’s push to improve the quality of his company’s ketchup helped usher in new food safety regulations. Blum writes that Heinz realized “consumer distrust of the food supply would be far more expensive to manufacturers like him than the cost of improving the food itself.”
In an article for NPR, Knight Science Journalism Fellow Elana Gordon explores whether pharmaceutical-grade heroin could serve as a form of treatment for longtime users. Gordon notes that, “prescribing heroin would challenge culture, laws and practice in the U.S.”
Deborah Blum, director of the Knight Science Journalism Program, speaks with Boston Globe reporter Michael Floreak about her book exploring the origins of food regulation in the U.S. The book, “reminded me why these rules are so important and what a thin line they are between us and the bad old days of the 19th century when cookbook authors had to warn their readers about fake food,” she explains.
Prof. Marcia Bartusiak speaks with Radio Boston’s Evan Horowitz about her book, “Dispatches from Planet 3.” Bartusiak explains that she was inspired to “take a new exciting finding and provide the backstory. All of these essays are taking something new - a new idea, a new discovery - and showing that it had an origin or a seed in the past.”
Prof. Thomas Levenson participates in a WGBH Living Lab Radio panel discussion about science fiction. “Science fiction is simply literature, Levenson explains. “It might be the leading stream of fiction because we live in a world that is so conditioned by all the ways that both deep scientific ideas and their applications in everyday technology change the way we do everything.”
Lecturer Amy Carleton speaks with Times Higher Ed reporter Holly Else about how she uses Wikipedia in her courses. Carleton explains that by asking students to write new pieces and add information to existing Wikipedia entries, she is attempting to help students “start to understand how important it is to have a high-quality source to back up any statements that they are making.”
In an article for The Washington Post, Prof. Marcia Bartusiak writes about Scott Kelly’s new memoir of his record-setting year on the International Space Station. Bartusiak writes that the book, “offers Earthlings an informative and gripping look at both the adventures and day-by-day experiences of living in a metal container that is orbiting Earth at 17,500 mph.”
Deborah Blum, director of the Knight Science Journalism Program, stresses the importance of citizen participation in science in a book review for The Washington Post. Blum writes that direct participation in gathering data, “makes science more accessible to Americans who, many worry, are becoming alienated from the research process.”
Prof. Thomas Levenson writes for The Atlantic about the response to author Andrea Wulf winning the Royal Society Insight Investment Book Prize. “Discounting a great work at the moment it earns one of science writing’s highest honors based on the gender of its creator is just one more barrier women science writers have to deal with that men don’t.”
Prof. Rosalind Williams reviews James Gleick’s new book about the history of time travel for The Washington Post. Prof. Williams writes that Gleick “gathers an engaging cast of characters who wrote these stories or otherwise explored the possibilities of time travel.”
In an article for TIME, Shane Parrish writes about and highlights excerpts from Prof. Alan Lightman’s book, “The Accidental Universe: The World You Thought You Knew.” Parrish writes that “‘The Accidental Universe’ is an amazing read, balancing the laws of nature and first principles with a philosophical exploration of the world around us.”
Nancy Szokan of The Washington Post reviews Prof. Thomas Levenson’s new book “The Hunt For Vulcan.” “At heart, this is a story about how science advances, one insight at a time,” writes Szokan. “But the immediacy, almost romance, of Levenson’s writing makes it almost novelistic.”