Megan Molteni of Wired writes that data storage company, Catalog, an MIT spinout that is working on using DNA to store data. Molteni explains that at Catalog, “they’re building a machine that will write a terabyte of data a day, using 500 trillion molecules of DNA.”
Justin Chen of STAT writes that Biobot Analytics, which was founded by former MIT researchers, is measuring traces of drugs in sewers in an attempt to detect emerging public health threats. The technology could “first pinpoint communities that need interventions, like substance abuse programs, and later measure the success of those programs in lowering drug use,” explains Chen.
Autonomous vehicle company nuTonomy, an MIT startup, has been given permission to test their cars throughout Boston, writes The Boston Herald’s Jordan Graham. “They are going to encounter things on the road they’ve never seen before,” says MIT research engineer Bryan Reimer. “The only way to progress is to do it.”
Boston Globe reporter Jonathan Saltzman writes about how MIT alumnus Bernat Olle’s startup, Vedanta Biosciences, Inc., is looking to “collect a sample of every type of bacteria that lives in the gut.” The hope is to one day use what’s learned from this ‘library’ to help treat diseases.
CNBC reporter Lora Kolodny writes about Spyce kitchen, an MIT startup that uses both humans and robots to make what it calls “complex meals.” “Spyce has a stated goal of not replacing human chefs, explains Kolodny, “but helping them work faster, and make delicious meals more consistently, in its restaurants.”
Boston Herald reporter Jordan Graham writes about Ori, a Media Lab spinout that aims to make apartments more functional and spacious through the use of robotic furniture. Founder and CEO Hasier Larrea, an MIT alumnus, explains that by using technology and robotics, “you can make a 300-square-foot apartment be much more functional than a traditional static 400-square-foot apartment.”
Empatica, a startup co-founded by Prof. Rosalind Picard, is hoping to use the same data gathered by its wearable device Embrace, which “analyzes physiological signals to detect seizures,” to help people manage stress, reports Rina Raphael of Fast Company. “We’re developing the applications that can help people understand stress,” says Picard, “the technology is there.”
The Economist spotlights the experience of several MIT graduates who have started their own companies in a piece about teaching entrepreneurship. The Economist notes that MIT alumna Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola credits a course she took at MIT with helping her, “gain confidence in pitching to a room full of investors.”
In this WBUR segment, Prof. Robert Langer speaks with Karen Weintraub about the challenges of bringing scientific discoveries from an academic lab to the marketplace. “The people who often do the best are the ones that are good at dealing with failure,” says Langer.
NECN’s Brian Shactman interviews MIT alumnus Sam Shames for this “Tech Check” segment about the Embr Wave, a wristband developed by Shames and others to help the wearer feel cooler or warmer. “There’s actually a piece of technology to make it easier for all of us to get along when it comes to temperature,” declares Schactman.
MIT spinout Superpedestrian plans to begin building electric bikes for companies that rent shareable bikes, writes Hiawatha Bray for The Boston Globe. Bray notes that Assaf Biderman, Superpedestrian chief executive, feels that, “adding electric motors to shared bikes should sharply increase their popularity.”
MIT spinout Ginkgo Bioworks is highlighted on the 2018 CNBC Disruptor 50 list, reports CNBC’s Andrew Zaleski. Zaleski notes that Ginkgo Bioworks, “has developed an automated process for combining genetic parts that has made it the largest designer of printed DNA in the world. That breakthrough has positioned the start-up to change the face of a variety of industries.”
Ucare.ai, which was cofounded by MIT alumnus Neal Liu, is applying AI to the healthcare system in an effort to better serve “patients, health providers and those who pay the bills,” writes Jon Russell for TechCrunch. The company uses “deep learning and neural network algorithms” to predict patterns in an effort to “reduce preventable hospitalization, and, in turn, save on costs and hassles.”
The Boston Globe’s Scott Kirsner discusses the impact of Cambridge biotech company Biogen, cofounded by Prof. Phil Sharp, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. “The company has become the biggest oak tree of the Massachusetts biotech sector,” writes Kirsner, “not only because it is still standing after four decades, but because it has dropped a lot of acorns.”
Co-founded by Prof. Feng Zheng, Beam Therapeutics, which uses CRISPR to treat disease, has secured $87 million in initial funding, reports Clive Cookson for Financial Times. Beam is the first company to use base editing, which changes the chemical “letters” of genetic code without cutting it, similar to “moving from scissors-and-paste to editing text with a sharp pencil,” explains Cookson.