Prof. Ed Boyden and Prof. Li-Huei Tsai have “found that if gamma waves through non-invasive stimulation, were put back into baseline frequency, it could slow down the process in certain brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s,” reports Hansa Bhargava for Forbes.
The MIT Museum is hosting an event with Harvard University Prof. Cass Sunstein about his new book, “Climate Justice: What Rich Nations Owe the World – and the Future,” reports Adelaide Parker for The Boston Globe. The event will explore “our obligations to our fellow humans – and how climate change means our actions have global consequences,” writes Parker.
During a town hall-style discussion at the Museum of Science, Prof. David Kaiser explored the importance of scientific exploration in a democracy and its role in spurring on national progress, reports Brian Bergstein for The Boston Globe. “Science, which needs a lot of resources, has to be political,” says Kaiser. “We have to make the case in a persuasive way about why this kind of activity is worthy of support.”
Lincoln Lab Senior Scientist Vijay Gadepally speaks with Washington Post reporter Nicolas Rivero about ways to make AI more sustainable. “Whatever we do, energy usage is likely going to go up,” says Gadepally. “That train has left the station.”
Prof. Daron Acemoglu speaks with New York Times reporter Jeff Sommer about the anticipated impact of future AI on various industries. “There is a lot of hype in the industry,” says Acemoglu. While some AI companies have “impressive achievements,” Acemoglu adds that many financial and economic calculations were being based on mere “projections into the future that are sometimes exaggerated.”
In a letter to The Guardian, Research Scientist Florian Metzler, Research Affiliate Matt Lilley and their colleagues highlight the important advancements being made in cold fusion research. “Cold fusion could result in spectacular technologies. But we are convinced that the way forward requires rigorous, open-source scientific investigation, not more claims,” they write. “In many ways, cold fusion’s time has come. Advances in theory and experiment have made the LENR field eminently actionable.”
Prof. Daron Acemoglu speaks with Bloomberg reporter Jeran Wittenstein about the implications of new AI advancements on areas such as productivity, the labor market and economic growth. “I hope I’m wrong, I hope we get some productivity growth. That would be really cool,” says Acemoglu. “But I don’t see it yet.”
Prof. Max Tegmark speaks with CNBC “Beyond The Valley” podcast hosts Arjun Kharpal and Tom Chitty about concerns surrounding the future of AI systems. “I think, on an optimistic note here, we can have almost everything that we’re excited about with AI,” says Tegmark, “if we simply insist on having some basic safety standards before people can sell powerful AI systems.”
Prof. Julien de Wit speaks with National Geographic reporter Robin George Andrews about how special infrared filters on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) can be used to find small asteroids and precisely determine their size. “Asteroids get much brighter in the infrared than in the visible as they move away from Earth, and they are thus easier to detect or track with infrared facilities—JWST being the biggest of all,” says de Wit.
MIT physicists have measured kinetic inductance for two layers of stacked and twisted graphene and found that the superconducting current is much “stiffer,” meaning it resists change more than predicted by any conventional theory of superconductivity, reports Karmela Padavic-Callaghan for New Scientist. The findings could do more than “shed light on why graphene superconducts – they could also reveal key properties required for room-temperature superconductors.”
Research Scientist Peter Gloor speaks with Forbes reporter Vibhas Ratanjee “about how we can learn from the natural world—specifically social insects—to improve teamwork and innovation in modern workplaces.” Ratanjee notes that: “Gloor is a strong advocate for biophilic design—an approach that integrates nature into work environments to boost well-being and creativity. And the science backs him up: Studies have found that employees who work in spaces with natural light, plants and open-air designs report higher job satisfaction and lower stress levels.”
Evan Ehrenberg PhD '16 co-founded Waterlily, a company that “uses artificial intelligence to predict a family’s future long-term care needs and costs” with the right care and financial planning, reports Mary Ann Azevedo for TechCrunch. “Ehrenberg — who had previously founded and sold Clara Health — helped with early research and was struck by the industry’s response,” writes Azevedo. “Curious, he tested the platform and was shocked by his long-term care predictions — so much so that he changed his diet, hired a personal trainer, and updated his financial plans.”
Georgina Campbell Flatter SM '11 has been named the chief executive of Greentown Labs, the “nation’s largest clean-tech incubator,” reports Jon Chesto for The Boston Globe. “This is a pretty critical time for energy and climate, and we all need to lean in,” says Flatter.
Writing for The Boston Globe, Prof. Karilyn Crockett explores the history of the Home for Aged Colored Women and its residents, noting that “uncovering the stories of these women, many of whom worked for decades as domestic servants for wealthy Boston families, has been a revelation." Crockett explains that: “using US Census records, Ancestry.com, and materials from the Massachusetts Historical Society and National Park Service, students painstakingly sifted through newspapers, birth certificates, and cursive-laden archival records to bring these women to life.”
In a letter to the editor of The Boston Globe, Lecturer Chloe Garcia Roberts spotlights the important role of books and literature in general in the greater Boston area’s culture and community. “If you throw a pebble in a crowd here, you are likely to hit a practicing, lauded, or aspiring writer,” writes Roberts. “A number of the area’s treasured bookstores survived, albeit shakily, the onslaught of the chains and Amazon. It is part of our culture here that many of us go out of our way, trudging through the wintry mix if necessary, to attend author events and buy books at these independent stores. When they go, they won’t be replaced.”