Collaboration

Amy Dockser Marcus of The Wall Street Journal writes about the growing interest in using CRISPR as a diagnostic tool, which led to a collaboration between MIT Professors James Collins and Feng Zhang. The result is Sherlock, a diagnostic platform that can identify viruses “based on extremely low amounts of RNA in blood and urine samples,” explains Dockser Marcus.

This CNN video highlights the new programmable backpack unveiled during the grand opening of the AFFOA headquarters in Cambridge. MIT alumnus Tairan Wang, COO of AFFOA, explains that the backpack is made with a programmable fabric that allows users to share information. The technology addresses how people initially connect, Wang explains. 

The launch of the AFFOA headquarters featured demos of two new smart fabrics, including a programmable backpack and fabric that uses LED lights to stream information to the wearer, writes Donna Goodison for the Boston Herald. Prof. Yoel Fink, AFFOA’s CEO, explains that, “the way to changing what fabrics are involves changing what fibers are.”

Boston Globe reporter Hiawatha Bray writes that at the launch of the AFFOA headquarters, researchers unveiled smart fabrics that can send messages, tune in audio signals and more. Bray writes that Prof. Yoel Fink, CEO of AFFOA, explained that “because the new fibers can process data like a computer…engineers will be able to develop an endless array of ways to use it.”

Zeninjor Enwemeka reports for WBUR on the opening of the Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA) headquarters, during which the center’s first fabric products were unveiled. Enwemeka explains the, “big idea here is to develop fabrics that provide services. The folks at AFFOA think fabrics are the next software.”

Deborah Levine and Terry Howard remember the mentorship between the late Prof. Michael Held and astronaut and PhD candidate Ronald McNair. “They remind us of the value of mentorship, the beauty of friendship, the productivity of collaboration and the impact of reaching across cultural lines,” says Levine.

In a video for Wired, Prof. Alex “Sandy” Pentland and Principal Research Scientist Kent Larson describe the collaborative interdisciplinary environment of the MIT Media Lab. Pentland explains that people “have to become more innovative to deal with big challenges like pollution and global warming.”

During a trip to Rome to renew MIT’s partnership with Eni aimed at accelerating clean energy technologies, President L. Rafael Reif spoke with Alessia Rastelli of Corriere della Sera about MIT’s Climate Action Plan, the Campaign for a Better World and bringing world-changing ideas to the marketplace. Reif explains that MIT researchers want to “have an impact on a global scale.”

The Media Lab will serve as one of the first anchor institutions for a new initiative, the Ethics and Governance of Artificial Intelligence Fund, which will “support research and development to make AI beneficial for humans,” reports Jordan Graham for the Boston Herald. 

The Media Lab will serve as a founding institution for a new effort focused on advancing artificial intelligence research for the public good, reports April Glaser for CNBC. Research will focus on everything from investigating how” socially responsible artificially intelligent systems can be designed” to fostering “understanding of the complexities of artificial intelligence.”

STAT reporter Sharon Begley writes that MIT will share the One Brave Idea research award, which is focused on supporting research aimed at fighting heart disease. The award recipients plan “to hunt down so-far unrecognized signals marking the transition from a healthy heart to one on the road to disease.”

Kate Levingston of Boston.com interviews mother and MIT Media Lab researcher Catherine D’Ignazio about the upcoming breast-pump hackathon at the Media Lab. As one of the organizers, D’Ignazio hopes the event will help to improve breast pump function and make breast pumping more acceptable in everyday life.

“It might not be the first thing that comes to mind after the word ‘hackathon,’ but organizers of an upcoming one at MIT say the world is long overdue for a better breast pump,” writes John Johnson for USA Today. The Media Lab event is slated for later this month.

In a piece for The New York Times, Prof. Michel DeGraff and Molly Ruggles write of the need for Haitian students to learn in their native Creole, as opposed to French. “Creole holds the potential to democratize knowledge, and thus liberate the masses from extreme poverty,” DeGraff and Ruggles explain. 

Professors Michel Degraff and Deborah Ancona speak with NECN about MIT’s initiative to support Haiti’s development of science, technology, engineering, and math curricula. Since 2010 the initiative has hosted four workshops and trained more than 100 teachers.