MIT News Newsletter

	Massachusetts Institute of Technology
April 6, 2017
MIT News: top stories
A weekly digest of the Institute’s research and innovation

Stretching the boundaries of neural implants

Rubbery, multifunctional fibers could be used to study spinal cord neurons and potentially restore function.

Researchers “iron out” graphene’s wrinkles

New technique produces highly conductive graphene wafers.

3Q: J. Phillip Thompson on revitalizing Central Brooklyn

Advisor to $1.4 billion state plan sees health care as foundation for “Vital Brooklyn.”

A faster single-pixel camera

New technique greatly reduces the number of exposures necessary for “lensless imaging.”

New technology could offer cheaper, faster food testing

Specialized droplets interact with bacteria and can be analyzed using a smartphone.

Multi-university effort will advance materials, define the future of mobility

With support from the Toyota Research Institute, MIT faculty will focus on next-generation energy storage.

In the Media

WGBH reporter Edgar Herwick visits the Haystack Observatory to learn about how astronomers are using radio telescopes to try to capture the first image of a black hole. "It’s a mind-blowing adventure, what the human mind and the human imagination can do with technology and science and creativity,” explains Haystack's Michael Hecht.

WBUR’s Asma Khalid highlights how MIT researchers have developed a tool that allows people to see the social media world of other users. Grad student Martin Saveski explains that the project was aimed at connecting people with differing viewpoints, noting that beyond politics there are “many other things that we may have in common.”

In this video, WCVB Chronicle host Anthony Everett visits Prof. Neil Gershenfeld at the Center for Bits and Atoms to learn about the global network of Fab Labs. Everett explains that Gershenfeld sees Fab Labs as places of “collaboration and networking and mentoring where ideas can literally take form. Where you don’t borrow, but make what you want.”

Writing for The Wall Street Journal, Prof. Yossi Sheffi outlines how companies should prepare for possible changes in the U.S. trade and regulatory landscape. Sheffi notes that “companies should be deliberate in making significant changes to supply chains based on chatter rather than real regulatory or legislative action.”