| Insights Into Alzheimer's | | | | | | Almost half of all Alzheimer’s patients carry the gene APOE4. A new MIT study finds the gene affects brain cells’ ability to metabolize lipids and handle stress, and that these effects were reversed by treatment with choline, a widely available supplement. |
| Researchers virtually open and read sealed historic letters History unfolds as an interdisciplinary research team uses computational tools to examine the contents of “locked” letters. |  |
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| Researchers introduce a new generation of tiny, agile drones The technology could boost aerial robots’ repertoire, allowing them to operate in cramped spaces and withstand collisions. |  |
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| How to reduce the environmental impact of your next virtual meeting A new study uncovers overlooked environmental impacts of internet use by estimating associated carbon, land, and water footprints for popular web apps. |  |
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| 3 Questions: Task Force 2021 and the future of MIT education Anantha Chandrakasan and Melissa Nobles describe themes that emerged from broad discussions on teaching and learning in the post-Covid world. |  |
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| Affirming life at the end of life “People have a lot of fear talking about death in Western society, so we don’t really address it,” says Virginia Chang ’85, who works as an end-of-life doula. |  |
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| QS World University Rankings rates MIT No. 1 in 12 subjects for 2021 The Institute ranks second in four subject areas. |  |
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| This online fitness brand is launching a line of shoes and clothing designed by Boston teens // The Boston Globe Nobull, a direct-to-consumer fitness brand co-founded by Marcus Wilson MBA ’04, is releasing a line of apparel designed by Boston teens, as part of an effort with Artists for Humanity to help connect under-resourced youth with opportunities in arts and design. |
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| A critic of technology turns her gaze inward // The New York Times In her new memoir, “The Empathy Diaries,” Sherry Turkle takes readers on a journey from her childhood in Brooklyn to her career as an MIT professor. The book's title refers to Turkle's view that as we spend less time in real-life conversation with others, empathy is one of the casualties. |
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| Opinion: The key to Black equity: economics // GBH Lecturer Malia Lazu explores how to build racial equity into the innovation economy. “Without centering the value of Black contributions to our economy,” writes Lazu, “economic equity in our country will be nothing more than a good intention.” |
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| Opinion: Five hacks for online learning success in the workplace // Forbes Anant Agarwal, president of edX, explores how workers can get the most out of online learning opportunities. “The reality is, learning itself is a skill to practice and hone,” Agarwal writes. “But there are five proven steps ... that you can leverage to make the knowledge more ‘sticky.’” |
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I’m planning to get vaccinated because...
I want to attend our daughter’s wedding this summer and see all of the guests from the pre-Covid invited list!
—Pauline Yee, nurse practice supervisor at MIT Medical |
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| | | Last summer, an elementary school was renamed in honor of Carolyn Parker MS ’53. Before joining the MIT community, Parker had already made history by becoming the first Black woman in the U.S. to earn an advanced degree in physics, when she earned a master’s from the University of Michigan. But World War II changed everything, and she was one of very few Black women to be recruited to work on the Manhattan Project. Following the war, Parker was an assistant professor of physics at Fisk University, but she decided to pursue another degree at MIT. In 1953 she earned a second master’s — the first Black MIT student to earn an advanced degree in physics. She was soon thereafter diagnosed with cancer, possibly a result of radiation from her work on the Manhattan Project, and died in 1966. “There’s so many ways you could teach national history major topics and themes through Parker’s life,” said one school committee member on the renaming of the Carolyn Beatrice Parker Elementary School in Gainesville, Florida, where Parker is buried. “[H]ad she lived past the age of 48, I would like to think of all the other stories that we could tell about her.” |
| | | Each year the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT unveils a spectacular gallery of scientific images in its lobby. While Covid-19 restrictions remain in place, the gallery was recently updated and this year’s images are now on display, visible to those with access to the building as well as passers-by on Main Street. The winning images depict microneedles and microparticles for drug delivery, blood vessels, cancer cells, and more. |
| | | A recent MIT Forum for Equity hosted by the MIT Alumni Association explored improvements to equity and inclusion in post-secondary engineering education. Moderated by Eboney Hearn ’01, executive director of the MIT Office of Engineering Outreach Programs, the forum featured three MIT alumni who hold research and/or leadership roles at engineering schools: Christopher Rose ’79, SM ’81, PhD ’85, professor of engineering and associate provost of STEM initiatives at Brown University; Alisha Sarang-Sieminski ’98, associate dean and professor of engineering at Olin College; and Justin Schwartz PhD ’90, dean of engineering at Penn State University. |
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