Seven Must-Read Stories (Week ending January 23, 2016)
Another chance to catch the most interesting and important articles from the previous week on MIT Technology Review.
- Can Augmented Reality Make Remote Communication Feel More Intimate?
A Microsoft Research study uses augmented reality to project a life-size person into a room with you, perched in an empty seat.
- Companies Aim to Make Drugs from Bacteria That Live in the Gut
Relatively new discoveries about of the role of the microbiome in human health have sparked a race to develop new therapies based on microbes.
- The Underwater Robot That Will Repair Fukushima
A robot is being built to venture into the radioactive waters of Fukushima’s worst-hit reactor and remove fuel rods.
- California Gas Leak Exposes Growing Natural-Gas Risks
As America shifts toward natural gas for energy, decaying pipelines and storage facilities are at risk of leaks and explosions.
- Using Patient Fingerprints to Break Down Medical Record Silos
A startup uses encryption and fingerprint authentication to compare medical records across providers—and aims to make them easier to move, too.
- Don’t Blame Watson for IBM’s Slide
IBM might be overhyping the AI engine that beat humans on Jeopardy! But it would take a superhuman effort to overcome the huge challenges facing the company.
- A Scientist’s Contested History of CRISPR
Eric Lander of the Broad Institute writes a history of a gene-editing technique that may be seen as partial to one side of a patent dispute.