Bringing the Law to the FactoryRegulators can improve conditions by establishing fact-finding alliances with advocacy groups
Wed, 08/28/2013 - 09:56
Although factory labor rules are notoriously hard to enforce, a new study shows how some inspectors are able to uphold workplace standards.
The recent factory collapse in Bangladesh has renewed attention to the global issue of workplace standards… Study Details the Quirky Geography of Knowledge-SharingResearch indicates man-made boundaries as well as distance keep ideas tethered
Thu, 08/22/2013 - 16:20
Scholars have long been interested in tracking “knowledge spillovers,” the way technical and intellectual advances spread among communities of researchers and innovators. A significant body of work has shown that distance matters when it comes to… Nanosensors Could Aid Drug ManufacturingArrays of carbon nanotubes can detect flaws in drugs and help improve production
Thu, 08/22/2013 - 16:10
MIT chemical engineers have discovered that arrays of billions of nanoscale sensors have unique properties that could help pharmaceutical companies produce drugs—especially those based on antibodies—more safely and efficiently.
Using these sensors… Rethinking Robots With Rodney BrooksBaxter and robots like it demonstrate common sense, adapting to their tasks and environment
Mon, 08/12/2013 - 15:19
MIT professor emeritus Rodney Brooks gained fame during the 1990s for co-founding iRobot, an MIT spin-off that brought the Roomba and other innovative, helpful robots to the world. He’s since moved on to robots that are bigger, but no less… ‘Extreme Materials’ Gallium nitride and graphene could reduce energy use and make computers faster
Wed, 07/10/2013 - 12:41
In 2006, when Tomás Palacios completed his Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering at the University of California at Santa Barbara, he was torn between taking a job in academia or in industry.
“I wanted to make sure that the new ideas that we… A Chocolate Maker’s Big InnovationOff-the-shelf appliances equip “sample labs” to fine-tune chocolate in the field
Thu, 06/20/2013 - 15:08
You may have seen little squares of Tcho chocolate in their brightly colored wrappers decorated with futuristic parabolas of gold and silver. They’re easily found: Starbucks has sold them; Whole Foods sells them now.
Those usually aren’t the… How Technology Is Destroying Jobs, Part 2Income inequalities that worried economists for decades have greatly widened
Wed, 06/19/2013 - 12:12
Editor’s note: This is part two of a two-part series on how technology is, in part, behind the sluggish employment growth of the last 10 to 15 years. To read part one, click here.
To get some insight into Harvard economist Lawrence Katz’s question… How Technology Is Destroying Jobs, Part 1Digital processes increase productivity but leave human labor out of the equation
Wed, 06/19/2013 - 10:26
Editor’s note: This is part one of a two-part series on how technology is, in part, behind the sluggish employment growth of the last 10 to 15 years. To read part two, click here.
Given his calm and reasoned academic demeanor, it is easy to miss… Printing Artificial BoneResearchers develop method to design synthetic materials for 3D printing
Tue, 06/18/2013 - 16:39
Researchers working to design new materials that are durable, lightweight, and environmentally sustainable are increasingly looking to natural composites, such as bone, for inspiration.
Bone is strong and tough because its two constituent… Why Innovation Thrives in CitiesThe key is face-to-face interaction
Tue, 06/11/2013 - 16:10
Double a city’s population, and its economic productivity goes up 130 percent. MIT researchers think they know why.
In 2010, in the journal Nature, a pair of physicists at the Santa Fe Institute showed that when the population of a city doubles,…
