Reproducibility may be the key idea students need to balance trust in evidence with healthy skepticism

How do you ensure scientific research can be trusted? The concept of reproducibility can help.

Richard Ball, Professor of Economics; Coordinator of Mathematical Economics, Haverford College • conversation
June 5, 2025 ~13 min

Uncertainty at NASA − Trump withdraws his nominee for administrator while the agency faces a steep proposed budget cut

Under the proposed budget, several major projects, such as the Mars Sample Return and the Space Launch System, would face cancellation.

Wendy Whitman Cobb, Professor of Strategy and Security Studies, Air University • conversation
June 3, 2025 ~8 min


Teaching AI models the broad strokes to sketch more like humans do

SketchAgent, a drawing system developed by MIT CSAIL researchers, sketches up concepts stroke-by-stroke, teaching language models to visually express concepts on their own and collaborate with humans.

Alex Shipps | MIT CSAIL • mit
June 2, 2025 ~7 min

Can you upload a human mind into a computer? A neuroscientist ponders what’s possible

Science has done many things that seem miraculous. Why not transfer your consciousness to a machine?

Dobromir Rahnev, Associate Professor of Psychology, Georgia Institute of Technology • conversation
May 23, 2025 ~7 min

Placenta bandages have far more health benefits than risky placenta pills − a bioengineer explains

Placentas contain a rich amount of nutrients and stem cells, but there’s a difference between eating it at home for wellness and using it in the clinic to improve wound healing.

Marley Dewey, Assistant Professor of Bioengineering, University of California, Santa Barbara • conversation
May 16, 2025 ~8 min

Study shows vision-language models can’t handle queries with negation words

Words like “no” and “not” can cause this popular class of AI models to fail unexpectedly in high-stakes settings, such as medical diagnosis.

Adam Zewe | MIT News • mit
May 14, 2025 ~8 min

MIT Department of Economics to launch James M. and Cathleen D. Stone Center on Inequality and Shaping the Future of Work

With support from the Stone Foundation, the center will advance cutting-edge research and inform policy.

Department of Economics • mit
May 13, 2025 ~7 min

Science requires ethical oversight – without federal dollars, society’s health and safety are at risk

There are several steps between research on seemingly esoteric subjects and breakthrough medical treatments. Ethical oversight at every stage ensures science and society ultimately benefit.

Nancy M. P. King, Emeritus Professor of Social Sciences and Health Policy, Wake Forest University • conversation
May 9, 2025 ~12 min


If time is money, here’s one way consumers value it

A study on ride-sharing opens a window into consumer behavior, measuring the benefits for businesses.

Peter Dizikes | MIT News • mit
May 6, 2025 ~7 min

The age-old problem of long-term care

Informal help is a huge share of elder care in U.S., a burden that is only set to expand. A new book explores different countries’ solutions.

Peter Dizikes | MIT News • mit
May 5, 2025 ~8 min

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