Wearable cancer detector + energy-storing concrete + fusion fun

[view in browser]( MIT Weekly [MIT Logo] August 5, 2023 Greetings! Here’s a roundup of the latest from the MIT community. Want a daily dose of MIT in your inbox? [Subscribe to the MIT Daily](. Wearable Cancer Detector #[Photo shows a woman wearing the breast cancer-detecting prototype device over black tank top on a green background. In her hands she shows the green circuit board.]( A wearable ultrasound scanner, incorporated into a bra, could allow more regular monitoring of patients at high risk for breast cancer. “With more frequent screening, our goal is to increase the survival rate to up to 98 percent,” says Associate Professor Canan Dagdeviren. [Full story via MIT News →]( Top Headlines New method simplifies the construction process for complex materials With a new, user-friendly interface, researchers can quickly design many cellular metamaterial structures that have unique mechanical properties. [Full story via MIT News →]( [MIT Heat Island]( Q&A: A high-tech take on Wagner’s “Parsifal” opera Director and MIT Professor Jay Scheib’s production, at the Bayreuth Festival in Germany, features an apocalyptic theme and augmented reality headsets for the audience. [Full story via MIT News →]( [MIT Heat Island]( How forests can cut carbon, restore ecosystems, and create jobs A new analysis describes steps planners can take to make forests more effective “natural climate solutions.” [Full story via MIT News →]( [MIT Heat Island]( MIT engineers create an energy-storing supercapacitor from ancient materials Made of cement, carbon black, and water, the device could provide cheap and scalable energy storage for renewable energy sources. [Full story via MIT News →]( [MIT Heat Island]( Not your grandparents’ “Monopoly” MIT board game designers take on social and cultural topics, with a playful twist. [Full story via MIT News →]( [MIT Heat Island]( #ThisisMIT #[Aerial portrait of about 250 student interns in Lincoln Laboratory lobby, some with their hands raised. Text via lincoln_laboratory: Happy #NationalInternDay! This year marked one of Lincoln Laboratory's biggest summers, with 250 student interns representing the top universities across the United States and Puerto Rico! At the Laboratory, students gain valuable research experience and exposure to career paths across many scientific, engineering, and operational fields. We are confident that the future of STEM is bright with this group of talented individuals. We thank all of them for their invaluable contributions to the Laboratory, and we hope to see them back here next summer or after graduation!]( [Follow @lincoln_laboratory on Instagram→]( In the Media The economic case for slowing down AI // Quartz Professor Daron Acemoglu and graduate student Todd Lensman have created “the first economic model of how to regulate transformative technologies” like artificial intelligence. [Full story via Quartz→]( Who rings the bells inside the Old North Church? // Boston.com The MIT Guild of Bellringers, a dedicated volunteer group, “practice every weekend to master the complex and historic practice known as change ringing.” [Full story via Boston.com→]( How to make health care better through dollars and sense // Marketplace Professor Amy Finkelstein discusses her new book “We’ve Got You Covered: Rebooting American Health Care,” which outlines a way to rethink health care in the U.S. [Full story via Marketplace→]( Opinion: America’s workers deserve their fair share of economic gains // The Hill Professor Emeritus Thomas Kochan writes about the need for a new social contract that reflects the expectations of today’s workforce, including sizable wage increases due to inflation and a voice in the use of AI and generative technology. [Full story via The Hill→]( Watch This #[Graphic features a photo of Anne White next to a glowing sun, in addition to the word “Fusion” and five small images of people of different ages, including a child whose image is labeled “Level 1”]( Can you explain your research to a kindergartener? In a feature for Wired, Vice Provost and Associate Vice President for Research Administration [Anne White]( explains the nature of fusion energy in five levels of increasing difficulty — to a child, a teen, a college student, a graduate student, and an expert. “Fusion is so exciting because it is extraordinarily beautiful physics, which underpins some of the most basic processes in our universe,” says White, who is also a professor of nuclear science and engineering. “Nuclear processes have a tremendously valuable application for humankind, a virtually limitless, clean, safe, carbon-free form of energy.” [Watch the video→]( Listen #["Curiosity Unbounded" logo, which includes those words on a white circle that is effusing particles at the top]( In a new episode of the [Curiosity Unbounded]( podcast, host and MIT President Sally Kornbluth speaks with [Greg Fournier]( an associate professor of geobiology at MIT. Fournier’s work focuses on the microbial world, and by studying the evolution of microbes, he and his team are furthering our understanding of the history of life on Earth. In the episode, he discusses fine-tuning our understanding of evolution; lab life and how research surprises often lead to new discoveries; and advice for those just beginning a career in science. [Listen to the episode]( [“] What draws me to music is being able to make an impact on the people who listen. —Tristan Shin ’23, trumpet player and one of four recent winners of the Laya and Jerome B. Wiesner Student Art Award for exceptional artistic contributions to the MIT community [Full story via Arts at MIT→]( This edition of the MIT Weekly was brought to you by [women in mathematics at MIT](. ➕ Have feedback to share? Email mitdailyeditor@mit.edu. Thanks for reading, and have a great week! —MIT News [Forward This Email]( [Subscribe]( [MIT Logo] This email was sent to {EMAIL} because of your affiliation with MIT, or because you signed up for our newsletters. [subscribe]( [update preferences]( [unsubscribe]( [view in browser]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Youtube]( [Instagram]( MIT News Office · 77 Massachusetts Avenue · Cambridge, MA 02139 · USA