News
Should we let wunderkinds drop out of high school?
May 21, 2013 12:37 pm | by BETH J. HARPAZ, Associated Press | CommentsThomas Sohmers, 17, of Hudson, Mass., has been working at a research lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology since he was 13, developing projects ranging from augmented reality eyewear to laser communications systems. This spring, his mom, Penny Mills, let him drop out of 11th grade.
Apple's Cook to face Senate questions on taxes
May 21, 2013 12:32 pm | by MARCY GORDON, AP Business Writer | CommentsApple's CEO is disputing assertions by a Senate panel that the company avoids billions of dollars in U.S. taxes by shifting profits to foreign affiliates. Tim Cook testified at a hearing Tuesday by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which released a damning report Monday on Apple's tax practices.
Penn engineers’ nanoantennas improve infrared sensing
May 21, 2013 11:10 am | by The University of Pennsylvania | CommentsA team of University of Pennsylvania engineers has used a pattern of nanoantennas to develop a new way of turning infrared light into mechanical action, opening the door to more sensitive infrared cameras and more compact chemical-analysis techniques.
Researchers perform fastest measurements ever made of ion channel proteins
May 21, 2013 11:00 am | by Columbia University | CommentsThe miniaturization of electronics continues to create unprecedented capabilities in computer and communications applications, enabling handheld wireless devices with tremendous computing performance operating on battery power. This same miniaturization of electronic systems is also creating new opportunities in biotechnology and biophysics.
Opening doors to foldable electronics with inkjet-printed graphene
May 21, 2013 10:45 am | by Northwestern University | CommentsNorthwestern University researchers have recently developed a graphene-based ink that is highly conductive and tolerant to bending, and they have used it to inkjet-print graphene patterns that could be used for extremely detailed, conductive electrodes.
Iron-platinum alloys could be new-generation hard drives
May 21, 2013 10:26 am | by EurekAlert! | CommentsMeeting the demand for more data storage in smaller volumes means using materials made up of ever-smaller magnets, or nanomagnets. One promising material for a potential new generation of recording media is an alloy of iron and platinum with an ordered crystal structure.
NASA builds unusual testbed for analyzing X-ray navigation technologies
May 21, 2013 10:20 am | by NASA | CommentsPulsars have a number of unusual qualities. Like zombies, they shine even though they’re technically dead, and they rotate rapidly, emitting powerful and regular beams of radiation that are seen as flashes of light, blinking on and off at intervals from seconds to milliseconds.
Softbank to revise or cancel Hokkaido megasolar power plant
May 21, 2013 10:04 am | by The Associated Press | CommentsSoftbank Corp. may revise or cancel its plan to build three megasolar power plants in Hokkaido as Hokkaido Electric Power Co. has rejected its electricity sales application, industry sources said Tuesday. The local utility in April vowed to limit its electricity purchases from solar power plants to 400,000 kilowatts...
iCampus Student Competition yields online tools for improved on campus experiences
May 21, 2013 9:57 am | by Massachusetts Institute of Technology | CommentsThe MIT Council on Educational Technology (MITCET) and the Office of Educational Innovation and Technology (OEIT) announced the winner and runners-up for the 2013 iCampus Student Prize competition at the Office of Digital Learning retreat held on May 17. The annual competition is offered each year to all current MIT undergraduates and graduate students (both individuals and groups) to encourage development of technology to improve aspects of MIT’...
S&P downgrades Dell debt rating to 'BBB'
May 20, 2013 6:53 pm | by The Associated Press | CommentsStandard & Poor's Ratings Service lowered its credit rating on Dell Inc. by two notches, reflecting the computer marker's worsening operating performance. Last week, the Round Rock, Texas, company issued a dismal first-quarter report, as it slashed its personal computer prices in response to...
Panel: Apple uses firms outside US to avoid taxes
May 20, 2013 5:00 pm | by The Associated Press | CommentsApple Inc. employs a group of affiliate companies located outside the United States to avoid paying billions of dollars in U.S. income taxes, a Senate investigation has found. The world's most valuable company is holding overseas some $102 billion of its $145 billion in cash, and an Irish...
Idaho couple and Sun Valley land in Twitter tussle
May 20, 2013 4:29 pm | by JOHN MILLER - Associated Press - Associated Press | CommentsAn Internet entrepreneur and former Wall Street derivatives analyst contends central Idaho's Sun Valley resort and the Twitter Inc. social media site heisted his handle. Leonard Barshack, who in the 1990s founded the Internet email listing service Bigfoot, is suing Twitter and the Sun Valley Co.,...
Vigorous athletic activity is safe with implanted arrhythmia devices
May 20, 2013 4:01 pm | by Yale UniversityYale University | CommentsThere has long been concern that people with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) should not participate in any kind of strenuous sports activity for fear that their devices could fail. But a new Yale study finds that many athletes with ICDs can engage in vigorous and competitive sports without physical injury or failure to stop cardiac arrhythmia, despite ICD shocks that may occur to the heart during athletic activities....
MIT students, alumni awarded 2013 Fulbright grants
May 20, 2013 1:50 pm | by Massachusetts Institute of Technology | CommentsSeveral MIT undergraduate and graduate students and alumni — Noam Angrist, Marvin Arnold, Dorothy Brown, Hyunjii (Justina) Cho, Deborah Hanus and Marisa Lau — have been awarded Fulbright study/research grants for the upcoming academic year. The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the United States government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the peoples of th...
Blackstone group offers to take Pactera private
May 20, 2013 1:37 pm | by The Associated Press | CommentsPrivate equity firm Blackstone Group LP, along with Pactera's CEO and other managers, have offered to take Pactera private in a deal that values the Chinese technology consulting and outsourcing firm at $680.4 million. Shares rose 31 percent Monday. Through Friday's close, before news of the...
