Seven Must-Read Stories (Week Ending October 25, 2013)

Another chance to catch the most interesting, and important, articles from the previous week on MIT Technology Review.

MIT Technology Reviewarchive page

October 26, 2013

The Decline of Wikipedia
Even as more people rely on it, fewer people are writing it. Is the Web’s idealistic era over?
Flame-Shaping Electric Fields Could Make Power Plants Cleaner
ClearSign’s pollution-reducing technology could help power plants burn less fuel and make more money.
The Real Privacy Problem
As Web companies and government agencies analyze ever more information about our lives, it’s tempting to respond by passing new privacy laws or creating mechanisms that pay us for our data. Instead, we need a civic solution, because democracy is at risk.
Million-Year Data Storage Disk Unveiled
Magnetic hard disks can store data for little more than a decade. But nanotechnologists have now designed and built a disk that can store data for a million years or more.
A Tale of Two Drugs
Today’s medicines can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. The story of how two companies set prices for their costly new drugs suggests that the way we determine the value of such treatments will help decide the future of our health-care system.
New Gene Therapy Company Launches
Spark Therapeutics hopes to commercialize multiple gene-based treatments developed at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Why This Might Be the Model T of Workplace Robots
A mobile, one-armed robot that costs $35,000 is headed for research labs and maybe even some workplaces.

Keep Reading

Most Popular

The hype around DeepMind’s new AI model misses what’s actually cool about it

Some worry that the chatter about these tools is doing the whole field a disservice.

Melissa Heikkiläarchive page

These materials were meant to revolutionize the solar industry. Why hasn’t it happened?

Perovskites are promising, but real-world conditions have held them back.

Casey Crownhartarchive page

Workers disinfect the street outside Shijiazhuang Railway Station

Why China is still obsessed with disinfecting everything

Most public health bodies dealing with covid have long since moved on from the idea of surface transmission. China’s didn’t—and that helps it control the narrative about the disease’s origins and danger.