Seven Must-Read Stories (Week Ending February 7, 2014)
Another chance to catch the most interesting, and important, articles from the previous week on MIT Technology Review.
- A Robotic Hand, This Time with Feeling
A man with a robotic hand can now feel varying degrees of pressure thanks to an implant that connects with the nerves in his arm. - Burning the U.K.’s Plutonium Stockpile Could Fast-Track New Reactors
GE’s nuclear waste-burning PRISM reactors get a new chance at commercialization. - Does Bill Gates Still Know What Computer Users Want?
Microsoft’s new CEO, Satya Nadella, will work with Bill Gates to define new products. - Why Google Kept Motorola’s Research Lab
Motorola Mobility’s sale to Lenovo only looks like a loss—the patents were cheap, and Google might yet advance wearables, home devices, and modular phone hardware. - Solar Thermal Technology Poses Challenges for Drought-Stricken California
Reducing water consumption at solar thermal plants raises costs and decreases power production. - Quantum Internet: First Teleportation to a Solid-State Quantum Memory
A European team of physicists has demonstrated a device that can teleport quantum information to a solid-state quantum memory over telecom fiber, a crucial capability for any future quantum Internet. - Why the Promise of Cheap Fuel from Super Bugs Fell Short
The sell-off of synthetic biology pioneer LS9 goes to show that making biofuels from genetically engineered microbes has yet to deliver economically. <