Seven Must-Read Stories (Week Ending September 27, 2014)

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

September 26, 2014

EmTech: Google’s Internet “Loon” Balloons Will Ring the Globe within a Year
Google X research lab boss Astro Teller says experimental wireless balloons will test delivering Internet access throughout the Southern Hemisphere by next year.
Robots That Learn Through Repetition, Not Programming
A startup says getting a robot to do things should be less about writing code and more like animal training.
EmTech: Box CEO Offers Advice for Microsoft
Microsoft must understand that companies want to buy software from more than one provider, the upstart competitor argues.
Paralyzed Rats Take 1,000 Steps, Orchestrated by Computer
Controlled by software, paralyzed rats walk and climb stairs.
EmTech: Illumina Says 228,000 Human Genomes Will Be Sequenced This Year
Record number of genomes being decoded, but cost of DNA sequencing might not fall much further, says Illumina president.
A Failure to Treat Workers with Respect Could Be Uber’s Achilles’ Heel
Disruptive technology platforms are only as good as the human resources they leverage.
This Phone App Knows If You’re Depressed
Motion, audio, and location data harvested from a smartphone can be analyzed to accurately predict stress or depression.