Seven Must-Read Stories (Week Ending April 11, 2015)

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

April 10, 2015

Paralyzed Again
We have the technology to dramatically increase the independence of people with spinal-cord injuries. The problem is bringing it to market and keeping it there.
IBM Tests Mobile Computing Pioneer’s Controversial Brain Algorithms
IBM is testing a contentious idea for making computers more intelligent by trying to copy mechanisms from the human brain.
AI Doomsayer Says His Ideas Are Catching On
Philosopher Nick Bostrom says major tech companies are listening to his warnings about investing in “AI safety” research.
A Startup’s Plans for a New Social Reality
AltspaceVR is building virtual hangouts that it hopes you’ll use to watch a movie with friends or play a game of life-size chess.
Microbes Engineered to Prevent Obesity
Genetically engineered bacteria ward off obesity in mice, showing how the microbiome could be used treat chronic diseases in people.
Metamaterial Radar May Improve Car and Drone Vision
Powerful radar, mostly limited to the military, could soon be cheap enough for cars and consumer drones to use.
Machine Learning Algorithm Mines 16 Billion E-Mails
Human e-mailing behavior is so predictable that computer scientists have created an algorithm that can calculate when an e-mail thread is about to end.