MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Biogen will move its headquarters to MIT’s Kendall Common development in 2028, reports Catherine Carlock and Jonathan Saltzman for The Boston Globe. “Biogen has been a foundational presence in the Massachusetts life science ecosystem for close to half a century,” says Governor Maura Healey. “We are thrilled to see them begin a new era in our state.”

MIT researchers have developed a method to grow artificial muscle tissue that twitches and flexes in multiple, coordinated directions, and could be useful for building “biohybrid” robots, reports Andrew Corselli for Tech Briefs. Prof. Ritu Raman explains that her lab is focused on creating “artificial muscle tissues that can be used to understand and treat muscle diseases that impact healthy human mobility,” and making “safe muscle-powered robots that can perform complex tasks in dangerous environments that are not suitable for humans.”

Researchers at MIT and elsewhere have found “that frequency chatbot users experience more loneliness and emotional dependence,” reports Beatrice Nolan for Fortune. “The studies set out to investigate the extent to which interactions with ChatGPT impacted users’ emotional health, with a focus on the use of the chatbot’s advanced voice mode,” explains Nolan. 

CNBC reporter Kif Leswing spotlights Lisa Su '90, SM '91, PhD '94 and her work as CEO of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). “On Su’s watch, AMD was the first major company to embrace a technology called ‘chiplets,’” writes Leswing. “Instead of manufacturing one big chip with all the elements needed — the compute cores as well as an input and output block — AMD could make smaller chips and then assemble them together.” 

Sloan Lecturer Harvey Michaels speaks with Boston Globe reporter Scooty Nickerson about skyrocketing energy costs in Massachusetts. Michaels explains that one contributing factor is the vast but costly energy system that can supply heat during cold dips but is expensive to maintain. “It’s like having a fleet of planes flying around with very few passengers on them,” Michaels explains. “It’s going to be very expensive for the passengers that do fly” to make it worth it.

Prof. David Schmittlein, the longest serving dean of the MIT Sloan School of Management who was known for his role expanding Sloan’s international reach, has died at the age of 69, reports Bryan Marquard for The Boston Globe. Schmittlein “led initiatives introducing several new degree programs, redesigning the academic program portfolio while maintaining the MBA as the flagship degree, and diversifying executive offerings,” writes Marquard. 

Prof. Jonathan Gruber speaks with Marketplace reporter Elizabeth Trovall about looming labor shortages within the caregiving industry and elder care. “We have no plan for credibly meeting that massive change in the long-term care needs of our population,” says Gruber. 

President Sally Kornbluth shares her love of the Boston Pops with Boston Globe reporter Ian Prasad Philbrick in a roundup of the Greater Boston area’s historical sights, restaurants, art museums, and more. “They’re a great mixture of playful and serious," says Kornbluth of what makes the Pops such a standout cultural experience, "sort of a good microcosm of Boston.”

Prof. Dava Newman, director of the MIT Media Lab and former NASA deputy director, speaks with Blake Burman of NewsNation’s The Hill about how long-duration stays in space can affect the human body and how NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore will reacclimate to Earth’s gravity. “Gravity is something! When you haven’t been in gravity” for nine months, Newman explains, “it’s going to take a week or two, it takes a month until you really get your motor control back. So just slow adaptation now.”