In Cambridge, Massachusetts, a new App Drivers Union joined forces with Boston Carmen's Union Local 589 and Teamsters Local 25 to press city officials over the growing presence of Waymo vehicles mapping local streets ahead of an eventual driverless rollout. Drivers, including former cab operators who already lost income to Uber and Lyft, say they fear a second wave of disruption from autonomous vehicles. The group cited Atlanta, where the Rideshare Drivers Union reports lower pay, longer wait times, and fewer fares since Waymo launched there in summer 2025.
futurism.com
· 2026-10-31
A Massachusetts-based company has publicly revealed The Grid, a factory-scale robotic system it has operated for five years that manufactures printed circuit boards without per-design changeovers. Instead of a fixed assembly line, levitating movers carry boards between machines for solder paste printing, part placement, reflow, soldering and inspection, with AI and optimization software scheduling production. The company says customers including a major EV maker, a top AI lab and other large tech firms already use the system for low-volume and prototype board runs.
circuithub.com
· 2026-10-26
Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital found that a phospholipase enzyme called Pla2g2f rises with age in mouse hippocampal cells and is associated with lower brain inflammation and healthier neuron connections. Mice engineered to lack the gene showed increased inflammation and neuron degradation with age, while mice with excess amounts had less inflammation and performed better on spatial memory tests. The findings, published October 15 in Nature Neuroscience, also drew on human and cell-based data.
nature.com
· 2026-10-16
Court filings in Massachusetts' 2019 lawsuit against ExxonMobil have surfaced internal company documents, including a 1988 memo from an Exxon research executive warning that a global climate consensus could hurt the company financially. The filings also include more recent internal statements from Exxon scientists questioning the company's public claims about biofuels and carbon capture as climate solutions.
insideclimatenews.org
· 2026-10-11
A University of Massachusetts professor argues that generative AI is used more productively when it is asked to challenge or critique a person's work rather than simply complete tasks for them. The recommendation centers on creating deliberate 'friction' between AI and user, with each questioning the other's output.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-10-02
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey said her administration will block data center developments in the state unless the host community explicitly approves them. The statement responds to growing local pushback against data center construction tied to a reported $170 billion wave of investment nationwide.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-09-28
Governor Maura Healey signed an executive order requiring data centers with peak demand above 25 megawatts to supply their own clean power meeting state renewable energy standards, or fund new generation or pay into a ratepayer protection fund. The order also discourages communities from signing non-disclosure agreements with developers and pauses a recently enacted data center sales tax exemption while regulators implement the new rules.
techcrunch.com
· 2026-09-09
A woman who received a gene-edited pig kidney transplant at Massachusetts General Hospital last November has now gone 285 days without needing dialysis, breaking the previous 271-day record set by Tim Andrews. The kidney was engineered by eGenesis using Crispr gene editing to remove pig genes that trigger immune rejection and add human genes, and she is the fifth patient to receive one of the company's kidneys.
wired.com
· 2026-09-03
Hasbro has notified regulators that attackers gained unauthorized access to an employee account, exposing personal and financial details of staff. Massachusetts filings show at least 436 employees in that state had Social Security numbers, financial account data, card numbers, and driver's license information compromised. Hasbro says it disabled the compromised account, cut off unauthorized access, and added new safeguards, though it hasn't disclosed the full scope of the breach or when it was discovered.
bleepingcomputer.com
· 2026-08-28
Sen. Ed Markey and Rep. Seth Moulton are clashing over artificial intelligence ahead of Tuesday's Massachusetts Democratic Senate primary. Moulton has seized on Markey's admission during a debate that he didn't know if he used AI on his devices, using it to argue for generational change, while Anthropic-backed nonprofit Public First Action has funneled $500,000 to a pro-Markey PAC citing his record on AI regulation.
cnbc.com
· 2026-08-27
Researchers acknowledge that although SSRIs remain among the world's most widely prescribed medications, the precise biological mechanism by which they relieve depression is still not understood. The debate intensified after US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claimed the drugs are overprescribed and carry withdrawal risks comparable to heroin, sparking pushback from some clinicians while others said he raised a legitimate concern.
nature.com
· 2026-08-26
Between late 2016 and August 2026, China brought 27 new nuclear reactors online, while the United States added only two in the same period. MIT nuclear engineering professor Jacopo Buongiorno notes that China has become the global leader in building nuclear power plants, part of a broader strategy to support its shift toward a fully renewable grid.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-08-23
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