Breast cancer genes can’t be patented, judge rules
A federal judge on Monday struck down patents on two genes linked to breast and ovarian cancer. The decision, if upheld, could throw into doubt the patents covering thousands of human genes and reshape the law of intellectual property
Penny Arcade comes to town
“My gravy trainnnnnn!” exclaimed Jerry Holkins, co-creator of Penny Arcade after losing an arm-wrestling match to co-creator Mike Krahulik at a Q&A session at the Penny Arcade Exposition last weekend.
Modi & Wyman take UA top spots in landslide win
Vrajesh Y. Modi ’11 and Samantha “Sammi” G. Wyman ’11 were elected as Undergraduate Association President and Vice President, receiving over 80 percent of votes in the spring election.
Census forms distributed to living groups this week
Students who live on campus or in a FSILG will receive a census form this week. The census must be filled out as soon as it arrives and mailed back by National Census Day, April 1, 2010. Anyone who does not complete the census form will be fined $100 by the Federal Government, and MIT is legally obligated to provide directory information on them to Census officials, who will visit to ensure completion of the form.
New EPA scrutiny of plastic chemical
The Environmental Protection Agency plans to add bisphenol-A, or BPA, a plastic widely used in food packaging and plastic bottles, to its list of chemicals of concern because of potential adverse impacts on the environment and human and animal health.
Corrections
A Friday, March 19 article about torrential rains incorrectly stated that residents of East Campus wrapped their basement smoke detectors in plastic bags to keep the alarms from going off. MIT Facilities wrapped the smoke detectors, to keep moisture out of electrical connections, not to prevent steam from setting off the alarm.
Modi and Wyman win UA election
Vrajesh Y. Modi ’11 has been elected as UA President and Samantha G. Wyman ‘11 as UA Vice President. The pair received over 80 percent of the votes. The UA Elections results were released at 2 p.m. on Saturday March 20. A total of 1,686, or about 40 percent of students, participated in the election. To find out more information regarding the UA Election results, visit <i>http://web.mit.edu/elections/Spring10/results.shtm</i><i>l</i><i>.</i>
NW35, EC, and Next House are open for summer
East Campus, Next House, and the Phoenix Group section of Ashdown will be the only three dorms open to undergraduate students over the sumer, Dean for Student Life Chris Colombo announced in an e-mail yesterday.
Storm floods dorms
After heavy winds and unrelenting rain this past weekend, several residential and academic buildings on campus had leaks.
Institute Professor Diamond may be next Fed member
On March 12, 2010, the White House identified MIT Institute Professor Peter A. Diamond PhD ’63, as well as Janet L. Yellen and Sarah B. Raskin, as possible candidates to fill in three vacancies on the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors.
A mental checkup at Cornell after rash of student deaths
ITHACA, N.Y. — All weekend, Cornell University’s residential advisers knocked on dorm rooms to inquire how students were coping.
MasteringPhysics copiers are more likely to fail 8.01T
Males and potential business majors at MIT are more likely to cheat on MasteringPhysics, and cheaters tend to do worse on the physics final and are more likely to fail, according to a study published yesterday.
Admit rate drops below 10%
Facing a 6.2 percent increase in applications and a 9.7 percent admission rate, the MIT Class of 2014 experienced the most competitive admissions cycle yet. The biggest change to the process was a modified essay requirement, eliminating the standard 500-word essay and introducing more and shorter essays.
MIT settles with Gehry over Stata Ctr. defects
MIT has settled its 2007 lawsuit against the architects and builders of the Ray and Maria Stata Center: Frank O. Gehry & Associates, Beacon Skanska Construction, and NER Construction Management.
Student fell, lay for hours at Stata Ctr.
A freshman was found seriously injured after a long fall that left him immobilized for hours in the Stata Center on Thursday morning.
Senators investigating Gruber ask for Hockfield’s assistance
Two U.S. Senators, Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Mike Enzi (R-Wyoming), have asked MIT President Susan J. Hockfield to act as a mediator in an investigation of an MIT economics professor who failed to disclose financial support.
‘Project Full Breeze’ wants a wind turbine
An MIT group wants to erect a wind turbine on one of the west campus sports fields.