Engineers Design Microfluidic Device That Generates Passive Hydraulic Power
Engineers have designed a microfluidic device that mimics the pumping mechanism of trees and plants, generating passive hydraulic power that may be used to make small robots move. Trees and other plants, from towering redwoods to diminutive daisies, are nature’s hydraulic pumps. They are constantly pulling water up from their roots to the topmost More...
Scientists Discover a New Way to Tune Electronic Energy Levels
A team of researchers has discovered new way of using laser light to tune electronic energy levels in two-dimensional films of crystal. Faster, more efficient data storage and computer logic systems could be on More...
Engineers Reduce the Effects of Fatigue by Including a Laminated Nanostructure into Steel
Researchers have developed a type of steel with three characteristics that help it resist microcracks that lead to fatigue failure: a layered nanostructure, a mixture of microstructural phases with different degrees More...
Small Nanoparticles Provide Dramatic Improvements in Polymer Materials
Depicted at left, small nanoparticles stick to segments of polymer chain that are about the same size as the nanoparticles themselves; these interactions produce a polymer nanocomposite that is easier to process More...
New Sensor Allows Researchers to Track Dopamine in the Brain
A new MIT transmitter that measures dopamine overcomes limitations of earlier transmitters, providing accurate readings for longer periods of time and covering more of the brain. A team of researchers at MIT has More...
MIT Engineers Demonstrate Second-Order Nonlinearity in Silicon
New research from MIT reveals a practical way to introduce second-order nonlinearities into silicon photonics, showing that silicon can reproduce physical phenomena exploited by high-end telecommunications devices. The More...
NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate Selects Proposals for Space Research Institutes
High performance materials and structures are needed for safe and affordable next generation exploration systems such as transit vehicles, habitats, and power systems. NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate More...
Researchers Discover a New Mechanism for Guiding Light in Photonic Crystal Fiber
Coreless optical fiber: If a photonic crystal fiber is twisted, it does not require a core with a different refractive index to trap light at its center. A team of scientists from the Max Planck Institute for the More...
Chemical Engineers Boost Bacteria’s Production of Useful Chemicals
A team of chemical engineers from MIT has designed a new technique that allows them to dramatically boost bacteria’s production of useful chemicals by shutting down competing metabolic pathways in the cells. In More...
New Nanoparticle Test Could Speed Up Drug Development
A team of researchers has devised a way to rapidly test different nanoparticles to see where they go in the body, helping identify particles for gene delivery or RNA interference. Many scientists are pursuing ways More...