MIT

Processing wood from trees isn’t the most efficient way to make furniture or building materials. MIT scientists have made breakthroughs in a process that could one day let us 3D print and grow wood directly in the shape of furniture and other things.

Powering medical implants can be tricky, but tapping into the body’s own fuel source could keep them going long-term. A new design for a tiny fuel cell converts glucose into electricity to power implants more efficiently than any other so far.

Research from MIT has shown how natural cellular cleaning systems are ramped up during cell division, with the newly discovered mechanism potentially offering scientists a "toggle" for treating different kinds of diseases.

Although there are already portable systems that create drinking water by desalinating and purifying seawater, they typically utilize filters that have to be replaced. A new MIT setup, however, just requires a small amount of electricity.

Engineers at MIT have developed an ultra-thin speaker that could be used to make entire surfaces produce sound. The unique design should be energy efficient and easy to produce at scale, the team says.

MIT says its new thermophotovoltaic heat engine can harvest more energy from heat than the average steam turbine, at a fraction of the cost and using no moving parts. Huge implications for future power stations, as well as grid-level energy storage.

When someone has experienced a stroke, they may require a surgical procedure known as an endovascular intervention. A new MIT-designed robotic system could ensure that they receive the treatment quickly, even if the physician is nowhere nearby.

A study has shown how engineered bacteria can protect the gut microbiome from the impact of antibiotic use. Mouse studies showed the bacteria breaks down antibiotics in the intestine while still allowing high levels of the drugs to enter the bloodstream.

Long before computers existed, the Inca people kept records using knotted strings known as quipu. That technology has inspired a new system for assessing gastrointestinal problems, which is considerably less expensive than conventional methods.

Researchers at MIT have developed a handheld robot that can help minimally trained responders to control severe internal bleeding in victims of traumatic injury, by helping them insert a needle and catheter into a major blood vessel.

MIT's mini cheetah robot has reached its fastest speed yet, hitting 8.72 mph thanks to a new model-free reinforcement learning system that allows the robot to figure out on its own the best way to run and allows it to adapt to different terrain.

Wood is becoming an increasingly popular building material, but the timber is harvested mainly just from the long, straight trunks of trees. Aiming to reduce waste, an MIT team has developed a method of also using a tree's load-bearing junctions.