MIT

Radiation is famously damaging to materials, but now engineers at MIT have been surprised to discover that radiation may actually help certain alloys to self-heal, extending their useful lifetime. This could help inform future power plant designs.

Classical physics describes how large objects and systems work on an everyday scale, while quantum physics describes the “spooky” subatomic world. Now scientists have observed a rare crossover where a quantum fluctuation affected a macroscale object.

Researchers have developed a new electrode component for vanadium redox flow batteries that is said to outperform current solutions, thanks to the inclusion of an ingredient found in shrimp shells called chitin.

Ripping Band-Aids off your skin is never fun – but imagine having one on your heart or lung. Researchers have now created surgical tape that can stick to wet surfaces like organs, and more importantly, be removed safely when it’s no longer needed.

Everyone knows that walking on soft sand is more difficult than walking on a hard sidewalk. By the same token, MIT scientists are now suggesting that if road surfaces were to be made stiffer, large trucks would use less fuel.

Graphene may be a versatile material, but it remains tricky to produce in large amounts. Now, an MIT team has found a new way to make large sheets of graphene in a roll-to-roll process, by depositing it onto a substrate that can easily be peeled off.

A new study from MIT looks at the consequences of solar geoengineering, exploring some of the flow-on effects of such a move and finding that it could weaken storms, destabilize ice sheets and lead to more polluted urban areas.

A couple of years ago, Harvard scientists copied the structure of snake skin to create a soft-bodied robot that gripped the ground as it moved. Now, they've applied that same thinking to shoe grips that could help keep seniors from falling.

Researchers at MIT have developed a new algorithm that takes stock of ocean conditions to determine in real-time where stranded items and people are likely to appear, which could give the efficiency of search and rescue operations a big boost.

Marine life near the surface of the ocean is much different than that which lives in the deeps. In order to get a better understanding of how those regions differ, scientists have created a biological probe that free-falls through the water.

We lose the ability to repair DNA damage as we age. But now a new study from MIT has found that reactivating a certain enzyme improves repair of DNA damage in neurons, which helps Alzheimer’s patients and others with cognitive decline.

Physicists have harnessed the weird world of quantum physics to develop a “quantum radar” prototype. The system uses the quantum entanglement phenomenon to detect objects, and it could eventually outperform conventional radar in some circumstances.