MIT

Nobody likes gulping down a big pill, to the point that some people may not bother taking their medication because it's just too hard to swallow. A new system from MIT could help in that regard, by packing the same drug dose into a smaller pill.

MIT has developed a device that generates electricity using a completely new mechanism. “Particles” made of carbon nanotubes are dunked in an organic solvent, which induces a current to potentially power small robots or drive chemical reactions.

MIT scientist Yoel Fink has been at the cutting edge of smart textile technology for more than a decade and has just made a significant breakthrough, demonstrating the first ever digital fabric-fiber that can store and process information.

MIT scientists have developed a finger-like sensor with the ability to dig into granular media like sand or gravel to get a sense of objects buried beneath the surface, which could lead to better ways of detecting and disarming land mines.

Imagine if you were a product designer who wanted to see what an actual physical object would look like in different colors or patterns. Well, MIT has designed a system that allows users to easily do just that, utilizing photochromic dyes.

Back in 2015, we heard about an electrically activated glue that could be used to bond items in wet conditions, or even underwater. Now, scientists have demonstrated that the material could be used to patch leaky blood vessels … from the inside.

Surfaces in contact with salty water usually end up with a corrosive layer of salt caked on. Now, engineers at MIT have made these minerals so easy to remove that they often just fall off on their own – by forming “crystal critters.”

A newfound understanding around the intricate architecture of lobster underbellies has provided MIT engineers with a model for a tough and stretchy new hydrogel, which features great durability and resistance to tearing.

Concrete is pretty useful, which is why it’s the most widely used construction material in the world. Now, engineers have made it even more useful, creating concrete that can conduct electricity and produce heat, by mixing in nanocarbon black.

With elusive dark matter continuing to evade detection, scientists are having to search in stranger and stranger places. In a new study, physicists at MIT have studied the spins of black holes for signs of drag from dark matter slowing them down.

When studying underwater marine life, it helps if you can use a device that doesn't scare the animals by appearing unnatural to them. MIT scientists have created a robo-starfish with that in mind, utilizing a new rapid development system.

Robots are now regularly used in applications such as picking purchased items from shipping warehouses … but most of them still can't see through walls. That said, a new bot is essentially able to do so, with a little outside help.