MIT

Although wing-flapping micro-drones do already exist, the things tend to be quite fragile – and thus not ideally suited to real-world use. An experimental new one, however, utilizes a softer mechanism for greatly enhanced durability.

Researchers have modified the material used in re-writable CDs to create a new optical lens that shifts its focal point in response to heat, with no moving parts. It could enable miniature zoom lenses for drones, cellphones, or night vision goggles.

When you're laser-cutting parts for a build project, you obviously want to be as efficient as possible. A new MIT-created program is designed to help, by optimizing the manner in which parts are cut from sheets of raw material.

For some time now, we've been hearing about prosthetic limbs that are designed to work with amputees' bodies. MIT researchers are taking a different approach, though, with a new type of amputation that facilitates the use of prostheses.

Although many surgical procedures can now be performed laparoscopically (through a small incision in the skin), it's still difficult to seal up internal injuries in this manner. MIT is developing a way of doing so, though, that's inspired by origami.

By taking some inspiration from nature and some from the way the synthetic fiber Kevlar is formed, scientists at MIT have developed self-assembling nanoribbons they say are stronger than steel, with possible applications in water filtration and electronic devices.

While lab-grown meat shows promise for sparing animals from slaughter, wood still comes entirely from trees that are cut down. That may not always be the case, though, as scientists are now working on growing it in a lab, too.

Shifting to alternative propulsion technologies could go a long way toward cleaning up the pollution created by the aviation sector, and a new design by MIT scientists could cut as much as 95 percent of a plane’s harmful nitrogen oxide emissions.

When taken orally or intravenously, medications typically travel throughout the body, producing unwanted side effects. MIT scientists are working on an alternative, that delivers both light and a light-activated drug directly to the target area.

Atomic clocks are our most precise timekeepers, with the best ones keeping time to within one second in 15 billion years. But there’s always room for improvement, as researchers at MIT have now demonstrated with a new quantum-entangled atomic clock.

A novel type of biosensor could help negate the risks of highly toxic arsenic as it makes its way from soil and into plants, by working with the plant tissues to monitor levels of the element in the underground environment in real time.

If crop plants aren't receiving enough nutrients, they'll typically have lower-than-normal nitrogen levels. A portable new device could allow farmers to check those levels on the spot, so they can start addressing the problem as soon as possible.