Nanoscience and nanotechnology

“I think the flexibility of having the opportunity to discover what you're interested in, to pursue these things, and to create a space for yourself where you can feel comfortable was what drove me to MIT,” Larissa Senatus says.

Larissa Senatus learns about the world by doing

Mechanical engineering major hopes to bring hands-on learning opportunities home to Haiti.

January 13, 2016

A donkey grazes in a pasture near solar panels at Sanctuary Dairy Farm Ice Cream in Sunapee, New Hampshire.

Concentrating dawn-to-dusk solar energy

MOSAIC award spurs MIT research into concentrator solar cells that can run in shade and full sun with power control and wavelength separation.

January 11, 2016

A proof-of-concept device built by MIT researchers demonstrates the principle of a two-stage process to make incandescent bulbs more efficient. This device already achieves efficiency comparable to some compact fluorescent and LED bulbs.

A nanophotonic comeback for incandescent bulbs?

Researchers combine the warm look of traditional light bulbs with 21st-century energy efficiency.

January 11, 2016

This diagram illustrates the principle behind the proposed energy-harvesting system. Two metal electrodes made of lithium-alloyed silicon form a sandwich around a layer of electrolyte, a polymer that ions (charged atoms) can move across. When the sandwich is bent, unequal stresses cause lithium ions to migrate across the electrolyte, producing a compensating electron current that can be harnessed ...

Harnessing the energy of small bending motions

New device could provide electrical power source from walking and other ambient motions.

January 6, 2016

Clearing the way for Floquet-Bloch states

Team demonstrates pure quantum-mechanical mixture of electrons and photons in the solid topological insulator bismuth selenide.

January 4, 2016

Researchers have discovered how some organisms can safely process oxalate, which is found in many fruits and vegetables. This discovery could lead to new ways to lessen the harmful effects that can occur when oxalate builds up in humans, who cannot metabolize this molecule.

A healthy breakdown

Researchers discover how some organisms process oxalate, a molecule that can harm humans.

December 28, 2015

Researchers have produced a working optoelectronic chip that computes electronically but uses light to move information. The chip has 850 optical components and 70 million transistors, which, while significantly less than the billion-odd transistors of a typical microprocessor, is enough to demonstrate all the functionality that a commercial optical chip would require.

Optoelectronic microprocessors built using existing chip manufacturing

High-performance prototype means chipmakers could now start building optoelectronic chips.

December 23, 2015

3 Questions: Martin Culpepper on making the future makers

MIT students want to make things. Meet the “Maker Czar” who’s helping them.

December 22, 2015

A patterned and cylindrical structure made up of carbon nanotubes.

New device uses carbon nanotubes to snag molecules

Nanotube “forest” in a microfluidic channel may help detect rare proteins and viruses.

December 21, 2015

Nanodevices at one-hundredth the cost

New techniques for building microelectromechanical systems show promise.

December 18, 2015

A rounded cancer cell (top left) sends out nanotubes connecting with endothelial cells. Genetic material can be injected via these nanotubes, transforming the endothelial cells and making them more hospitable to additional cancer cells.

Scientists discover how cancer cells escape blood vessels

Study offers new targets for drugs that may prevent cancer from spreading.

December 16, 2015

A new high-speed microscope produces images of chemical processes taking place at the nanoscale, at a rate that is close to real-time video. This closeup shot of the microscope shows transparent tubes used to inject various liquids into the imaging environment. This liquid can be water, acid, buffer solution for live bacteria, cells, or electrolytes in an electrochemical process. Researchers use o...

New microscope creates near-real-time videos of nanoscale processes

Instrument scans images 2,000 times faster than commercial models.

December 14, 2015

Digging in

Workers at the MIT.nano site have reached the halfway point in the construction's excavation phase.

December 10, 2015

MIT researchers developed this hydrogel embedded with triple helix microRNA particles and used it to treat cancer in mice.

A new way to deliver microRNAs for cancer treatment

Scientists exploit gene therapy to shrink tumors in mice with an aggressive form of breast cancer.

December 7, 2015

A new stretchy hydrogel can be embedded with various electronics. Here, a sheet of hydrogel is bonded to a matrix of polymer islands (red) that can encapsulate electronic components such as semiconductor chips, LED lights, and temperature sensors.

Stretchable hydrogel electronics

Water-based “Band-Aid” senses temperature, lights up, and delivers medicine to the skin.