BBC News reporter Chris Baraniuk highlights MIT startup Alsym Energy, which is developing sodium-ion batteries. Drew Buckley, chief executive at ESS Tech, “points out that sodium ion batteries could help distribute renewable energy to data centers,” writes Baraniuk. “And those batteries should be cheaper to run than lithium-ion alternatives, since they are not expected to require as much cooling.”
Prof. Dennis Whyte, co-founder of MIT spinoff Commonwealth Fusion Systems, joins GBH’s Hakeem Oluseyi, host of “Particles of Thought,” to discuss the future of fusion technology, which he describes as “the engine of the universe.” The energy power density of fusion “is about ten million times higher than gasoline,” says Whyte. “The cost and the accessibility to it [fusion] is not driven by access to fuel, but to the technology and the manufacturing capability of building the objects that would actually deliver fusion. We need a new discipline to tell us about what that is going to cost as a practical energy source—which we are starting to do now.”
MIT researchers have developed a paper-thin biohybrid robot “capable of swimming that is powered by living muscle cells instead of a traditional motor,” writes Forbes’ Conor Murray. The muscle cells are engineered to respond to flashes of light, allowing the robot to swim through mazes. The researchers believe that in the future biohybrid robots could eventually be used for everything from precision microsurgery to exploring fragile environments.
Hamid Doosthosseini PhD ‘25, an MIT postdoc, speaks to Tech Brief’s Andrew Corselli about his team’s work engineering bacteria to act as transistors on “living circuit boards.” “Simply, each cell works somewhat like a traffic light at an intersection, it determines whether traffic (here a chemical signal) should continue or stop based on traffic in the intersecting road,” says Doosthosseini. “Printing a network of cells can therefore combine, compute, or direct signals.”
MIT was listed as the No. 1 national university in U.S. News & World Report’s 2027 “Best Colleges Rankings,” “based upon the analysis of more than 1,700 colleges and universities nationwide across 17 key measures,” writes MassLive’s Claudia Dimuro. “These measures included ‘First-year retention rates,’ ‘Earnings by major,’ ‘Faculty salaries,’ and ‘Student-faculty ratio,’ notes Dimuro.
Prof. Asu Ozdaglar, head of MIT’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and graduate student Julia Schneider ‘26 speak to Spectrum News about MIT’s new Artificial Intelligence and Decision Making major. “Now is definitely the time to study more AI, not less,” says Schneider. “What we need is a bunch of people that are focused and excited and passionate about deeply understanding why these models do what they do.” She adds: “Ultimately I want to work on technology that ends up helping people.”
MIT researchers have invented a digestible, bioresorbable battery that can deliver drugs directly to the GI tract, reports Smithsonian Magazine’s Sara Hashemi. Prof. Giovanni Traverso and his colleagues “made two versions of the battery of different sizes and voltages,” writes Hashemi. “Exposing them to an acidic liquid similar to gastric fluid revealed they would function normally in the stomach for about three days.”
MIT startup Fourth Power, founded by Prof. Asegun Henry, has developed a solar cell that generates its energy through built-in solar panels powered by hot graphite, writes Hiawatha Bray for The Boston Globe. “The Fourth Power system can be heated up using renewable energy, like wind or solar power, at times when these resources are cranking out surplus power,” writes Bray. “[T]he Fourth Power technology could become a preferred method of providing extra power to electrical grids during periods of peak demand.”
In a video by The Wall Street Journal, alumnus Gabe Dalporto MS ‘95, CEO of Guitar Center, explains how the soft skills he developed from studying nuclear science at MIT helped him reframe Guitar Center “as a destination for higher-end equipment and more experienced players.” Dalporto shares: “I think it’s helpful, particularly in a passion category, to have someone who shares that passion, and understands empathetically what the customer is going through. When I see people playing, it gives me joy.”
For Boston 25, reporter Alexis Rossi details MIT’s selection as the No. 1 national university in U.S. News & World Report’s 2027 “Best Colleges Rankings.” “MIT was also ranked first for undergraduate research and creative projects, second on the list of most innovative schools, and third on the list of best value schools,” writes Rossi.
The U.S. News & World Report’s 2027 “Best Colleges Rankings” honors MIT as the No.1 national university, writes Elizabeth Mehler for Boston.com. “The rankings are based on up to 17 weighted measures of academic quality and success, including graduation and retention rates, social mobility for low-income students, post-graduate earnings, academic peer assessment, and faculty resources,” writes Mehler.
7 News Boston spotlights MIT being named the No. 1 national university by U.S. News and World Report for its 2027 “Best College Rankings.” The ranking highlighted MIT’s “high enrollment of just over 4,500 students in 2025, its student faculty ratio of 8-1 and its 4-1 academic calendar.”
The Boston Globe’s Chloe Craft highlights MIT being ranked No. 1 in the U.S. News & World Report’s 2027 “Best Colleges Rankings.” “Take a look at the rankings of U.S. News & World Report’s 2027 lists of the nation’s best universities and liberal arts colleges, released Tuesday, and you’ll find lots of schools from New England near the top of the charts,” writes Craft. “MIT, ranked No. 1 for the first time ever.”
MIT has been named the No. 1 national university in U.S. News & World Report’s 2027 “Best Colleges Rankings,” writes Chloe Craft for The Boston Globe. MIT is proud to be “part of a strong network of excellent colleges and universities across the nation, dedicated to educating students and pursuing curiosity-driven research. America’s economic strength, scientific leadership, and national security depend on world-class education and research institutions.”
The Economist highlights MIT researchers’ new “paper-based battery whose components are safely absorbed by the body,” to help deliver drugs to the GI tract more effectively. “The new battery is a stack of magnesium, gel and chemically active paper—all coated in wax to protect it from the harsh environment of the gut. It is also compact, taking up only about a quarter of the space inside a standard gelatine capsule, leaving plenty of room for the device it is to power, as well as other useful payloads, such as a drug.”