In The World: Mapping the logistics of megacities
New open-source online maps generated by MIT students provide details of urban supply chains.
Search Stories
Solar-cell manufacturing costs: innovation could level the field
Study shows that factors other than wages dominate trends in photovoltaic costs, raising the prospect of competitive manufacturing anywhere.
New low-temperature chemical reaction explained
Unusual reaction, never fully understood, is important to fuel combustion, atmospheric chemistry and biochemistry.
How to get fresh water out of thin air
Fog-harvesting system developed by MIT and Chilean researchers could provide potable water for the world’s driest regions.
The gold standard for cell penetration
Gold nanoparticles with special coatings can deliver drugs or biosensors to a cell’s interior without damaging it.
How to make big things out of small pieces
Researchers invent a new approach to assembling big structures — even airplanes and bridges — out of small interlocking composite components.
A layer of tiny grains can slow sound waves
Layer of microscopic spheres offers new approach to controlling acoustic waves.
Improved nuclear fuel-rod cladding might prevent future Fukushimas
A substitute for traditional zircaloy could greatly reduce the danger of hydrogen explosions.
Just hanging on: Why mussels are so good at it
Understanding the strength of the shellfish’s underwater attachments could enable better glues and biomedical interfaces.
Finding the keys to boiling heat transfer
Understanding the properties that control surface dissipation of heat could lead to improved power plants and electronics with high heat-transfer rates.
Explained: Hydrophobic and hydrophilic
Better understanding of how surfaces attract or repel water could improve everything from power plants to ketchup bottles.
A new way to trap light
MIT researchers discover a new phenomenon that could lead to new types of lasers and sensors.
Solar power heads in a new direction: thinner
Atom-thick photovoltaic sheets could pack hundreds of times more power per weight than conventional solar cells.
Getting the carbon out of emissions
Proposed method could be more efficient than previous systems and easier to retrofit in existing power plants.
Better droplet condensation could boost power efficiency
Improved system for power plants uses oil-infused condenser surface to improve heat-transfer properties.