This salty gel could harvest water from desert air
A new material developed by MIT engineers exhibits “record-breaking” vapor absorption.
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3Q: Exploring the universe’s “first light”
After the James Webb Space Telescope’s first year in service, astronomers are awash in new observations that illuminate the oldest stars and galaxies.
Q&A: Are far-reaching fires the new normal?
As Canada’s wildfires continue to be felt downwind, MIT experts weigh in on what to expect in the coming months, with wildfire season underway.
Megawatt electrical motor designed by MIT engineers could help electrify aviation
Technology demonstrations show the machine’s major components achieve the required performance.
Life in a hologram
Physicist Daniel Harlow explores an alternate quantum reality in search of fundamental truths to our physical universe.
Turning a circle into a square is possible with this kirigami-inspired formula
A study inspired by the Japanese paper-cutting art provides a blueprint for designing shape-shifting materials and devices.
A telescope’s last view
Astronomers discover the last three planets the Kepler telescope observed before going dark.
River erosion can shape fish evolution, study suggests
The new findings could explain biodiversity hotspots in tectonically quiet regions.
2.007 Forever!
With winches, spinners, and telescoping contraptions, bots go head to head in student robot competition inspired by “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.”
Like ancient mariners, ancestors of Prochlorococcus microbes rode out to sea on exoskeleton particles
A new study shows the carbon-capturing phytoplankton colonized the ocean by rafting on particles of chitin.
In a first, astronomers spot a star swallowing a planet
Earth will meet a similar fate in 5 billion years.
MIT faculty tackle big ideas in a symposium kicking off Inauguration Day
Ahead of the Institute’s presidential inauguration, panelists describe advances in their research and how these discoveries are being deployed to benefit the public.
Astronomers detect the closest example yet of a black hole devouring a star
The event was spotted in infrared data — also a first — suggesting further searches in this band could turn up more such bursts.
How to untangle a worm ball: Mathematicians solve a knotty mystery
California blackworms tangle themselves up by the thousands, then separate in a split second. Their trick may inspire the design of self-detangling materials and fibers.
Speedy robo-gripper reflexively organizes cluttered spaces
Rather than start from scratch after a failed attempt, the pick-and-place robot adapts in the moment to get a better hold.