Coloring outside the lines
Mathias Kolle’s color-changing materials take inspiration from butterflies and mollusks.
Crystan McLymore SM ’23: Exceling at sea and in the lab
US Navy officer and recent MechE alumna who served on a nuclear aircraft carrier researches radiation detection.
Bioinspired robotics class offers intriguing surprises
Students learn about the complexity behind simple, everyday movement before experimenting with mechanical models.
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.
Nelson Yuan-sheng Kiang, influential researcher in human hearing science, dies at 93
He conducted groundbreaking research into auditory physiology at MIT and Harvard Medical School, and was the founding director of the Eaton-Peabody Laboratories at Mass Eye and Ear.
Custom, 3D-printed heart replicas look and pump just like the real thing
The soft robotic models are patient-specific and could help clinicians zero in on the best implant for an individual.
A global lab for teaching and practicing synthetic biology
A pandemic-fueled transformation of the MIT course MAS.S64 (How to Grow (Almost) Anything) leads to next steps in democratizing synthetic biology.
Smart textiles sense how their users are moving
Researchers develop a comfortable, form-fitting fabric that recognizes its wearer’s activities, like walking, running, and jumping.
Exploring growth within a confined space
Embedding bacteria in soft material tests researchers’ theories.
Dragging your feet? Lack of sleep affects your walk, new study finds
Periodically catching up on sleep can improve gait control for the chronically sleep-deprived.
Solid, liquid, or gas? Technique quickly identifies physical state of tissues and tumors
The method could be a route to quicker, less invasive cancer diagnoses.
Restoring amputees’ natural functionality with brain-controlled interfaces
MIT student Eeshan Tripathii is working with his sister to engineer an intuitive brain-controlled interface for upper-limb prosthetics.
MIT baseball coach uses sensors, motion capture technology to teach pitching
Visualization software and hardware could offer new possibilities for coaching and sports training.
Ultrasound has potential to damage coronaviruses, study finds
Simulations show ultrasound waves at medical imaging frequencies can cause the virus’ shell and spikes to collapse and rupture.
Membrane around tumors may be key to preventing metastasis
Tough as plastic wrap but elastic like a balloon, the lining could be a target for therapies to limit cancer cells from spreading.