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Nanoscience and nanotechnology

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Synthesizing new physics: MIT assistant professor of physics Joseph Checkelsky (center) and graduate students Linda Ye (left) and Aravind Devarakonda are working to uncover new properties linked to collective behavior of electrons. Their work blends materials science and solid state physics and makes extensive use of high-temperature furnaces (behind them in photo) to produce interesting new compo...

Faculty highlight: Joseph Checkelsky

Synthesizing new physics: Assistant professor blends materials science and solid state physics to uncover new properties linked to collective behavior of electrons.

March 16, 2016

In this time-lapse series of photos, progressing from top to bottom, a coating of sucrose (ordinary sugar) over a wire made of carbon nanotubes is lit at the left end, and burns from one end to the other. As it heats the wire, it drives a wave of electrons along with it, thus converting the heat into electricity.

MIT develops nontoxic way of generating portable power

Battery substitutes produce current by burning fuel-coated carbon nanotubes like a fuse.

March 14, 2016

The metal with carbon nanotubes uniformly dispersed inside “is designed to mitigate radiation damage” for long periods without degrading, Kang Pyo So says. Pictured is an example of how the researchers created aluminum with carbon nanotubes inside.

Carbon nanotubes improve metal’s longevity under radiation

Aluminum used in nuclear reactors and other harsh environments may last longer with new treatment.

March 2, 2016

The MIT team has achieved the thinnest and lightest complete solar cells ever made, they say. To demonstrate just how thin and lightweight the cells are, the researchers draped a working cell on top of a soap bubble, without popping the bubble.

Solar cells as light as a soap bubble

Ultrathin, flexible photovoltaic cells from MIT research could find many new uses.

February 25, 2016

Pablo Jarillo-Herrero

In Profile: Pablo Jarillo-Herrero

Experimental physicist explores the wild frontiers of graphene and other ultrathin materials.

February 24, 2016

Left: Lipid nanoparticles (carrying siRNA) are shown as they are transported inside cells using endocytic vesicles. Right: Gehrke's lab is developing a diagnostic for Dengue virus, a relative to Zika. The device shown, which tested for Ebola, has silver nanoparticles of different colors that indicate different diseases. On the left is the unused device, opened to reveal the contents inside. On the...

Confronting Zika

MIT's Institute of Medical Engineering and Science is on the front lines of efforts to diagnose and develop a vaccine against the emerging Zika virus.

February 23, 2016

$This image of a simulated concrete sample shows the "packing fraction" which describes the fraction of the volume that is filled with solid material. In this case, the average packing fraction is 0.52. Colors indicate the variations within the sample, ranging from less than 0.4 to more than 0.64. The size of the cube is 0.6 microns (millionths of a meter).$

Riddle of cement’s structure is finally solved

Findings may guide development of formulas to make the material more durable, less CO2-intensive.

February 8, 2016

Researchers have designed an RFID chip that prevents so-called side-channel attacks, which analyze patterns of memory access or fluctuations in power usage when a device is performing a cryptographic operation, in order to extract its cryptographic key. Pictured here is a standard RFID chip.

Toward hack-proof RFID chips

New technology could secure credit cards, key cards, and pallets of goods in warehouses.

February 3, 2016

“This finding really excites us because it makes us think that this is a gene repair system that could be used to treat a range of diseases — not just tyrosinemia but others as well,” Daniel Anderson says.

Curing disease by repairing faulty genes

New delivery method boosts efficiency of CRISPR genome-editing system.

February 1, 2016

Images produced by the researchers show the molecular structure of different samples of kerogen and reveal the significant structural differences between "mature" kerogens, at top, and "immature" kerogens, at bottom.

Structure of kerogen revealed

Nanopores may be trapping oil and gas in the ancient hydrocarbon instead of allowing them to flow.

February 1, 2016

Researchers used the MIT and Tim the Beaver logos to show photoluminescence emissions from a monolayer of molybdenum disulfide inlayed onto graphene. The arrow indicates the graphene-MoS2 lateral heterostructure, which could potentially form the basis for ultrathin computer chips.

New chip fabrication approach

Depositing different materials within a single chip layer could lead to more efficient computers.

January 27, 2016

A stealth material surface, shown here, has been engineered to provide an “invisibility cloak” against the body’s immune system cells. In this electron microscopy image, you can see the material's surface topography.

No more insulin injections?

Encapsulated pancreatic cells offer possible new diabetes treatment.

January 25, 2016

On the top row are two images of a nanomesh bilayer of PDMS cylinders in which the top layer is perpendicular to the complex orientation of the bottom layer. The bottom images show well-ordered nanomesh patterns of PDMS cylinders. The images on the right show zoomed-in views of the images on the left.

Self-stacking nanogrids

Polymer nanowires that assemble in perpendicular layers could offer route to tinier chip components.

January 22, 2016

Scientists tune polymer material’s transparency

Material may offer cheaper alternative to smart windows.

January 22, 2016

In this image, the middle "explosion" is a cloud of hot electrons, inside graphene, that bounce off one another as they reach equilibrium and spread out. The red spheres are those electrons that are energetic enough to escape the hot cloud in less than 30 femtoseconds and generate an electric current. MIT researchers have developed a technique to access and control these ultrafast processes.

Physicists control electrons at femtosecond timescales

Results may help improve efficiency of solar cells, energy-harvesting devices.

January 22, 2016