How strong is your knot?
With help from spaghetti and color-changing fibers, a new mathematical model predicts a knot’s stability.
Study may explain how infections reduce autism symptoms
An immune molecule sometimes produced during infection can influence the social behavior of mice.
Chemists glimpse the fleeting “transition state” of a reaction
New technique for observing reaction products offers insights into the chemical mechanisms that formed them.
New health insurance insights
Economists analyze how patients and health care providers value Medicaid.
New instrument extends LIGO’s reach
Technology “squeezes” out quantum noise so more gravitational wave signals can be detected.
How biomarkers can record and reconstruct climate trends
Scientists reveal the genes and proteins controlling the chemical structures underpinning paleoclimate proxies.
A new way to control microbial metabolism
Chemical engineers program bacteria to switch between different metabolic pathways, boosting their yield of desirable products.
Researchers generate terahertz laser with laughing gas
Device may enable “T-ray vision” and better wireless communication.
Chemists observe “spooky” quantum tunneling
Extremely large electric fields can prevent umbrella-shaped ammonia molecules from inverting.
Double-sided tape for tissues could replace surgical sutures
New adhesive that binds wet surfaces within seconds could be used to heal wounds or implant medical devices.
Self-transforming robot blocks jump, spin, flip, and identify each other
Developed at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, robots can self-assemble to form various structures with applications including inspection.
New synthesis method yields degradable polymers
Materials could be useful for delivering drugs or imaging agents in the body; may offer alternative to some industrial plastics.
Putting the “bang” in the Big Bang
Physicists simulate critical “reheating” period that kickstarted the Big Bang in the universe’s first fractions of a second.
Antarctic ice cliffs may not contribute to sea-level rise as much as predicted
Study finds even the tallest ice cliffs should support their own weight rather than collapsing catastrophically.
Giving robots a faster grasp
An algorithm speeds up the planning process robots use to adjust their grip on objects, for picking and sorting, or tool use.