How to make metal alloys that stand up to hydrogen
New approach to preventing embrittlement could be useful in nuclear reactors.
Nanocrystal self-assembly sheds its secrets
A new approach gives a real-time look at how the complex structures form.
Whales dine with their own kind
Mapping whale calls, researchers find the predators feed in species-specific hotspots.
Testimony: LIGO has “cracked open” a new window to the universe
MIT’s David Shoemaker testifies before Congress on the significance of LIGO.
Solar cells as light as a soap bubble
Ultrathin, flexible photovoltaic cells from MIT research could find many new uses.
How to make electrons behave like a liquid
Analysis predicts exotic behaviors such as “negative resistance,” based on fluid-like effects.
Breaking through the bacteria barrier
New microfluidic device may speed up DNA insertion in bacteria, the first step in genetic engineering.
Humans settled, set fire to Madagascar’s forests 1,000 years ago
Stalagmites reveal huge shift in ancient Madagascar’s plant life, unrelated to climate change.
Q&A: Rainer Weiss on LIGO’s origins
MIT physicist developed the concept for LIGO as a teaching exercise.
Scientists make first direct detection of gravitational waves
LIGO signal reveals first observation of two massive black holes colliding, proves Einstein right.
Gravitational waves detected 100 years after Einstein’s prediction
LIGO opens a new window on the universe with the observation of gravitational waves from colliding black holes.
Sneezing produces complex fluid cascade, not a simple spray
High-speed imaging shows how fluid breaks apart in air, may help identify super-spreaders.
A new quantum approach to big data
System for handling massive digital datasets could make impossibly complex problems solvable.