Repurposed beer yeast may offer a cost-effective way to remove lead from water
A filter made from yeast encapsulated in hydrogels can quickly absorb lead as water flows through it.
Researching extreme environments
PhD candidate Emma Bullock studies the local and global impacts of changing mineral levels in Arctic groundwater.
Q&A: Claire Walsh on how J-PAL’s King Climate Action Initiative tackles the twin climate and poverty crises
Since 2020, K-CAI has innovated and tested climate policies in more than 35 countries and supported scale-ups that have reached over 15 million people.
Shining a light on oil fields to make them more sustainable
Amplified Industries, founded by Sebastien Mannai SM ’14, PhD ’18, helps oil field operators eliminate spills and stop methane leaks.
Understanding the impacts of mining on local environments and communities
Extractive industries threaten water, glaciers, and livelihoods, but new research offers hope.
Study finds lands used for grazing can worsen or help climate change
Too much livestock on a given amount of land can lead to carbon losses, but appropriate numbers can actually help sequester the carbon.
Reducing pesticide use while increasing effectiveness
In field tests, MIT spinoff AgZen demonstrated that its feedback-optimized spraying system could halve the pesticide needs of farms and improve crop yields.
Study measures the psychological toll of wildfires
Research in Southeast Asia quantifies how much wildfire smoke hurts peoples’ moods; finds the effect is greater when fires originate in other countries.
Study: Global deforestation leads to more mercury pollution
Scientists quantify a previously overlooked driver of human-related mercury emissions.
Reflecting on COP28 — and humanity’s progress toward meeting global climate goals
MIT delegates share observations and insights from the largest-ever UN climate conference.
Q&A: A blueprint for sustainable innovation
Atacama Biomaterials, co-founded by Paloma Gonzalez-Rojas SM ’15, PhD ’21, combines architecture, machine learning, and chemical engineering to create eco-friendly materials.
A new way to swiftly eliminate micropollutants from water
MIT chemical engineers create a zwitterionic hydrogel system for single-step water treatment with minimal environmental footprint.
Satellite-based method measures carbon in peat bogs
The technique could enable restoration efforts and doesn’t require labor-intensive onsite sampling.
3 Questions: What should scientists and the public know about nuclear waste?
Professor Haruko Wainwright describes a new effort to communicate information about managing and disposing of spent fuel from nuclear reactors.