Taking a city’s pulse with moveable sensors
Study quantifies how much of Manhattan 10 taxis cover in a day — to better measure air pollution, traffic, and more.
Algorithm tells robots where nearby humans are headed
A new tool for predicting a person’s movement trajectory may help humans and robots work together in close proximity.
Experiments reveal the physics of evaporation
Changes in pressure, more so than temperature, strongly influence how quickly liquids turn to gas, researchers show.
Getting the oil out of water
New technique makes it possible to image the fouling of membranes in 3-D, could lead to better antifouling materials.
Neurons’ “antennae” are unexpectedly active in neural computation
Tiny, branching extensions called dendrites may be more than just passive information-carriers, study finds.
Drug makes tumors more susceptible to chemo
Compound that knocks out a DNA repair pathway enhances cisplatin treatment and helps prevent drug-resistance.
How to speed up the discovery of new solar cell materials
Streamlined system for creating and analyzing perovskite compounds may cut development time from 20 years to two.
Chip design drastically reduces energy needed to compute with light
Simulations suggest photonic chip could run optical neural networks 10 million times more efficiently than its electrical counterparts.
Autonomous boats can target and latch onto each other
Fleet of “roboats” could collect garbage or self-assemble into floating structures in Amsterdam’s many canals.
Protecting our energy infrastructure from cyberattack
Researchers use a new, holistic methodology to address cyber vulnerabilities in today’s energy systems.
Cracking open the black box of automated machine learning
Interactive tool lets users see and control how automated model searches work.
Empowering African farmers with data
Research from the Institute for Data, Systems, and Society aims to help African farmers increase their production and profits with better prediction.
Ultra-Quantum Matter research gets $8 million boost
MIT’s Senthil Todadri and Xiao-Gang Wen will study highly entangled quantum matter in a collaboration supported by the Simons Foundation.
Sensor-packed glove learns signatures of the human grasp
Signals help neural network identify objects by touch; system could aid robotics and prosthetics design.
Pantry ingredients can help grow carbon nanotubes
Study finds baking soda, detergent, and table salt — all rich in sodium — are effective catalysts.