Vanishing friction
In tuning friction to the point where it disappears, technique could boost development of nanomachines.
DNA breakage underlies both learning, age-related damage
Process that allows brains to learn and remember also leads to degeneration with age.
A check on runaway lake drainage
Draining lakes are unlikely to increase the Greenland ice sheet’s contribution to sea-level rise.
Helping robots handle uncertainty
Algorithm for planning multirobot collaborations makes complex models practical.
Bringing biochemistry to life with color
Senior biology and chemistry major Daniel Zhang helps build noninvasive cancer diagnostic tools.
Tough biogel structures produced by 3-D printing
Stretchable, biocompatible hydrogels with complex patterning could be used in tissue engineering.
A new tool measures the distance between phonon collisions
Tabletop setup provides more nuanced picture of heat production in microelectronics.
Circular orbits identified for small exoplanets
Observations of 74 Earth-sized planets around distant stars may narrow field of habitable candidates.
Bringing microgrids to rural villages
MIT team, working with villagers in India, designs peer-to-peer system to enable local power sharing.
Thin coating on condensers could make power plants more efficient
Graphene layer one atom thick could quadruple rate of condensation heat transfer in generating plants.
Researchers find “lost” memories
Scientists use optogenetics to reactivate memories that could not otherwise be retrieved.
How we make emotional decisions
Neuroscientists identify a brain circuit that controls decisions that induce high anxiety.
Spinning a new version of silk
Simulations and experiments aim to improve on spiders in creating strong, resilient fibers.
