MIT engineers have developed a method to 3-D print living cells into tattoos and 3-D structures, reports Danny Paez for Inverse. Paez explains that the researchers believe the technique, “could possibly be used to create a ‘living computer,’ or a structure made up of living cells that can do the stuff your laptop can.”
Co.Design reporter Katharine Schwab writes that MIT researchers have developed a tattoo made of living cells that activate when exposed to different kinds of stimuli. Schwab explains that in the future the tattoos could be designed, “so that they respond to environmental pollutants or changes in temperature.”
A new study by MIT researchers provides evidence that antibiotics can change the body’s chemistry and make it more hospitable to bacteria, reports Melinda Wenner Moyer for Scientific American. “We suspect that the strength of this effect will really depend on the type of infection and types of antibiotics used,” explains postdoc Jason Yang.
Merrit Kennedy reports for NPR that MIT researchers have developed robotic artificial muscles that can lift 1,000 times their own weight. Prof. Daniela Rus explains that the technology could eventually be used to bring "soft strong mobility to people who are otherwise unable to move."
Writing for Fortune, Jamie Ducharme details how researchers from MIT and Harvard are one step closer to creating robots with superpowers, thanks to a new robotic artificial muscle they have developed. The new technology could be used, “in arenas ranging from medicine to architecture to space exploration,” Ducharme explains.
TechCrunch reporter Brian Heater writes that MIT researchers have developed a new 3-D printer that can fabricate an item up to 10 times faster than its commercial counterparts. Heater explains that the technology, “would definitely be useful for companies already using desktop 3D printers for prototyping, reducing dramatically the speed to print.”
HuffPost reporter Thomas Tamblyn writes that MIT and Harvard researchers have created a range of origami-inspired robotic muscles. “These ultra-flexible materials could be applied to everything from deep-sea robotics to creating tiny yet incredibly strong tools for performing surgery,” Tamblyn explains.
Researchers from MIT and Harvard have developed a new origami-inspired artificial muscle that can lift up to a thousand times its own weight, reports Amina Khan for The Los Angeles Times. Khan explains that the robotic muscles, “offer a new way to give soft robots super-strength, which could be used everywhere from inside our bodies to outer space.”
PRI The World’s Lydia Emmanouilidou spotlights a virtual reality exhibit at the MIT Museum by photojournalist Karim Ben Khelifa that allows visitors to explore both sides of international conflicts. “What is the point of images of war if they don’t change people’s attitudes towards armed conflicts, violence and the suffering they produce?” says Khelifa of the inspiration for his work.
A team of MIT students and postdocs has taken the top prize in the architecture category of the 2017 Mars City Design competition, reports Janussa Delzo for Newsweek. Delzo notes that the MIT team’s tree-inspired concept features “domes or tree habitats...large enough for 50 people to live inside of them."
Prof. Timothy Lu speaks with STAT reporter Eric Boodman about his work trying to harness bacteria to treat disease. Lu notes that his lab is also currently working on, “building these genetic circuits for therapeutic applications, but instead of targeting bacteria, we’ve been focused on using human cells.”
Boston Magazine reporter Hayley Glatter spotlights how two MIT seniors - Mary Clare Beytagh and Matthew Chun - were among this year’s winners of the Rhodes Scholarship.
Wall Street Journal reporter James Hagerty memorializes the life and work of MIT alumnus Vanu Bose, a member of the MIT Corporation who founded a company aimed at bringing cellular service to, “underserved areas including Rwanda and dead zones in the mountains of Vermont.” Prof. John Guttag, one of Bose’s thesis advisers, notes that, “Vanu was an incredibly optimistic person.”
Writing for The New York Times, graduate student Erin Rousseau examines how the House tax bill would negatively impact graduate students in the U.S. The bill, “would make meeting living expenses nearly impossible, barring all but the wealthiest students from pursuing a Ph.D. The students who will be hit hardest are those from communities that are already underrepresented in higher education.”
MIT researchers have developed a new material that harvests sunlight and converts it into energy, reports Sydney Pereira for Newsweek. “Inspired by the structures that plants use to gather sunlight and turn it into energy, the material mimics circuitry found in nature for harvesting light,” Pereira explains.