Researchers create the first artificial vision system for both land and water
Inspired by a fiddler crab eye, scientists developed an amphibious artificial vision system with a panoramic visual field.
Engineers repurpose 19th-century photography technique to make stretchy, color-changing films
The technique opens a door to manufacturing of pressure-monitoring bandages, shade-shifting fabrics, or touch-sensing robots.
Silk offers an alternative to some microplastics
Researchers have developed a biodegradable system based on silk to replace microplastics added to agricultural products, paints, and cosmetics.
Better living through multicellular life cycles
Researchers reveal how an algae-eating bacterium solves an environmental engineering challenge.
Robotic lightning bugs take flight
Inspired by fireflies, researchers create insect-scale robots that can emit light when they fly, which enables motion tracking and communication.
New plant-derived composite is tough as bone and hard as aluminum
The material could pave the way for sustainable plastics.
Peeking into a chrysalis, videos reveal growth of butterfly wing scales
The findings could inform the design of new materials such as iridescent windows or waterproof textiles.
Bio-inspired, blood-repelling tissue glue could seal wounds quickly
A new adhesive that mimics the sticky substance barnacles use to cling to rocks may offer a better way to treat traumatic injuries.
A material difference
A passion for biomaterials inspires PhD candidate Eesha Khare to tackle climate change.
Finding the love hormone in a stressed-out world
A new art/science collaboration uses molecular structures as its creative medium.
Stents inspired by paper-cutting art can deliver drugs to the GI tract
MIT engineers used kirigami-style etching to design a stent that can temporarily lodge in tubular organs to release drugs.
Synthetic gelatin-like material mimics lobster underbelly’s stretch and strength
The membrane’s structure could provide a blueprint for robust artificial tissues.
Researchers introduce a new generation of tiny, agile drones
The technology could boost aerial robots’ repertoire, allowing them to operate in cramped spaces and withstand collisions.
Could lab-grown plant tissue ease the environmental toll of logging and agriculture?
MIT researchers grow structures made of wood-like plant cells in a lab, hinting at the possibility of more efficient biomaterials production.
Computer-aided creativity in robot design
MIT researchers’ new system optimizes the shape of robots for traversing various terrain types.