MIT researchers have developed a new system that uses solar power to sterilize medical tools, according to The Economist. The system “should cost just a tenth as much to make commercially as a conventional autoclave of equivalent potency.”
Financial Times reporter Henry Sanderson spotlights Prof. Donald Sadoway’s work developing new battery chemistries that would allow batteries to store energy for longer than six hours.
Writing for Science, Charlie Greenwood spotlights how MIT researchers are building upon their pioneering work twisting sheets of graphene together to create superconductors by using twisted graphene to develop working devices. “Many researchers are excited by the promise of exploring electronic devices without worrying about the constraints of chemistry,” writes Greenwood.
New Scientist reporter Donna Lu writes that MIT researchers have developed a new portable, solar-powered device that could be used to sterilize medical instruments in resource-limited areas. “The new tool works even in hazy or cloudy conditions,” writes Lu. “It consists of a solar component that heats water to generate steam, which is then connected to a pressure chamber.”
MIT researchers have developed a new method for potentially increasing solar cell efficiency beyond the theoretical limit, reports Daniel Oberhaus for Wired. “What’s cool here is that this is a fundamentally different approach from traditional photovoltaics,” says Joseph Berry of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
Prof. Kripa Varanasi has developed a new hydrophobic surface that limits the spread of water droplets. The researchers etched a pattern of small rings onto the surface, which created a series of “water bowls” intended to “constrain the spread of droplets falling on them, thus encouraging the rapid ejection of those droplets back into the air,” reports The Economist.
MIT researchers have a developed a method to make liquid droplets bounce away faster on water-repellant surfaces. “Aside from reducing ice buildup on airplanes, or even the giant sweeping blades of a wind turbine, this research could also benefit waterproof garments, which are a big market for hydrophobic materials,” reports Andrew Liszewski of Gizmodo.
In an article for Bloomberg News, Noah Smith highlights a study by MIT researchers that examines the factors influencing the decline in solar prices. The researchers found that, “from 1980 to 2001, government-funded research and development was the main factor in bringing down costs, but from 2001 to 2012, the biggest factor was economies of scale,” Smith explains.
Verge reporter Angela Chen spotlights Prof. Michael Strano’s work using nanobionics to engineer plants. “It’s long overdue that we start to look at plants as the starting point of technology,” explains Strano. “As an engineering platform, they have a number of untapped advantages.”
Fast Company reporter Jesus Diaz writes that MIT researchers have developed a computer model that shows that rising water temperatures will cause the color of the world’s oceans to change.
MIT researchers have found that climate change will cause half of the world’s oceans to change color by 2100, reports Becky Ferreira for Motherboard. “Monitoring ocean color could yield valuable insights into the effects of climate change on phytoplankton,” Ferreira explains.
The Washington Post spotlights an MIT study examining how climate change will alter the color of the oceans. “Changes are happening because of climate change,” says principal research scientist Stephanie Dutkiewicz. “The change in the color of the ocean will be one of early warning signals that we really have changed our planet.”
BBC News reporter Matt McGrath writes that MIT researchers have found rising temperatures caused by climate change will cause the world’s oceans to become bluer, as the increased temperatures alter the mixture of phytoplankton. The color change “will likely be one of the earliest warning signals that we have changed the ecology of the ocean,” explains principal research scientist Stephanie Dutkiewicz.
A study by MIT researchers shows that climate change will have a significant impact on phytoplankton, which will cause the oceans to change color, reports Brett Molina for USA Today. The researchers “developed a model simulating how different species of phytoplankton will grow and interact, and how warming oceans will have an impact,” Molina explains.
CNN reporter Jen Christensen writes that a new study by MIT researchers finds that climate change will impact phytoplankton, causing the color of the world’s oceans to shift. “The change is not a good thing, since it will definitely impact the rest of the food web,” says principal research scientist Stephanie Dutkiewicz.