Tackling counterfeit seeds with “unclonable” labels
Fake seeds can cost farmers more than two-thirds of expected crop yields and threaten food security. Trackable silk labels could help.
MIT-led teams win National Science Foundation grants to research sustainable materials
The teams will work toward sustainable microchips and topological materials as well as socioresilient materials design.
Resilient bug-sized robots keep flying even after wing damage
New repair techniques enable microscale robots to recover flight performance after suffering severe damage to the artificial muscles that power their wings.
Mix-and-match kit could enable astronauts to build a menagerie of lunar exploration bots
Robotic parts could be assembled into nimble spider bots for exploring lava tubes or heavy-duty elephant bots for transporting solar panels.
New method accelerates data retrieval in huge databases
Researchers used machine learning to build faster and more efficient hash functions, which are a key component of databases.
Study: Smoke particles from wildfires can erode the ozone layer
MIT chemists show the Australian wildfires widened the ozone hole by 10 percent in 2020.
Custom, 3D-printed heart replicas look and pump just like the real thing
The soft robotic models are patient-specific and could help clinicians zero in on the best implant for an individual.
Ingestible sensor could help doctors pinpoint GI difficulties
The sensor sends out its location as it moves through the GI tract, revealing where slowdowns in digestion may occur.
Efficient technique improves machine-learning models’ reliability
The method enables a model to determine its confidence in a prediction, while using no additional data and far fewer computing resources than other methods.
Engineers invent vertical, full-color microscopic LEDs
Stacking light-emitting diodes instead of placing them side by side could enable fully immersive virtual reality displays and higher-resolution digital screens.
Physicists observe rare resonance in molecules for the first time
The findings could provide a new way to control chemical reactions.
How to make hydrogels more injectable
A new computational framework could help researchers design granular hydrogels to repair or replace diseased tissues.
When should data scientists try a new technique?
A new measure can help scientists decide which estimation method to use when modeling a particular data problem.
A new way to assess radiation damage in reactors
Engineers designed a tool that enables faster measurements of the condition of some nuclear reactor components, potentially extending their lifetimes.
Scientists discover a new way of sharing genetic information in a common ocean microbe
Prochlorococcus, the world’s most abundant photosynthetic organism, reveals a gene-transfer mechanism that may be key to its abundance and diversity.