>>Facility could rapidly provide data on how material properties change in a nuclear reactor In order to evaluate a material’s ability to withstand the high-radiation environment inside a nuclear reactor, researchers have traditionally used a method known as “cook and look,” meaning the material is
>>Method could illuminate features of biological tissues in low-exposure images Small imperfections in a wine glass or tiny creases in a contact lens can be tricky to make out, even in good light. In almost total darkness, images of such transparent features or objects are
>>Merging different types of location-stamped data can make it easier to discern users’ identities, even when the data is anonymized A new study by MIT researchers finds that the growing practice of compiling massive, anonymized datasets about people’s movement patterns is a double-edged sword: While
>>Altered peptides from a South American wasp’s venom can kill bacteria but are nontoxic to human cells The venom of insects such as wasps and bees is full of compounds that can kill bacteria. Unfortunately, many of these compounds are also toxic for humans, making
>>Design for system that provides solar- or wind-generated power on demand should be cheaper than other leading options MIT engineers have come up with a conceptual design for a system to store renewable energy, such as solar and wind power, and deliver that energy
>>Method can be used to quickly characterize any soft, rapidly changing substance, such as clotting blood or drying cement When you deform a soft material such as Silly Putty, its properties change depending on how fast you stretch and squeeze it. If you leave the
>>Device developed at MIT could provide refrigeration for off-grid locations MIT researchers have devised a new way of providing cooling on a hot sunny day, using inexpensive materials and requiring no fossil fuel-generated power. The passive system, which could be used to supplement other cooling
>>High-speed camera shows incoming particles cause damage by briefly melting surfaces as they strike When tiny particles strike a metal surface at high speed — for example, as coatings being sprayed or as micrometeorites pummeling a space station — the moment of impact happens so
>>The silent, lightweight aircraft doesn’t depend on fossil fuels or batteries Since the first airplane took flight over 100 years ago, virtually every aircraft in the sky has flown with the help of moving parts such as propellers, turbine blades, and fans, which are powered
>>Researchers tease apart the factors that have caused photovoltaic module costs to drop by 99 percent The dramatic drop in the cost of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules, which has fallen by 99 percent over the last four decades, is often touted as a major success