Engineering
MIT physicists turn pencil lead into “gold”
MIT physicists have metaphorically turned graphite, or pencil lead, into gold by isolating five ultrathin flakes.
Engineers develop an efficient process to make fuel from carbon dioxide
MIT engineers developed a process that directly converts carbon dioxide into formate, a solid fuel that can be stored indefinitely.
“Iron Man” material made from DNA and glass is 4x stronger than steel
Using only DNA and glass, researchers made a material four times stronger and five times lighter than steel. It was inspired by Iron Man.
From a five-layer graphene sandwich, a rare electronic state emerges
When stacked in layers in a rhombohedral pattern, graphene takes on a rare state that could advance powerful magnetic memory devices.
Ex-NASA engineer Mark Rober created the world’s smallest Nerf gun — from DNA
Mark Rober and Pallav Kosuri created a Nerf gun so tiny they had to build it out of DNA. This DNA "origami" has the potential to revolutionize engineering.
Cleaning up one of the world’s most commonly used substances
C-Crete has created a more sustainable cement binding material that could significantly reduce the industry’s CO2 emissions.
Desalination system could produce freshwater that is cheaper than tap water
Engineers are aiming to turn seawater into drinking water with a completely passive, solar-powered device that is inspired by the ocean.
An implantable device could enable injection-free control of diabetes
MIT engineers designed an implantable device that carries islet cells along with its own on-board oxygen factory to keep the cells healthy.
Spending time in space can harm the human body − but scientists are working to mitigate these risks before we go to Mars
With NASA planning more missions to space in the future, scientists are studying how to mitigate health hazards that come with space flight.
Device offers long-distance, low-power underwater communication
Researchers create a device with piezoelectric transducers that enables battery-free underwater communication.