The next generation of glowing plants

Using nanoparticles that store and gradually release light, engineers create light-emitting plants that can be charged repeatedly.

Anne Trafton | MIT News Office • mit
Sept. 17, 2021 ~7 min

Researchers design sensors to rapidly detect plant hormones

SMART nanosensors are safer and less tedious than existing techniques for testing plants’ response to compounds such as herbicides.

Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology • mit
Sept. 13, 2021 ~7 min


Using adversarial attacks to refine molecular energy predictions

MIT researchers find a new way to quantify the uncertainty in molecular energies predicted by neural networks.

Vineeth Venugopal | Department of Materials Science and Engineering • mit
Sept. 1, 2021 ~7 min

The EPA is banning chlorpyrifos, a pesticide widely used on food crops, after 14 years of pressure from environmental and labor groups

What kind of evidence does it require to get a widely used chemical banned? A professor of medicine and former state regulator explains how the case for chlorpyrifos as a threat to public health developed.

Gina Solomon, Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco • conversation
Aug. 24, 2021 ~12 min

New approach could change how we track extreme air pollution events

Study demonstrates the power of low-cost air quality sensors during volcanic eruption.

Stephanie Martinovich | Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering • mit
June 30, 2021 ~8 min

Engineered yeast could expand biofuels’ reach

By making the microbes more tolerant to toxic byproducts, researchers show they can use a wider range of feedstocks, beyond corn.

Anne Trafton | MIT News Office • mit
June 25, 2021 ~7 min

How the surfaces of silicone breast implants affect the immune system

Implant surface topography can influence the development of scarring, inflammation, and other complications, researchers find.

Anne Trafton | MIT News Office • mit
June 21, 2021 ~10 min

New drug-formulation method may lead to smaller pills

Chemical engineers have found a way to load more drug into a tablet, which could then be made smaller and easier to swallow.

Anne Trafton | MIT News Office • mit
June 7, 2021 ~7 min


Tiny particles power chemical reactions

A new material made from carbon nanotubes can generate electricity by scavenging energy from its environment.

Anne Trafton | MIT News Office • mit
June 7, 2021 ~6 min

Geometrically baffling ‘quasicrystals' found in the debris of the first-ever nuclear blast

The quasicrystals were 'accidentally' synthesised during the first test of a nuclear bomb in July 1945.

Robert A Jackson, Reader, School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Keele University • conversation
June 2, 2021 ~7 min

/

61