Will the vegetables of the future be fortified using tiny needles?

Researchers showed they can inexpensively produce silk microneedles to deliver vitamins or agrochemicals to plants.

Zach Winn | MIT News • mit
April 29, 2025 ~8 min

Alaska, rich in petroleum, faces an energy shortage

Alaska produces a lot of crude oil, but many of the state’s utilities, businesses and homes run on natural gas, which is in dwindling supply near population centers.

Brett Watson, Assistant Professor of Applied and Natural Resource Economics, University of Alaska Anchorage • conversation
April 24, 2025 ~10 min


White House plans for Alaskan oil and gas face some hurdles – including from Trump and the petroleum industry

Donald Trump says he is a big fan of oil and gas. His actions may not be of great interest to the industry. And the results may not be what he says he wants.

Scott L. Montgomery, Lecturer in International Studies, University of Washington • conversation
April 11, 2025 ~10 min

Study: Burning heavy fuel oil with scrubbers is the best available option for bulk maritime shipping

Researchers analyzed the full lifecycle of several fuel options and found this approach has a comparable environmental impact, overall, to burning low-sulfur fuels.

Adam Zewe | MIT News • mit
April 8, 2025 ~9 min

Deep-dive dinners are the norm for tuna and swordfish, MIT oceanographers find

These big fish get most of their food from the ocean’s “twilight zone,” a deep, dark region the commercial fishing industry is eyeing with interest.

Jennifer Chu | MIT News • mit
April 1, 2025 ~9 min

Why the Tesla backlash could help electric cars finally go mainstream

Elon Musk marketed EVs to wealthy early-adopter men – but in the long run, more diverse messaging will help the industry.

Hannah Budnitz, Research Associate in Urban Mobility, Transport Studies Unit, University of Oxford • conversation
March 25, 2025 ~7 min

Technology developed by MIT engineers makes pesticides stick to plant leaves

With the new system, farmers could significantly cut their use of pesticides and fertilizers, saving money and reducing runoff.

David L. Chandler | MIT News • mit
March 25, 2025 ~10 min

Electric cars were once marketed as ‘women’s cars’. Did this hold back their development over the next century?

An innovation expert looked at decades of car adverts to find out.

Josef Taalbi, Associate Professor, Economic History, Lund University • conversation
March 13, 2025 ~7 min


What is a SLAPP suit? Legal experts explain how these lawsuits suppress free speech

Legal experts see a current lawsuit against the environmental group Greenpeace as a classic example of using litigation to stifle public criticism.

Ryan Riedmueller, Clinical Legal Fellow, Stanton Foundation First Amendment Clinic, Vanderbilt University • conversation
March 11, 2025 ~6 min

The US energy market has its troubles, though it may not be a ‘national emergency’

The US produces more oil today than any other country, and there is no clear emergency on the scale of the energy crises of the 1970s. But there are some causes for concern.

Seth Blumsack, Professor of Energy and Environmental Economics and International Affairs, Penn State • conversation
March 5, 2025 ~10 min

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