New platform lets anyone rapidly prototype large, sturdy interactive structures

The system uses reconfigurable electromechanical building blocks to create structural electronics.

Adam Zewe | MIT News • mit
March 18, 2025 ~8 min

Vaccine misinformation distorts science – a biochemist explains how RFK Jr. and his lawyer’s claims threaten public health

Many claims about the dangers of vaccines come from misrepresenting scientific research papers.

Mark R. O'Brian, Professor and Chair of Biochemistry, University at Buffalo • conversation
Dec. 17, 2024 ~9 min


A portable light system that can digitize everyday objects

A new design tool uses UV and RGB lights to change the color and textures of everyday objects. The system could enable surfaces to display dynamic patterns, such as health data and fashion designs.

Alex Shipps | MIT CSAIL • mit
Nov. 6, 2024 ~8 min

New 3D printing technique creates unique objects quickly and with less waste

By using a 3D printer like an iron, researchers can precisely control the color, shade, and texture of fabricated objects, using only one material.

Adam Zewe | MIT News • mit
Oct. 10, 2024 ~7 min

Intoxication nation: a double shot of US history

Alcohol is a window into American history, from 17th-century rum production to young people’s declining interest in drinking today.

Kyle G. Volk, Professor of History, University of Montana • conversation
Sept. 16, 2024 ~5 min

Who are today’s climate activists? Dispelling 3 big myths for Earth Month

Not all activists are in the media spotlight, but they’re crucial to promoting action to slow climate change.

Dana R. Fisher, Director of the Center for Environment, Community & Equity and Professor in the School of International Service, American University • conversation
April 2, 2024 ~8 min

How ‘Dune’ became a beacon for the fledgling environmental movement − and a rallying cry for the new science of ecology

When Frank Herbert sat down in 1963 to start writing ‘Dune,’ he wasn’t thinking about how to leave Earth behind. He was thinking about how to save it.

Devin Griffiths, Associate Professor of English and Comparative Literature, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences • conversation
March 15, 2024 ~10 min

How Argentina’s protesters are responding to a new president who wants to end environmental protections and sell off natural resources

The ultra-right Javier Milei has already set back environmentalism by decades.

Paula Serafini, Lecturer, Queen Mary University of London • conversation
Jan. 31, 2024 ~5 min


A First Amendment battle looms in Georgia, where the state is framing opposition to a police training complex as a criminal conspiracy

This isn’t the first time that US authorities have criminalized civil disobedience or framed grassroots organizing as a conspiracy.

David Pellow, Department Chair and Professor of Environmental Studies and Director, Global Environmental Justice Project, University of California, Santa Barbara • conversation
Dec. 1, 2023 ~12 min

Movement helps kids learn letter sounds

Children who use their bodies to shape letter sounds improve their spelling skills more than those who receive traditional classroom instruction, a study finds.

U. Copenhagen • futurity
Nov. 13, 2023 ~6 min

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