Engineering
Gallium: The liquid metal that could transform soft electronics
By harnessing the unusual properties of a liquid metal called gallium, scientists could create a new generation of flexible devices.
Why scientists are making transparent wood
Stronger than plastic and tougher than glass, the transparent wood is being exploited for smartphone screens, insulated windows, and more
Grinding scientists: Mechanochemistry could revolutionize the creation of new materials
Like a kitchen mortar and pestle, mechanochemistry harnesses ball milling to create chemical compounds, simpler, and faster than traditional methods.
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.