This flax fiber furniture can be taken apart and reused again and again
Most seating furniture isn’t made to last.
Chairs and benches are often difficult to take apart, awkward to move, and easy to damage.
After just one...
Are there hidden dimensions to the universe
This is Part 1 of a series on large extra dimensions.
I always say that one of the things that separates real science from pseudoscience...
A new organic molecule could store renewable energy for months with almost no loss
One of the biggest challenges facing renewable energy is timing. Wind turbines and solar panels often produce electricity when it is not immediately needed.
A...
AI can read and diagnose brain scans in seconds
Medical imaging plays a critical role in diagnosing diseases of the brain, but reading and interpreting brain scans is a complex and time‑consuming task.
Today,...
Lego-like smart material lets robots change stiffness like living tissue
Robots are usually built from materials with fixed properties.
Once a robot is assembled, its stiffness, flexibility and movement patterns are largely locked in.
Engineers at...
Batteries made from “rust” could be cleaner, cheaper, and surprisingly powerful
Lithium-ion batteries power everything from smartphones to electric cars, but they rely on materials that raise environmental and ethical concerns.
Metals like nickel and cobalt...
MIT engineers turn recycled plastic bottles into strong 3D-printed home frames
The plastic bottle you toss into the recycling bin today might one day help hold up the floor of a house.
Engineers at MIT are...
A one-atom-thick filter may revolutionize natural gas purification
growing role.
Both fuels are mainly made of methane, which burns more cleanly than coal or oil and is widely used for heating, electricity generation...
This mysterious particle may be proof that black holes can explode
In 2023, physicists detected something that should not have existed: a single subatomic particle called a neutrino carrying an almost unimaginable amount of energy.
This...
How microbes on rock surfaces control groundwater chemistry
Far below the Earth’s surface, deep inside cracks and pores in solid rock, vast communities of microorganisms are quietly at work.
These microscopic organisms are...
Scientists achieve near-perfect light transmission on silicon chips
Optical fiber quietly powers much of the modern world.
It carries internet traffic across oceans and cities with astonishing efficiency, letting light travel kilometers with...
This 4D-printed smart skin can transform its shape and reveal hidden images
Most synthetic materials are made to do just one or two things. Once they are created, their properties rarely change.
A research team at Penn...
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Is a quantum-cryptography apocalypse imminent?
Will quantum computers crack cryptographic codes and cause a global security disaster?
You might certainly get that impression from a lot of news coverage, the...
Why there’s no one ‘normal’ body temperature
If you think 98.6°F is the "normal" body temperature for everyone, you might need to think again.
Researchers at Stanford Medicine have found that body...
This common soap additive may worsen fatty liver disease, study shows
In a new study, researchers found evidence that triclosan—an antimicrobial found in many soaps and other household items—worsens the fatty liver disease.
The study also...
Rain may have helped form the first cells, kick-starting life as we know it
Billions of years of evolution have made modern cells incredibly complex.
Inside cells are small compartments called organelles that perform specific functions essential for the...
A new cosmic map reveals how dark matter built the universe we live in
Scientists have created the most detailed map yet of dark matter—the mysterious substance that makes up most of the universe and quietly shapes everything...