Author: Ms. R.

As batteries have gotten cheaper and more powerful, they have enabled the electrification of everything from vehicles to lawn equipment, power tools, and scooters. But electrifying homes has been a slower process. That’s because switching from gas appliances often requires ripping out drywall, running new wires, and upgrading the electrical box. Now the startup Copper, founded by Sam Calisch SM ’14, PhD ’19, has developed a battery-equipped kitchen range that can plug into a standard 120-volt wall outlet. The induction range……

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Researchers from the MIT Media Lab have developed an antenna — about the size of a fine grain of sand — that can be injected into the body to wirelessly power deep-tissue medical implants, such as pacemakers in cardiac patients and neuromodulators in people suffering from epilepsy or Parkinson’s disease. “This is the next major step in miniaturizing deep-tissue implants,” says Baju Joy, a PhD student in the Media Lab’s Nano-Cybernetic Biotrek research group. “It enables battery-free implants that……

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Around 80 percent of global energy production today comes from the combustion of fossil fuels. Combustion, or the process of converting stored chemical energy into thermal energy through burning, is vital for a variety of common activities including electricity generation, transportation, and domestic uses like heating and cooking — but it also yields a host of environmental consequences, contributing to air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Sili Deng, the Doherty Chair in Ocean Utilization and associate professor of mechanical……

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Some of the most expensive drugs currently in use are gene therapies to treat specific diseases, and their high cost limits their availability for those who need them. Part of the reason for the cost is that the manufacturing process yields as much as 90 percent non-active material, and separating out these useless parts is slow, leads to significant losses, and is not well adapted to large-scale production. Separation accounts for almost 70 percent of the total gene therapy……

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For almost 30 years, Mary Gallagher has supported award-winning faculty members and their labs in the same way she tends the soil beneath her garden. In both, she pairs diligence and experience with a delight in the way that interconnected ecosystems contribute to the growth of a plant, or an idea, seeded in the right place. Gallagher, a senior administrative assistant in the Department of Biology, has spent much of her career at MIT. Her mastery in navigating the……

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This summer, nine MIT students worked across the Middle East through the MISTI Arab World Program.  “At MISTI Arab World, the most impactful learning occurs when students venture beyond their comfort zones and experience the richness of a dynamic region,” says Maye Elqasem, program administrator of MISTI Arab World. “Our students return not only with new technical and professional capabilities, but also with a greater sense of self, resilience, and global awareness.”  Since it launched in 2014, more than……

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We’ve known since ancient times that physical activity can prevent and treat a broad range of mental and physical illnesses. But today, exercise is not a central focus of modern health-care systems. Why? This is the motivating question behind MIT’s class STS.041/PE&W.0537 (Exercise is Medicine: From Ancient Civilizations to Modern Healthcare Systems) — a collaboration between the MIT Program in Science, Technology, and Society (STS) and the Department of Athletics, Physical Education, and Recreation (DAPER). Going beyond the MIT tradition of……

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Professor Ioannis V. Yannas SM ’59, a physical chemist and engineer known for the invention of artificial skin for the treatment of severe burns, and a longtime member of the MIT faculty, died on Oct. 19 at the age of 90. “Professor Yannas was a beloved and distinguished colleague, teacher, and mentor. The impact of his inventions, and his legacy on the field of bioengineering was immense,” says John Hart, the Class of 1922 Professor and head of the……

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