MIT Media Lab

Since prehistoric times, clays have been used by people for medicinal purposes. Whether by eating it, soaking in a mud bath, or using it to stop bleeding from wounds, clay has long been part of keeping humans healthy. Certain clays have also been found with germ-killing abilities, but how these work has remained unclear. A

First unveiled online a few months ago, I’m Watch is a smartphone-compatible wristwatch, designed to work with Android-based cell phones – although it’s reportedly also compatible with iOS devices. It is being developed by an Italian producer, and is currently available for pre-order. Initially the price tag was very high, but it is now being

It has a five-year survival rate of 40% versus 87% for all other breast cancers The shortened daylight of a Maine winter may make for long, dark nights – but it has shone a light on a novel experimental approach to fighting inflammatory breast cancer (IBC), an especially deadly form of breast cancer. The new

First evidence for new molecular structure could open doors to chemical solutions for environmental problems Indiana University researchers have reported the first definitive evidence for a new molecular structure with potential applications to the safe storage of nuclear waste and reduction of chemicals that contaminate water and trigger large fish kills. The study, which was published

Could put the entire U.S. economy at risk when global oil production peaks (“Peak Oil“) Researchers from the University of Maryland and a leading university in Spain demonstrate in a new study which sectors could put the entire U.S. economy at risk when global oil production peaks (“Peak Oil”). This multi-disciplinary team recommends immediate action

The present largest wind turbines have a capacity of 5-6 MW. Following five years of research at the joint European project UpWind, led by Risø National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy, the Technical University of Denmark (Risø DTU), scientists have now presented the first design basis for developing mega wind turbines of 20 MW. The EU

Taking a page from Jules Verne, researchers at Microsoft believe the future of data centers may be under the sea. Microsoft has tested a prototype of a self-contained data center that can operate hundreds of feet below the surface of the ocean, eliminating one of the technology industry’s most expensive problems: the air-conditioning bill. Today’s

Long-abandoned bacterial fermentation process resurrected to feed catalysis into fuel mixture A long-abandoned fermentation process once used to turn starch into explosives can be used to produce renewable diesel fuel to replace the fossil fuels now used in transportation, University of California, Berkeley, scientists have discovered. Campus chemists and chemical engineers teamed up to produce

CMU researchers have published in Science a new 3D bioprinting method that brings the field of tissue engineering one step closer to being able to 3D print a full-sized, adult human heart. A team of researchers from Carnegie Mellon University has published a paper in Science that details a new technique allowing anyone to 3D bioprint tissue

A new type of power cell can convert mechanical energy—from walking, for example—to chemical energy and store the power until it is released as electrical current. The power cell generates enough current to run a small calculator. A hybrid power cell the size of a conventional coin battery can power small electronic devices—and could have