31
New finding may explain heat loss in fusion reactors
Solving a longstanding mystery, MIT experiments reveal two forms of turbulence interacting. The new finding may explain heat loss in nuclear fusion reactors.
MIT News
MIT News is dedicated to communicating to the media and the public the news and achievements of the students, faculty, staff and the greater MIT community.
- Popular posts
- 162
- Total points
- 40,872
- HN comments
- 18,468
- Rank
- #12 company
Visit news.mit.edu → On Hacker News Aug 2015 – Oct 2026
Science & Space 111Hardware & Electronics 21AI & Machine Learning 20Society, Policy & Culture 15Software Engineering 13Tech Industry & Business 13
32
From seawater to drinking water, with the push of a button
MIT researchers created a portable desalination unit that can remove particles and salts simultaneously to generate drinking water. The user-friendly unit, which weighs less than 10 kilograms and does not require filters, can be powered by a small, portable solar panel.
33
Study identifies reasons for soaring nuclear plant cost overruns in the U.S.
MIT researchers have analyzed the causes of many cost overruns on new nuclear power plants in the U.S., which have soared in the past 50 years. The findings may help designers of new plants build in resilience to prevent such added costs.
34
Evidence that the brain’s ability to control thinking relies on beta rhythms
MIT neuroscientists have found evidence that the brain’s ability to control what it’s thinking about relies on low-frequency brain waves known as beta rhythms.
35
Study urges caution when comparing neural networks to the brain
Neuroscientists often use neural networks to model the kind of tasks the brain performs, in hopes that the models could suggest new hypotheses regarding how the brain itself performs those tasks. But a group of MIT researchers urges that more caution should be taken when interpreting these models.
36
Tests show high-temperature superconducting magnets are ready for fusion
A comprehensive study of high-temperature superconducting magnets built by MIT and Commonwealth Fusion Systems confirms they meet requirements for an economic, compact fusion power plant.
37
Scientists make huge dataset of nearby stars available to public
Members of the public can search a newly released database of 1,600 stars to find signs of undiscovered exoplanets. The dataset, taken over two decades by the W.M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii, comes with an open-source software package and an online tutorial.
38
When muscles work out, they help neurons to grow, a new study shows
Exercise can have benefits at the level of neurons, through chemical and mechanical effects, MIT researchers find. The discovery could inform exercise-related therapies for repairing damaged and deteriorating nerves.
39
AI model detects asymptomatic Covid-19 infections through phone-recorded coughs
An artificial intelligence model can detect people who are asymptomatic with Covid-19, through cellphone-recorded coughs. The work was led by Brian Subirana and colleagues at the MIT Auto-ID Lab.
40
Gene-silencing tool shows promise as a future therapy against prion diseases
MIT Whitehead and Broad Institute researchers designed an epigenetic editor that can silence the prion protein gene, which could potentially be developed into a therapy against fatal prion diseases. The same approach could be used against other genetic diseases.
41
MIT engineers create an energy-storing supercapacitor from ancient materials
MIT engineers created a carbon-cement supercapacitor that can store large amounts of energy. Made of just cement, water, and carbon black, the device could form the basis for inexpensive systems that store intermittently renewable energy, such as solar or wind energy.
42
Fasting boosts stem cells’ regenerative capacity (2018)
Age-related declines in stem cell function can be reversed by a 24-hour fast, according to a new study from MIT. Biologists found fasting dramatically improves stem cells’ ability to regenerate, in both aged and young mice.
43
Physicists observationally confirm Hawking’s black hole theorem for first time
Physicists at MIT and elsewhere have used gravitational waves to observationally confirm Hawking’s black hole theorem for the first time.
44
Low-cost open source device can measure air pollution anywhere
Flatburn is an open-source, mobile pollution detector from the MIT Senseable City Lab intended to let people measure air quality cheaply.
45
How a razor blade can be damaged as it cuts human hair (2020)
A new study by MIT engineers shows how shaving can damage blades. Human hair, 50 times softer than steel, can chip away a razor’s edge, the engineers found.
46
Shutting down nuclear power could increase air pollution: study
An MIT study shows that if U.S. nuclear power plants are retired, the burning of coal, oil, and natural gas to fill the energy gap could cause more than 5,000 premature deaths.
47
Engineers grow pancreatic organoids that mimic the real thing
MIT engineers developed a way to grow tiny replicas of the pancreas, using either healthy or cancerous pancreatic cells. Their models could help researchers develop and test potential drugs for pancreatic cancer.
48
An old artifact kept in a vault outside Paris is no longer the standard kilogram
The international standard measurement of the kilogram is being officially changed on May 20, for the first time making all standard units defined in terms of basic physical principles instead of particular human-made objects. MIT professor and Nobel laureate Wolfgang Ketterle explains the change.
49
Noninvasive imaging method can penetrate deeper into living tissue
MIT researchers developed a non-invasive imaging technique that enables laser light to penetrate deeper into living tissue, capturing sharper images of cells. This could help clinical biologists study disease progression and develop new medicines.
50
Study reveals how, when a synapse strengthens, its neighbors weaken
Neuroscientists at the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at MIT have discovered that when a synapse strengthens, neighboring synapses weaken based on the action of a crucial protein called Arc. The finding provides an explanation of how synaptic strengthening and weakening combine in neurons to produce…
51
Inside tiny tubes, water turns solid when it should be boiling
MIT team gets water to freeze solid at boiling temperature; finding could lead to new kinds of electronic devices with wires made of ice
52
New laser ultrasound technique can remotely image the inside of a person
MIT researchers have produced the first “laser ultrasound” images in humans, using eye- and skin-safe lasers. The new technique enables noncontact ultrasound imaging, which may help clinicians to remotely assess patients, infants, and contact-sensitive subjects such as burn victims.
53
Quaise Energy is working to create geothermal wells
MIT spinout Quaise Energy is working to create geothermal wells made from the world’s deepest holes in order to repurpose coal and gas plants.
54
A step toward fully 3D-printed active electronics
Researchers produced 3D-printed, semiconductor-free logic gates, which perform computations in active electronic devices. As they don’t require semiconductor materials, they represent a step toward 3D printing an entire active electronic device.
55
Study finds a difference between neurons of humans and other mammals
Human neurons have a lower density of ion channels than expected, compared to neurons of other mammals, according to a new study. The researchers hypothesize that a lower channel density may have helped the human brain evolve to operate more efficiently.
56
Ioannis Yannas, who invented artificial skin for treatment of burns, has died
Professor Ioannis V. Yannas, a physical chemist and engineer known for the invention of artificial skin for the treatment of severe burns and an MIT faculty member for nearly 60 years, died at age 90.
57
Electrical properties of dendrites help explain our brain’s computing power
MIT neuroscientists have discovered that human dendrites have very different electrical properties from those of other species. These differences may contribute to the enhanced computing power of the human brain.
58
MIT team invents efficient shockwave-based process for desalination of water
MIT researchers have invented an efficient shockwave-based process for desalination of water.
59
MIT engineers make converting CO2 into useful products more practical
A new electrode design developed at MIT boosts the efficiency of electrochemical reactions that turn carbon dioxide into ethylene and other products.
60
Scientists discover potentially habitable planets
Scientists have discovered three Earth-sized exoplanets, just 40 light years away, that could be potentially habitable for life. The extrasolar planets were found with the TRAPPIST telescope orbiting a dim dwarf star.