1+ hour, 19+ min ago   (833+ words) Nitrogen gas is abundant in Earth’s atmosphere, but most living organisms can’t readily use this nitrogen. Only a subset of microbes that have enzymes known as nitrogenases can break nitrogen gas apart and convert it into ammonia. There are three…...

3+ week, 1+ day ago   (881+ words) Hydrogels are squishy, bio-friendly materials that are made mostly of water and a bit of polymer. The Jell-O-like substance is available in the form of medical patches, sprays, and glues, and can be stuck to the skin or implanted in…...

1+ mon, 1+ day ago   (703+ words) The ordinary graphite in pencil lead is proving to be surprisingly multifaceted at the microscale. In a study appearing today in the journal Nature, MIT researchers report that a certain microscopic structure found in natural graphite can host multiple superconducting…...

1+ mon, 1+ week ago   (546+ words) In a new paper in Sciences Advances, the researchers showed their approach could be used to accurately predict material properties for a diverse group of metal alloys under a range of conditions. They also showed how the approach could be…...

1+ mon, 3+ week ago   (192+ words) A number of MIT affiliates were recently honored for their research by the Breakthrough Prize Foundation. J. Colin Hill ’08 shared a New Horizons in Physics Prize with Dillon Brout, Mathew Madhavacheril, Maria Vincenzi, Daniel Scolnic, and W. L. Kimmy Wu for…...

1+ mon, 3+ week ago   (600+ words) With help from a novel cross-linking molecule, MIT chemists have shown they can substantially improve the ballistic impact resistance of common polymers, including polystyrene and a type of rubber used to make shoe soles. To make the polymer more resistant…...

5+ mon, 4+ week ago   (738+ words) Generative artificial intelligence models have been used to create enormous libraries of theoretical materials that could help solve all kinds of problems. Now, scientists just have to figure out how to make them. In many cases, materials synthesis is not…...

2+ mon, 1+ week ago   (657+ words) Among all of the possible chemical compounds, it’s estimated that between 1020 and 1060 may hold potential as small-molecule drugs. Evaluating each of those compounds experimentally would be far too time-consuming for chemists. So, in recent years, researchers have begun using artificial…...

2+ mon, 2+ week ago   (291+ words) Oxygen is a cornerstone of chemistry, largely because it is so good at building the organic molecules that make up our world. Some oxygen-based compounds, called peroxides, are famous for being highly reactive — they act like oxygen delivery trucks, transferring…...

2+ mon, 2+ week ago   (684+ words) It’s been 37 years since scientists first demonstrated the ability to move single atoms, suggesting the possibility of designing materials atom by atom to customize their properties. Today there are several techniques that allow researchers to move individual atoms in order…...