Latest MIT Stories
Physicists are divided on whether string theory is a viable theory of everything, but many agree that it offers a new way to look at physical phenomena that have otherwise proven difficult to describe. In the past decade, physicists have used string theory to build a connection between quantum and gravitational mechanics, known as gauge/gravity duality.MIT physicists, led by Hong Liu and John McGreevy, have now used that connection to describe a specific physical phenomenon "” the behavior...
SIRT1 gene appears to control production of the devastating protein fragmentsMIT biologists report that they have discovered the first link between the amyloid plaques that form in the brains of Alzheimer's patients and a gene previously implicated in the aging process, SIRT1.The researchers found that SIRT1 appears to control production of the devastating protein fragments, termed A-beta peptides, that make up amyloid plaques. They also showed that in mice engineered to develop Alzheimer's...
IRVINE, Calif., July 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Routine use of robotic lift trucks is not far off, according to Toyota Material Handling, U.S.A., Inc. (TMHU). Innovative lift truck applications involving unmanned operation are being increasingly explored for high-risk work environments, such as those in the military. Over two days this June, the U.S. Army Logistics Innovation Agency (LIA) hosted demonstrations at Fort Lee, in Virginia, of an MIT-developed prototype unmanned robotic Toyota lift...
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., June 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Polaroid today gathered at the MIT Museum to celebrate the brand's rich 73-year history and bright future. Polaroid presented an exclusive photo of Lady Gaga, Polaroid's Creative Director, to the MIT Museum that will become a part of the Polaroid artifacts at the museum, while naming Bobby Sager as Chairman of the Board for Polaroid. (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100630/NY29282 ) (Photo:...
CAMPBELL, Calif., June 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Rhomobile today announced Rhodes 2.0, the newest version of the industry's most powerful smartphone app development framework. Rhodes 2.0 allows developers to rapidly build native apps for all major smartphones including iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, Windows Mobile, Symbian as well as the iPad. Now available for free under the MIT license, Rhodes 2.0 provides developers with new capabilities including native mapping across all devices and a metadata...
Relying on origami techniques, researchers show programmable matter folding into a boat- or plane-shape"More than meets the eye" may soon become more than just a tagline for a line of popular robotic toys.Researchers at Harvard and MIT have reshaped the landscape of programmable matter by devising self-folding sheets that rely on the ancient art of origami.Called programmable matter by folding, the team demonstrated how a single thin sheet composed of interconnected triangular...
Researchers find significant potential for gas to displace coal, reducing greenhouse-gas emissions as a transition to a low-carbon future.Natural gas will play a leading role in reducing greenhouse-gas emissions over the next several decades, largely by replacing older, inefficient coal plants with highly efficient combined-cycle gas generation. That's the conclusion reached by a comprehensive study of the future of natural gas conducted by an MIT study group comprised of 30 MIT faculty...
New method could have a big impact on pharmaceutical businessSome drugs may be more effective the longer they last inside the body. To prevent such drugs from being broken down too rapidly, pharmaceutical manufacturers often attach a fluorine-containing structure called a trifluoromethyl group. However, the processes now used require harsh reaction conditions or only work in a small number of cases, limiting their usefulness for synthesizing new drug candidates for testing.Now, MIT chemists...
A large group of scientists, including Jay Pasachoff, Bryce Babcock, and Steven Souza at Williams College, reveal the character of one of the most distant objects in the solar system in a scientific paper which appeared in the June 17 issue of the journal Nature. In observing the object named 2002 TX300 on October 9, 2009, as it passed in front of a distant star, they could tell what its surface is like and its size.For several years, Pasachoff, Babcock, and Souza have worked with James...
Engineers turn a drawback "” the stickiness of gold nanoparticles "” into an advantage.Gold nanoparticles "” tiny spheres of gold just a few billionths of a meter in diameter "” have become useful tools in modern medicine. They've been incorporated into miniature drug-delivery systems to control blood clotting, and they're also the main components of a device, now in clinical trials, that is designed to burn away malignant tumors.However, one property of these particles stands in the...
