Science & Research News
Research breakthroughs, space exploration, biotech, and climate science. Peer-reviewed and evidence-based coverage of what matters.
Today
The Porsche Cayenne Coupe Electric Trades Space For Style: First Look
Porsche's new Cayenne Electric gets a sloped-roof sibling with a few exclusive options. We got an early preview.
In a first, a ransomware family is confirmed to be quantum-safe
Technically speaking, there's no practical benefit to use PQC. So why is it being used?
China's BMW iX3 And i3 Aren't Just Longer. They're Better
The long-wheelbase BMW Neue Klasse EVs in China get extra space and additional features.
The Download: introducing the Nature issue
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. Introducing: the Nature issue When we talk about “nature,” we usually mean something untouched by humans. But little of that world exists today. From microplastics in rainforest wildlife to artificial light…
This week
Will fusion power get cheap? Don’t count on it.
Fusion power could provide a steady, zero-emissions source of electricity in the future—if companies can get plants built and running. But a new study suggests that even if that future arrives, it might not come cheap. Technologies tend to get less expensive over time. Lithium-ion batteries are now about 90% cheaper than they were in…
One town’s scheme to get rid of its geese
“Pull over!” I order my brother one sunny February afternoon. Our target is in sight: a gaggle of Canada geese, pecking at grass near the dog park. As I approach, tiptoeing over their grayish-white poop, I notice that one bird wears a white cuff around its slender black neck. It’s a GPS tracker—part of a…
There is no nature anymore
When people talk about “nature,” they’re generally talking about things that aren’t made by human beings. Rocks. Reefs. Red wolves. But while there is plenty of God’s creation to go around, it is hard to think of anything on Earth that human hands haven’t affected. In the Brazilian rainforest, scientists have found microplastics in the…
Los Angeles is finally going underground
Los Angeles deserves its reputation as the quintessential car city—the rhythms of its 2,200 square miles are dictated by wide boulevards and concrete arcs of freeways. But it once had a world-class rail transit system, and for the last three decades, the city has been rebuilding a network of trolleys and subways. In May, a…
3 things Michelle Kim is into right now
Isegye Idol If you thought K-pop was weird, virtual idols—humans who perform as anime-style digital characters via motion capture—will blow your mind. My favorite is a girl group called Isegye Idol, created by Woowakgood, a Korean VTuber (a streamer who likewise performs as a digital persona). Isegye Idol’s six members are anonymous, which seems to…
Inventor recalls eye imaging breakthrough
If you’ve been to an eye doctor and had an image taken of the inside of your eye, chances are good it was done with optical coherence tomography (OCT)—a technology invented by clinician-scientist David Huang ’85, SM ’89, PhD ’93, and now used in 40 million procedures per year. OCT is a noninvasive technique used…
The new word in home construction could be “plastics”
Single-use plastics are a persistent source of environmental pollution, and the need to house a growing global population puts increasing pressure on resources such as timber. MIT engineers have an idea that could make a dent in both problems at once. In a recent study, a team led by mechanical engineering professor David Hardt, SM…
A natural protein may protect the GI tract from infection
Embedded in the body’s mucosal surfaces, proteins called lectins bind to sugars found on cell surfaces. A team led by MIT chemistry professor Laura Kiessling has found that one such protein, intelectin-2, both helps fortify the mucosal barrier and offers broad-spectrum protection against harmful bacteria found in the GI tract. Intelectin-2 binds to a sugar…
This tool could show how consciousness works
How does the physical matter in our brains translate into thoughts, sensations, and emotions? It’s hard to explore that question without neurosurgery. But in a recent paper, MIT philosopher Matthias Michel, Lincoln Lab researcher Daniel Freeman, and colleagues outline a strategy for doing so with an emerging tool called transcranial focused ultrasound. This noninvasive technology…
Early life may have breathed oxygen earlier than believed
Around 2.3 billion years ago, a pivotal period known as the Great Oxidation Event set the evolutionary course for oxygen-breathing life on Earth. But MIT geobiologists and colleagues have found evidence that some early forms of life evolved the ability to use oxygen hundreds of millions of years before that. By mapping enzyme sequences from…
Analog computing from waste heat
Heat generated by electronic devices is usually a problem, but a team led by Giuseppe Romano, a research scientist at MIT’s Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies, has found a way to use it for data processing that doesn’t rely on electricity. In this analog computing method, input data is encoded not as binary 1s and 0s…
Get ready for hotter, muggier, stormier summers
A long stretch of humid heat followed by a powerful thunderstorm is a familiar weather pattern in the tropics, but it’s also becoming more common in midlatitude regions such as the US Midwest. A recent study by two MIT scientists identifies a key atmospheric condition that determines how hot, humid, and stormy such a region…
Recent books from the MIT community
Priority Technologies: Ensuring US Security and Shared ProsperityEdited by Elisabeth B. Reynolds, professor of the practice of urban studies and planning and former executive director of the MIT Task Force on the Work of the Future MIT PRESS, 2026, $24.95 The Shape of Wonder: How Scientists Think, Work, and LiveBy Alan Lightman, professor of the practice…
ISS astronauts are getting new laptops
Even astronauts need to level up their laptops once in a while - including the crew of Expedition 74 on board the ISS, which NASA announced last week is in the process of some computer upgrades. According to NASA, the crew met on Friday to review plans to "first replace network servers then activate their […]
Flawed Booking Systems Are Preventing Passengers from Travelling by Rail — T&E Analysis
The new EU Single Ticketing legislative package could finally make booking connecting trains between major hubs convenient. Europe’s rail renaissance will never reach its full potential unless passengers are able to book connecting and international trains in a few clicks. That’s the conclusion of new research by T&E which finds that ... [continued] The post Flawed Booking Systems Are Preventing Passengers from Travelling by Rail — T&E Analysis appeared first on CleanTechnica .
Contrary to popular superstition, AES 128 is just fine in a post-quantum world
A stubborn misconception is hampering the already hard work of quantum readiness.
Market, policy and operations in focus for zero-emission intercity buses, at Sustainable Bus Tour session in Bus2Bus
The transition to zero-emission buses in Europe is extending into the intercity segment, and this was the topic of the Sustainable Bus Tour session held during Bus2Bus 2026 in Berlin. The panel “From city to intercity: the next step for zero emission bus transition” gathered Malo Benoit, Heavy-Duty Vehicle Research Fellow at the International Council […] The post Market, policy and operations in focus for zero-emission intercity buses, at Sustainable Bus Tour session in Bus2Bus appeared first on Sustainable Bus .
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