Building organs block by block
Tissue engineering has long held promise for building new organs to replace damaged livers, blood vessels and other body parts. However, one major obstacle is getting cells grown in a lab dish to form...
View ArticleWhy saliva forms beads on a string
The so-called “beads-on-a-string” phenomenon can be demonstrated with a very simple experiment. Stretch a glob of saliva between your thumb and forefinger, and you should see a string of beads form,...
View ArticleUnderstanding shape-shifting polymers
Shape-memory polymers are not a new discovery, as anyone who has played with Shrinky-Dinks or who has used heat-shrink tubing for wires in an electronic circuit can testify. But now, thanks to new...
View ArticleGoing with the flow
Researchers at MIT and Brigham and Women’s Hospital have developed a new way to produce nanoparticles that can deliver drugs for cancer and other diseases. The new production system offers greater...
View ArticleA step toward stronger polymers
Many of the objects we encounter are made of polymers — long chains of repeating molecules. Networks of polymers form manmade materials such as plastics, as well as natural products such as rubber and...
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How to stop leaks — the way blood does
When you get a cut, blood starts to flow from the wound. But very quickly, complex biochemical processes spring into action, creating a scaffolding of molecules to block the hole, and then building up...
View ArticleNew material harvests energy from water vapor
MIT engineers have created a new polymer film that can generate electricity by drawing on a ubiquitous source: water vapor.The new material changes its shape after absorbing tiny amounts of evaporated...
View ArticleA safer way to vaccinate
Vaccines usually consist of inactivated viruses that prompt the immune system to remember the invader and launch a strong defense if it later encounters the real thing. However, this approach can be...
View ArticleProfessor emeritus Frederick J. McGarry dies at 86
Frederick J. McGarry, professor emeritus of polymer engineering in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (DMSE) and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) died March...
View ArticleStrengthening aerospace laminates
MIT doctoral student Sunny Wicks has made some surprising discoveries on the way to proving the case for enhancing aerospace laminate toughness by adding aligned carbon nanotubes. "The more I work on...
View ArticlePromoting passage through mucus
Mucus hydrates and lubricates the eyes, the nose, the lungs, and the digestive and urogenital tracts, and prevents passage of harmful germs. But it also blocks drug delivery. One important question in...
View ArticleShining a light on tiny polymer shapes
Ryan Oliver, a visiting graduate student in the lab of associate professor of mechanical engineering A. John Hart, is developing a technique called maskless fluidic lithography that creates unique...
View ArticleTiny particles could help verify goods
Some 2 to 5 percent of all international trade involves counterfeit goods, according to a 2013 United Nations report. These illicit products — which include electronics, automotive and aircraft parts,...
View ArticlePioneering bioelectronic interfaces
Better control of prosthetic limbs and better treatment of diseases like Parkinson's motivates Polina Anikeeva, the AMAX Assistant Professor in Materials Science and Engineering, to develop both...
View ArticleFaculty highlight: Michael Rubner
For more than two decades, MIT Professor Michael F. Rubner has been discovering new ways to build up layer-by-layer water-based, non-toxic polymers with special properties such as coatings with the...
View ArticleCommercializing a new generation of polymer coatings
In some cases, a company has a product and knows immediately where it should go. GVD Corporation was not one of those cases. The MIT spinoff had developed a new approach to making polymer coatings,...
View ArticleNew fibers can deliver many simultaneous stimuli
The human brain’s complexity makes it extremely challenging to study — not only because of its sheer size, but also because of the variety of signaling methods it uses simultaneously. Conventional...
View ArticleMaterials Processing Center marks 35 years
The Materials Processing Center (MPC) celebrates 35 years of service to the MIT faculty and materials research community during 2015. Current MPC research topics include synthesis of materials for...
View ArticleSolving mysteries of conductivity in polymers
Materials known as conjugated polymers have been seen as very promising candidates for electronics applications, including capacitors, photodiodes, sensors, organic light-emitting diodes, and...
View ArticleBeauty business based on MIT bioengineering
This year Living Proof, a hair care company with MIT roots, celebrates 10 years in business. Now retailing in 33 countries plus Hong Kong, Living Proof is as healthy as the glossy mane of its celebrity...
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