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9 Current news of MIT

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A new sensor detects harmful “forever chemicals” in drinking water

A user-friendly system could offer a cheap, fast way to test for PFAS

14-Mar-2024 - MIT chemists have designed a sensor that detects tiny quantities of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) — chemicals found in food packaging, nonstick cookware, and many other consumer products. These compounds, also known as “forever chemicals” because they do not break down ...

drinking water drinking water analytics per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances +3
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Could used beer yeast be the solution to heavy metal contamination in water?

A study shows that yeast, an abundant waste product from breweries, can filter out even trace amounts of lead

17-Jun-2022 - A new analysis by researchers at MIT’s Center for Bits and Atoms (CBA) has found that inactive yeast could be effective as an inexpensive, abundant, and simple material for removing lead contamination from drinking water supplies. The study shows that this approach can be efficient and economic, ...

beer brewing beers heavy metals +1
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MIT engineers introduce the Oreometer

Mechanical engineers put an Oreo’s cream filling through a battery of tests to understand what happens when two wafers are twisted apart

21-Apr-2022 - When you twist open an Oreo cookie to get to the creamy center, you’re mimicking a standard test in rheology — the study of how a non-Newtonian material flows when twisted, pressed, or otherwise stressed. MIT engineers have now subjected the sandwich cookie to rigorous materials tests to get to ...

cookies sandwich cookies texture +2
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Solving the challenges of robotic pizza-making

A new technique could enable a robot to manipulate squishy objects like pizza dough or soft materials like clothing.

04-Apr-2022 - Imagine a pizza maker working with a ball of dough. She might use a spatula to lift the dough onto a cutting board then use a rolling pin to flatten it into a circle. Easy, right? Not if this pizza maker is a robot. For a robot, working with a deformable object like dough is tricky because the ...

artificial intelligence doughs electronics +4
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Reducing food waste to increase access to affordable foods

MIT alumni-founded Spoiler Alert matches major food brands with discount grocers to sell perishable products

10-Jan-2022 - About a third of the world’s food supply never gets eaten. That means the water, labor, energy, and fertilizer that went into growing, processing, and distributing the food is wasted. On the other end of the supply chain are cash-strapped consumers, who have been further distressed in recent ...

automation greenhouse gas emissions supply chain +5
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A new method for removing lead from drinking water

Engineers have designed a relatively low-cost, energy-efficient approach to treating water contaminated with heavy metals.

27-Sep-2021 - Engineers at MIT have developed a new approach to removing lead or other heavy-metal contaminants from water, in a process that they say is far more energy-efficient than any other currently used system, though there are others under development that come close. Ultimately, it might be used to ...

chemical engineering cooling water drinking water +8
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Inspired by kombucha tea, engineers create "living materials"

"Smart" packaging materials that can detect damage

13-Jan-2021 - Engineers at MIT and Imperial College London have developed a new way to generate tough, functional materials using a mixture of bacteria and yeast similar to the "kombucha mother" used to ferment tea. Using this mixture, also called a SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast), the ...

bioengineering biofilms cells +8
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Velcro-like food sensor detects spoilage and contamination

Color-changing array of silk microneedles could help stem outbreaks and avoid food waste.

15-Sep-2020 - MIT engineers have designed a Velcro-like food sensor, made from an array of silk microneedles, that pierces through plastic packaging to sample food for signs of spoilage and bacterial contamination. The sensor’s microneedles are molded from a solution of edible proteins found in silk cocoons, ...

antigens contamination environment technology +10
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Engineers develop precision injection system for plants

Microneedles made of silk-based material can target plant tissues for delivery of micronutrients, hormones, or genes

28-Apr-2020 - While the human world is reeling from one pandemic, there are several ongoing epidemics that affect crops and put global food production at risk. Oranges, olives, and bananas are already under threat in many areas due to diseases that affect plants’ circulatory systems and that cannot be treated ...

agriculture bananas olives +2