MIT Technology Review
Materials
What Happened to A123?
Once the rising star of the clean-tech industry, the advanced battery maker faces an uncertain future.
Novel Material Shows Promise for Extracting Uranium from Seawater
A so-called metal-organic framework could offer a better way to get at the vast uranium resource dissolved in the ocean.
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Can Carbon Capture Clean Up Canada’s Oil Sands?
Alberta will serve as a test bed for large-scale carbon capture and sequestration.
How a Cheap Plastic Film Can Give Your Smartphone a 3-D Screen
A plastic smartphone screen cover patterned with tiny lenses could help mobile 3-D take off.
Battery Could Provide a Cheap Way to Store Solar Power
Combining aspects of high-energy lithium-sulfur batteries with flow battery technology can lower costs.
Nanoscale Pressure Sensors Mimic Human Skin
New research shows how arrays of tiny electronic devices can achieve human-skin-like sensitivity to mechanical force.
Additive Manufacturing
GE, the world’s largest manufacturer, is on the verge of using 3-D printing to make jet parts.
Nanoparticle Disguised as a Blood Cell Fights Bacterial Infection
Biomimetic nanoparticles could be an effective treatment against antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Your Next Smartphone Screen May Be Made of Sapphire
Manufactured sapphire is incredibly strong and scratch resistant. Now falling costs and technology improvements could make it competitive with glass.
A Nanofabrication Technique Doubles Hard Drive Capacity
Laboratory advance shows that nano-imprinting could help the hard drive industry meet its long-term goals for data storage capacity.
Self-Healing Concrete Uses Sunlight to Fix Its Own Cracks
Researchers have demonstrated a way to give concrete surfaces the ability to heal when small cracks appear, an advance that could allow bridges and other structures to last longer.