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Tech & Engineering

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 27-Oct-2026 06:16 ET (27-Oct-2026 10:16 GMT/UTC)

Batteries that safely break down in the GI tract could improve ingestible devices

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Using materials safe for human consumption, MIT researchers created tiny batteries that could be used to power ingestible electronic devices. Such batteries could make the devices safer for patients and minimize the environmental impact of the batteries after they are excreted.

Journal: Nature Chemical Engineering
Funder: Novo Nordisk, Karl van Tassel Career Development Professorship, MIT Department of Mechanical Engineering, Brigham and Women’s Hospital Division of Gastroenterology, Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health

Small robot propulsion: Low-power twisting enables hopping, swimming

University of Michigan
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The twisting of bent elastic rods can produce a snapping motion that enables small robots to hop or swim, roboticists at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering and the University of Michigan Engineering have demonstrated.

Journal: Science Advances

A tiny worm helps scientists unravel a genetic clue to kidney disease

Rutgers University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A microscopic worm that has no kidneys is helping Rutgers scientists understand a genetic change suspected of causing a serious inherited kidney disease.

Journal: Genetics
Funder: Polycystic Kidney Disease Charity, Polycystic Kidney Disease Charity

Frog-like hopping robot propelled by twisting elastic rods

University of California - Los Angeles
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Roboticists at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering and the University of Michigan have shown that elastic rods can be bent and twisted to repeatedly snap between shapes, releasing built-up energy that enables small robots to hop, flip and swim. The study, published in Science Advances, could offer a promising new approach to movement for robots constrained by size, weight and power output. The snapping mechanism could also help robots move across uneven terrain, on land and in water.

Journal: Science Advances

Cornell University successfully deploys free-flying light sails in orbit

Cornell University
Business Announcement

Students in Cornell’s Space Systems Design Studio have published mission results for two unique light sail experiments. The two space experiments – Alpha CubeSat and Sailing to the Stars – incorporated gram-scale spacecraft that fit in the palm of a hand and were the first spacecraft of their size to transmit complete data packets from orbit to ground.

Archaeologists uncover centuries-old mystery of Tampa Bay’s secret community of migrant potters

Florida Museum of Natural History
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Archaeologist have long debated how pottery from Native Americans of the Mississippian culture in what is now the Southeast United States wound up far beyond the boundaries of that culture in Tampa Bay, Florida. Now archaeoloigsts say they have the answer: a secretive guild of migrant artisans made the pottery hundreds of years ago and may have used their specialized knowledge to secure a place for themselves in their new community.

Journal: American Antiquity
Funder: Wenner-Gren Foundation, The Francis and Gertrude Levett Foundation, Florida Museum of Natural History

Bike-sharing can make big dent in tailpipe emissions, SFU study finds

Simon Fraser University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Five highly used bikes could take emissions from one fossil fuel car off Vancouver's road, according to Simon Fraser University researchers who say increasing bike-share networks can play a big role in curbing emissions. A new study found more than half of the city’s bike-share trips replace car trips, with each bike reducing annual CO₂ emissions by up 120 kilograms (kg) per year. Researchers say that number jumps to nearly 400 kg if those same bikes were used more times per day.

Journal: Case Studies on Transport Policy

Artificial photosynthetic hydrogel microspheres enable programmable CO2 valorization

Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In a study published in Journal of the American Chemical Society, a team led by Profs. WANG Bo and YU Tao from the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences developed an artificial photosynthetic hydrogel microsphere (APHM) which integrates photocatalysis, microbial CO₂ fixation and downstream biotransformation within a single platform, providing a new route for programmable CO₂ valorization.

Journal: Journal of the American Chemical Society

Researchers develop lightweight collaborative AI agent for materials research

Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In a study published in Nature Machine Intelligence, a team led by YU Xuefeng from the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology (SIAT) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences developed a lightweight dual-model collaborative artificial intelligence (AI) agent, MatBrain, to support materials research by enabling AI to both reason about scientific problems and execute research tasks.

Journal: Nature Machine Intelligence