Future

Any device that sends out a Wi-Fi signal also emits terahertz waves —electromagnetic waves with a frequency somewhere between microwaves and infrared light. These high-frequency radiation waves, known as “T-rays,” are also produced by almost anything that registers a temperature, including our own bodies and the inanimate objects around us. Terahertz waves are pervasive in our daily lives, and if harnessed, their concentrated power could potentially serve as an alternate energy source. Imagine, for instance, a cellphone add-on that...

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The Knight Science Journalism Program’s second annual Victor K. McElheny Award for local and regional science journalism will honor an investigative series that explores the ongoing risk of deadly wildfires in the American West. Spearheaded by The Arizona Republic, “Ahead of the Fire” shines a light on the hundreds of communities across the West that remain vulnerable — and unprepared — for wildfires like the 2018 Camp Fire, which killed 85 people in Paradise, California, and surrounding areas. Arizona...

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Members of the MIT community living all over the world have reached out to offer support for the Institute’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, prompting the creation of two new funds to support MIT’s efforts to help address the public health crisis. The new funds will support MIT’s engagement on two fronts: donating urgently needed supplies and equipment to hospitals and health centers in the greater Boston area, and seeking solutions through research and computing. “Alumni and friends are...

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The research described in this article has been published on a preprint server but has not yet been peer-reviewed by scientific or medical experts. In hopes of developing a possible treatment for Covid-19, a team of MIT chemists has designed a drug candidate that they believe may block coronaviruses’ ability to enter human cells. The potential drug is a short protein fragment, or peptide, that mimics a protein found on the surface of human cells. The researchers have shown...

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CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — On Tuesday, September 10, the MIT Task Force on the Work of the Future will detail their findings on how automation, robotics and artificial intelligence are likely to impact the American workforce, and describe public and private action they say is needed to harness new technologies for shared prosperity. The briefing will be held at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. at 8:30 A.M., and will feature remarks from MIT President L. Rafael Reif and...

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