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How a Potentially Deadly Gas Could Help Fight Inflammation

Lead Image: Scientists from MIT and several other institutions designed this foam that can deliver bubbles of carbon monoxide to the gastrointestinal tract and other organs of the body. Credit: Courtesy of the Traverso Lab Foams that incorporate small amounts of carbon monoxide gas could be delivered to the GI tract to combat colitis and other conditions. Carbon monoxide is perhaps best known as a potentially deadly gas. However, in small doses it actually has beneficial qualities: It has been shown to reduce inflammation and can help stimulate tissue regeneration. A team of scientists has now devised a novel way…

MIT Spinout Tapping Into the Million-Year Energy Source Below Our Feet

What if we could retrofit virtually every coal and gas power plant in the world to use a carbon-free energy source deep below our feet — geothermal energy. Quaise Energy, an MIT spinout, is working to create geothermal wells made from the deepest holes in the world. There’s an abandoned coal power plant in upstate New York that most people consider a worthless relic. MIT’s Paul Woskov, on the other hand, has a different perspective. Woskov, a research engineer in MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center, points out that the plant’s power turbine is still intact and the transmission lines…

The Michael Jordan of Solar Cells: New Technology Proves Its Lasting Power

Lead Image: An emerging class of solar energy technology, made with perovskite semiconductors, has passed the long-sought milestone of a 30-year lifetime. The Princeton Engineering researchers who designed the new device also revealed a new method for testing long-term performance, a key hurdle on the road to commercialization. Credit: Photos by Bumper DeJesus 30-year perovskite solar cells and the new technique for testing them for the long haul. Princeton Engineering scientists have developed the first perovskite solar cell with a commercially viable lifetime, marking a major milestone for an emerging class of renewable energy technology. The research team projects their…

AI Machine-Learning: In Bias We Trust?

Lead Image: MIT researchers find that the explanation methods designed to help users determine whether to trust a machine-learning model’s predictions can perpetuate biases and lead to worse outcomes for people from disadvantaged groups. Credit: Jose-Luis Olivares, MIT with images from iStockphoto According to a new study, explanation methods that help users determine whether to trust machine-learning model predictions can be less accurate for disadvantaged subgroups. Machine-learning algorithms are sometimes employed to assist human decision-makers when the stakes are high. For example, a model may predict which law school candidates are most likely to pass the bar exam, assisting admissions…

Engineers Develop New Lithium-Ion Batteries That Work Well in Scorching Heat as Well as Extreme Cold

Engineers have developed new energy-packed lithium-ion batteries that perform well at frigid cold and blazing hot temperatures. Engineers at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) have developed new lithium-ion batteries that perform well at freezing cold and scorching hot temperatures, while still packing a lot of energy. According to the researchers, this feat was accomplished by developing an electrolyte that is not only versatile and robust throughout a wide temperature range, but also compatible with a high-energy anode and cathode. The temperature-resilient batteries are described in a paper published the week of July 4 in the journal Proceedings of…