Archives: MIT Technology Review

Rise of the Robot Security Guards
Startup Knightscope is preparing to roll out human-size robot patrols.

fMRI Data Reveals the Number of Parallel Processes Running in the Brain
The human brain carries out many tasks at the same time, but how many? Now fMRI data has revealed just how parallel gray matter is.

Reality Check for Google’s Nanoparticle Health Tests
Google will face big challenges developing a nanotechnology-based test for cancer and other diseases.

Move Computers Beyond Silicon
After decades of repeated reinvention, the silicon transistor is starting to show its age, and the industry is hunting for alternatives. One option involves a new way of manipulating the properties of a material that the computer industry already uses. If it works, it would lead to computer processors that are not only more energy-efficient but also capable of both computation and memory storage at once.

A Physical Key to Your Google Account
Google says using a small USB stick to vouch for your identity is more secure than either a password or conventional two-factor authentication.

Does Lockheed Martin Really Have a Breakthrough Fusion Machine?
Lockheed Martin says it will have a small fusion reactor prototype in five years but offers no data.

This Headline Is One of Many Experiments on You
The furor over a Facebook experiment suggests that few people realize how often Web companies test out new product features on them.

Microsoft’s Quantum Mechanics
Can an aging corporation’s adventures in fundamental physics research open a new era of unimaginably powerful computers?

An Industrial-Sized Generator That Runs on Waste Heat, Using No Fuel
Power plants waste huge amount of energy as heat—about 40 to 80 percent of the total in the fuel they burn. A new device could reduce that waste, cutting fuel consumption and carbon emissions by as much as 3 percent and saving companies millions of dollars. (Three percent might not seem like much, but for context, air travel accounts for 2 percent of worldwide carbon dioxide emissions.)

Why Coconuts Could Be The Hydrogen Storage Material Of The Future
Coconut flesh contains secret ingredients that dramatically enhance its ability to store hydrogen, say material scientists.