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by Caiwei Chen on (#72S1G)
This story originally appeared in The Algorithm, our weekly newsletter on AI. To get stories like this in your inbox first,sign up here. I decided to go to CES kind of at the last minute. Over the holiday break, contacts from China kept messaging me about their travel plans. After the umpteenth See you in...
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MIT Technology Review
| Link | https://www.technologyreview.com/ |
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| Updated | 2026-03-14 09:33 |
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by MIT Technology Review Insights on (#72RVQ)
Emissions from air freight have increased by 25% since 2019, according to a 2024 analysis by environmental advocacy organization Stand.Earth. The researchers found that the expansion of cargo-only fleets to transport goods during the pandemic - as air travel halted, slower freight modes faced disruption, but demand for rapid delivery soared - has led to...
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by Charlotte Jee on (#72RSG)
This is today's edition ofThe Download,our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what's going on in the world of technology. Introducing this year's 10 Breakthrough Technologies It's easy to be cynical about technology these days. Many of the disruptions" of the last 15 years were more about coddling a certain set of young,...
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by MIT Technology Review Insights on (#72RSH)
In February 2025, cyberattackers thought to be linked to North Korea executed a sophisticated supply chain attack on cryptocurrency exchange Bybit. By targeting its infrastructure and multi-signature security process, hackers managed to steal more than $1.5 billion worth of Ethereum in the largest known digital-asset theft to date. The ripple effects were felt across the...
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by Amy Nordrum on (#72RSM)
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by Fábio Duarte on (#72RSK)
Every year, MIT Technology Review publishes a list of 10 Breakthrough Technologies. In fact, the 2026 version is out today. This marks the 25th year the newsroom has compiled this annual list, which means its journalists and editors have now identified 250 technologies as breakthroughs. A few years ago, editor at large David Rotman revisited...
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by Amy Nordrum on (#72RSJ)
For decades, space stations have been largely staffed by professional astronauts and operated by a handful of nations. But that's about to change in the coming years, as companies including Axiom Space and Sierra Space launch commercial space stations that will host tourists and provide research facilities for nations and other firms. The first of...
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by Casey Crownhart on (#72RQ9)
Commercial nuclear reactors all work pretty much the same way. Atoms of a radioactive material split, emitting neutrons. Those bump into other atoms, splitting them and causing them to emit more neutrons, which bump into other atoms, continuing the chain reaction. That reaction gives off heat, which can be used directly or help turn water...
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by Michelle Kim on (#72RQ8)
In sprawling stretches of farmland and industrial parks, supersized buildings packed with racks of computers are springing up to fuel the AI race. These engineering marvels are a new species of infrastructure: supercomputers designed to train and run large language models at mind-bending scale, complete with their own specialized chips, cooling systems, and even energy...
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by Caiwei Chen on (#72RQ7)
For decades, lithium-ion batteries have powered our phones, laptops, and electric vehicles. But lithium's limited supply and volatile price have led the industry to seek more resilient alternatives. A sodium-ion battery works much like a lithium-ion one: It stores and releases energy by shuttling ions between two electrodes. But unlike lithium, a somewhat rare element...
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by Will Douglas Heaven on (#72RQ6)
Hundreds of millions of people now use chatbots every day. And yet the large language models that drive them are so complicated that nobody really understands what they are, how they work, or exactly what they can and can't do-not even the people who build them. Weird, right? It's also a problem. Without a clear...
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by Jessica Hamzelou on (#72RQ5)
Kyle KJ" Muldoon Jr. was born with a rare genetic disorder that left his body unable to remove toxic ammonia from his blood. He was lethargic and at risk of developing neurological disorders. The condition can be fatal. KJ joined a waiting list for a liver transplant. Then Rebecca Ahrens-Nicklas and Kiran Musunuru at the...
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by Julia Black on (#72RQ4)
Many Americans agree that it's acceptable to screen embryos for severe genetic diseases. Far fewer say it's okay to test for characteristics related to a future child's appearance, behavior, or intelligence. But a few startups are now advertising what they claim is a way to do just that. Preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) has been around...
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by Casey Crownhart on (#72RQ3)
Nuclear power has been a critical part of the electricity grid for decades, but old reactor designs-which often come in years behind schedule and billions over budget-could soon get a big refresh. Next-generation nuclear reactors are smaller and simpler to manufacture, and they use different materials to generate a constant stream of electricity. These changes...
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by Rhiannon Williams on (#72RQ2)
Chatbots are skilled at crafting sophisticated dialogue and mimicking empathetic behavior. They never get tired of chatting. It's no wonder, then, that so many people now use them for companionship-forging friendships or even romantic relationships. According to a study from the nonprofit Common Sense Media, 72% of US teenagers have used AI for companionship. Although...
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by Rhiannon Williams on (#72Q1P)
This is today's edition ofThe Download,our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what's going on in the world of technology. How I learned to stop worrying and love AI slop -Caiwei Chen If I were to locate the moment AI slop broke through into popular consciousness, I'd pick the video of rabbits bouncing...
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by Antonio Regalado on (#72PZC)
Here at MIT Technology Review we've been writing about the gene-editing technology CRISPR since 2013, calling it the biggest biotech breakthrough of the century. Yet so far, there's been only one gene-editing drug approved. It's been used commercially on only about 40 patients, all with sickle-cell disease. It's becoming clear that the impact of CRISPR...
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by Jessica Hamzelou on (#72PB3)
The new year has barely begun, but the first days of 2026 have brought big news for health. On Monday, the US's federal health agency upended its recommendations for routine childhood vaccinations-a move that health associations worry puts children at unnecessary risk of preventable disease. There was more news from the federal government on Wednesday,...
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by Rhiannon Williams on (#72P4Z)
This is today's edition ofThe Download,our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what's going on in the world of technology. Researchers are getting organoids pregnant with human embryos At first glance, it looks like the start of a human pregnancy: A ball-shaped embryo presses into the lining of the uterus then grips tight,...
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by MIT Technology Review Insights on (#72P50)
Enterprises are sitting on vast quantities of unstructured data, from call records and video footage to customer complaint histories and supply chain signals. Yet this invaluable business intelligence, estimated to make up as much as 90% of the data generated by organizations, historically remained dormant because its unstructured nature makes analysis extremely difficult. But if...
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by Casey Crownhart on (#72P2Q)
For offshore wind power in the US, the new year is bringing new legal battles. On December 22, the Trump administration announced it would pause the leases of five wind farms currently under construction off the US East Coast. Developers were ordered to stop work immediately. The cited reason? National security, specifically concerns that turbines...
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by MIT Technology Review Insights on (#72NA1)
When the concept of Web 3.0" first emerged about a decade ago the idea was clear: Create a more user-controlled internet that lets you do everything you can now, except without servers or intermediaries to manage the flow of information. Where Web2, which emerged in the early 2000s, relies on centralized systems to store data...
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by Rhiannon Williams on (#72NA2)
This is today's edition ofThe Download,our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what's going on in the world of technology. Europe's drone-filled vision for the future of war Last spring, 3,000 British soldiers deployed an invisible automated intelligence network, known as a digital targeting web," as part of a NATO exercise called Hedgehog...
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by Will Douglas Heaven on (#72N5H)
MIT Technology Review Explains: Let our writers untangle the complex, messy world of technology to help you understand what's coming next. You can read more from the series here. I am writing this because one of my editors woke up in the middle of the night and scribbled on a bedside notepad: What is a...
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by Edd Gent on (#72N5J)
Nandan Nilekani can't stop trying to push India into the future. He started nearly 30 years ago, masterminding an ongoing experiment in technological state capacity that started with Aadhaar-the world's largest digital identity system. Aadhaar means foundation" in Hindi, and on that bedrock Nilekani and people working with him went on to build a sprawling...
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by Alan Weisman on (#72MS5)
Ever since nuclear fusion was discovered in the 1930s, scientists have wondered if we could somehow replicate and harness the phenomenon behind starlight-the smashing together of hydrogen atoms to form helium and a stupendous amount of clean energy. Fusing hydrogen would yield 200 million times more energy than simply burning it. Unlike nuclear fission, which...
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by MIT Alumni News Staff on (#72MS4)
Jaden Chizuruoke May '29 worked with teammates Rihanna Arouna '29 and Marian Akinsoji '29 to design the chemically powered model car whose framework he is building in this scene from the Huang-Hobbs BioMaker Space, where students have a chance to work safely and independently with biological systems. The assignment to build the car-and the layered...
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by Sally Kornbluth on (#72MS3)
As MIT navigates a difficult and constantly changing higher education landscape, I believe our best response is not easy but simple: Keep doing our very best work. The presidential initiatives we've launched since fall 2024 are a vital part of our strategy to advance excellence within and across high-impact fields, from health care, climate, and...
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by Anne Trafton on (#72MS2)
Nearly everyone has experienced it-after a night of poor sleep, your brain might seem foggy, and your mind drifts off when you should be paying attention. A new MIT study reveals what happens biologically as these momentary lapses occur: Your brain is performing essential maintenance that it usually takes care of while you sleep. During...
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by the MIT Alumni Association on (#72MS1)
Right now, MIT alumni and friends are voicing their support for: America's scientific and technological leadership Merit-based admissions and affordable education Advances that increase US health, security, and prosperity Our community is standing up for MIT and its mission to serve the nation and the world. And we need you to join us at this...
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by David Chandler on (#72MS0)
Lithium-ion batteries produce faint sounds as they charge, discharge, and degrade. But until now, nobody could interpret those sounds to detect when a battery might be about to lose power, fail, or burst into flames. Now, MIT engineers have found a way to do that, even with noisy data. The findings could provide the basis...
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by Jennifer Chu on (#72MRZ)
Earthquakes are driven by energy stored up in rocks over millennia-energy that, once released, we perceive mainly in the form of the ground's shaking. But a quake also generates a flash of heat and fractures and damages underground rocks. And exactly how much energy goes into each of these three processes is exceedingly difficult to...
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by Andrew Paul Laurent on (#72MRY)
Concrete already builds our world, and an MIT-invented variant known as electron-conducting carbon concrete (ec3, pronounced e c cubed") holds out the possibility of helping power it, too. Now that vision is one step closer. Made by combining cement, water, ultra-fine carbon black, and electrolytes, ec3 creates a conductive nanonetwork" that could enable walls, sidewalks,...
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by Rhiannon Williams on (#72M9Q)
This is today's edition ofThe Download,our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what's going on in the world of technology. What's next for AI in 2026 In an industry in constant flux, sticking your neck out to predict what's coming next may seem reckless. (AI bubble? What AI bubble?) But for the last...
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by Arthur Holland Michel on (#72M5A)
Last spring, 3,000 British soldiers of the 4th Light Brigade, also known as the Black Rats, descended upon the damp forests of Estonia's eastern territories. They had rushed in from Yorkshire by air, sea, rail, and road. Once there, the Rats joined 14,000 other troops at the front line, dug in, and waited for the...
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by James O'Donnell on (#72M5B)
This story originally appeared in The Algorithm, our weekly newsletter on AI. To get stories like this in your inbox first,sign up here. Sometimes AI feels like a niche topic to write about, but then the holidays happen, and I hear relatives of all ages talking about cases of chatbot-induced psychosis, blaming rising electricity prices...
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by MIT Technology Review Insights on (#72KD9)
When business leaders talk about digital transformation, their focus often jumps straight to cloud platforms, AI tools, or collaboration software. Yet, one of the most fundamental enablers of how organizations now work, and how employees experience that work, is often overlooked: audio. As Genevieve Juillard, CEO of IDC, notes, the shift to hybrid collaboration made...
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by Rhiannon Williams on (#72K7R)
This is today's edition ofThe Download,our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what's going on in the world of technology. Welcome to Kenya's Great Carbon Valley: a bold new gamble to fight climate change In June last year, startup Octavia Carbon began running a high-stakes test in the small town of Gilgil in...
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by Rhiannon Williams, Will Douglas Heaven, Caiwei Che on (#72K6E)
MIT Technology Review's What's Next series looks across industries, trends, and technologies to give you a first look at the future. You can read the rest of them here. In an industry in constant flux, sticking your neck out to predict what's coming next may seem reckless. (AI bubble? What AI bubble?) But for the...
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by Will Douglas Heaven on (#72H96)
The most amazing drummer on the internet My daughter introduced me to El Estepario Siberiano's YouTube channel a few months back, and I have been obsessed ever since. The Spanish drummer (real name: Jorge Garrido) posts videos of himself playing supercharged cover versions of popular tracks, hitting his drums with such jaw-dropping speed and technique...
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by Antonio Regalado on (#72H95)
The Italian neurosurgeon Sergio Canavero has been preparing for a surgery that might never happen. His idea? Swap a sick person's head-or perhaps just the brain-onto a younger, healthier body. Canavero caused a stir in 2017 when he announced that a team he advised in China had exchanged heads between two corpses. But he never...
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by Becky Ferreira on (#72FHG)
We're in the midst of a global mental-health crisis. More than a billion people worldwide suffer from a mental-health condition, according to the World Health Organization. The prevalence of anxiety and depression is growing in many demographics, particularly young people, and suicide is claiming hundreds of thousands of lives globally each year. Given the clear...
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by Zakir Hossain Chowdhury on (#72ETT)
Pollution from textile production-dyes, chemicals, and heavy metals like lead and cadmium-is common in the waters of the Buriganga River as it runs through Dhaka, Bangladesh. It's among many harms posed by a garment sector that was once synonymous with tragedy: In 2013, the eight-story Rana Plaza factory building collapsed, killing 1,134 people and injuring...
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by The Editors on (#72DEJ)
It's been a busy and productive year here at MIT Technology Review. We published magazine issues on power, creativity, innovation, bodies, relationships, and security. We hosted 14 exclusive virtual conversations with our editors and outside experts in our subscriber-only series, Roundtables, and held two events on MIT's campus. And we published hundreds of articles online,...
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by Caiwei Chen, Will Douglas Heaven, Michelle Kim, Ja on (#72CZA)
If the past 12 months have taught us anything, it's that the AI hype train is showing no signs of slowing. It's hard to believe that at the beginning of the year, DeepSeek had yet to turn the entire industry on its head, Meta was better known for trying (and failing) to make the metaverse...
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by Finian Hazen on (#72CEK)
In April 2025, Ronald Deibert left all electronic devices at home in Toronto and boarded a plane. When he landed in Illinois, he took a taxi to a mall and headed directly to the Apple Store to purchase a new laptop and iPhone. He'd wanted to keep the risk of having his personal devices confiscated...
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by Casey Crownhart, James Temple on (#72CEJ)
Climate news hasn't been great in 2025. Global greenhouse-gas emissions hit record highs (again). This year is set to be either the second or third warmest on record. Climate-fueled disasters like wildfires in California and flooding in Indonesia and Pakistan devastated communities and caused billions in damage. In addition to these worrying indicators of our...
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by Antonio Regalado on (#72C0B)
At first glance, it looks like the start of a human pregnancy: A ball-shaped embryo presses gently into the receptive lining of the uterus and then grips tight, burrowing in as the first tendrils of a future placenta appear. This is implantation-the moment that pregnancy officially begins. Only none of it is happening inside a...
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by Will Douglas Heaven on (#72BQZ)
Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, summed it up in three words: This is embarrassing." Hassabis was replying on X to an overexcited post by Sebastien Bubeck, a research scientist at the rival firm OpenAI, announcing that two mathematicians had used OpenAI's latest large language model, GPT-5, to find solutions to 10 unsolved problems in...
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by Caiwei Chen on (#72BQY)
Lately, everywhere I scroll, I keep seeing the same fish-eyed CCTV view: a grainy wide shot from the corner of a living room, a driveway at night, an empty grocery store. Then something impossible happens. JD Vance shows up at the doorstep in a crazy outfit. A car folds into itself like paper and drives...