MIT Technology Review

Solar-powered desalination is ideal—if only the cost comes down.

There’s a chance to use cutting-edge technology to save native Hawaiian birds from the mosquitoes that are driving them to extinction.

Startup Hyperloop Technologies has started shooting magnetically levitated capsules along a track in Las Vegas to show off a radical idea for the future of freight and mass transit.

Starbucks’s efforts to head off climate change and its impact on coffee bend to business realities.

A gene therapy for an inherited immune disease completes a 27-year journey.

Oculus’s VR headset can be thrilling, but will you buy it if some experiences make you sick and it’s hard to use for more than 20 minutes?

The first gene therapy approved in the Western world costs $1 million and has been used just once. The doctor who tried it says the price is “absolutely too high.”

New software spots anomalies in modified or hacked cars.

Feeling distracted and exhausted by constant connectivity? Maybe you need one more gadget.

Siemens is testing teams of creepy-crawly 3-D-printing robots. Their descendants might make manufacturing lines far more efficient.

Twitter has been developing technology that automatically recognizes what’s happening in live video, a step toward sophisticated recommendations.

Customized, printed orthopedic implants could be the future. In the meantime, the new manufacturing method is helping companies cut costs.

Customized, printed orthopedic implants could be the future. In the meantime, the new manufacturing method is helping companies cut costs.

Can China reboot its manufacturing industry—and the global economy—by replacing millions of workers with machines?

This water bottle filter, made from nanofibers, can reduce water-borne diseases.

Study of exceptionally healthy old people fails to trace their well-being to specific genes.

Study of exceptionally healthy old people fails to trace their well-being to specific genes.

Why we still haven’t found a fountain of youth in our DNA.

Uncertainty about future regulations clouds the future of agricultural biotechnology in the U.S.

Data shows that even a short commute can change dramatically over a year. Sharing such information could help self-driving cars hit the roads sooner.

The Arizona company is betting that cadmium telluride solar cells could leave silicon in the dust.

A new way of making these tough materials could be a key step in producing better airplane engines and long-lasting machine parts.

A new way of making these tough materials could be a key step in producing better airplane engines and long-lasting machine parts.

A new way of making these tough materials could be a key step in producing better airplane engines and long-lasting machine parts.

The best (and least annoying) chatbots will be those that recognize their limitations and occasionally turn to humans for help.

A hero of the Egyptian revolution laments the limits of social media and hopes to improve online dialogue.

The latest data-driven campaign pitches target you based on your personality, not just your demographics. But does such profiling work?

The latest data-driven political pitches target you based on your ­personality, not just your demographics. But does such profiling work?

DARPA funded the development of a new computer chip that’s hardwired to make simple mistakes but can help computers understand the world.

A genetic technology that can kill off mosquito species could eradicate malaria. But is it too risky to ever use?

A portable assembly line for medicines offers a better way to respond to outbreaks and shortages.

A portable assembly line for medicines offers a better way to respond to outbreaks and shortages.

Images from inside an artificial neural network help explain why a technique called deep learning is enabling software to see.

How one nonprofit’s mailroom is making tinkering with genomes as easy as shopping at Amazon.

Phones that lock away everything they hold could inhibit law enforcement more than we really want.

Despite the allure of apps and social media, today’s digital technologies are doing little to generate the kind of prosperity that previous generations enjoyed, a prominent economist argues. But that doesn’t mean we should give up on innovation.

A simple gaming demo makes it clear that augmented reality is a lot more fun with others.

Beth Stevens thinks she has solved a mystery behind brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s and schizophrenia.

Mastering Go is just the beginning for Google DeepMind, which hopes to create human-like AI.

Mastering Go is just the beginning for Google DeepMind, which hopes to create human-like artificial intelligence.

Despite legislative momentum behind projects like those being developed by Google, Amazon, and others, big technology challenges stand in the way of delivery drones.

Despite many advances, AI still works best when paired with humans.

China’s biggest Internet company, Baidu, is pushing an ambitious effort to add artificial intelligence to its products.

More industries are looking for ways to use artificial intelligence. What will that mean for the technology’s future?

Plans to use drones and balloons to provide wireless Internet will need considerable help from regulators overseeing airspace and communications satellites.

A new iPhone app uses machine learning to identify objects for people with poor eyesight, and it doesn’t need an Internet connection.

Canceled solar thermal projects are likely to mean the technology’s future is dim in the U.S., so companies are looking overseas.

Two radically different engine designs aim to make flying cleaner and quieter. Which one will win?

A flexible tattoo senses glucose levels in sweat and delivers a drug as needed.

But some researchers think it’s irresponsible to market them to consumers.