Analysis: Clean energy drove more than a third of China’s GDP growth in 2025
-
Solar power, electric vehicles (EVs) and other clean-energy technologies drove more than a third of the growth in China’s economy in 2025 – and more than 90% of the rise in investment. Clean-energy sectors contributed a record 15.4tn yuan ($2.1tn) in 2025, some 11.4% of China’s gross domestic product (GDP) – comparable to the economies of Brazil […]
-
Antonio Torralba, three MIT alumni named 2025 ACM fellows
by
Antonio Torralba, Delta Electronics Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and faculty head of artificial intelligence and decision-making at MIT, has been named to the 2025 cohort of Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Fellows. He shares the honor of an ACM Fellowship with three MIT alumni: Eytan Adar ’97, MEng ’98; George Candea ’97, […]
-
Brian Hedden named co-associate dean of Social and Ethical Responsibilities of Computing
by
Brian Hedden PhD ’12 has been appointed co-associate dean of the Social and Ethical Responsibilities of Computing (SERC) at MIT, a cross-cutting initiative in the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing, effective Jan. 16. Hedden is a professor in the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy, holding an MIT Schwarzman College of Computing shared position with the […]
-
3 Questions: Using AI to accelerate the discovery and design of therapeutic drugs
by
In the pursuit of solutions to complex global challenges including disease, energy demands, and climate change, scientific researchers, including at MIT, have turned to artificial intelligence, and to quantitative analysis and modeling, to design and construct engineered cells with novel properties. The engineered cells can be programmed to become new therapeutics — battling, and perhaps […]
-
Five key climate and energy announcements in India’s budget for 2026
On 1 February, India’s finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveiled the government’s budget for 2026, which included a new $2.2bn funding push for carbon capture technologies. In the absence of its new international climate pledge under the Paris Agreement, the budget offers a glimpse into the key climate and energy security priorities of the world’s third-largest […]
-
Katie Spivakovsky wins 2026 Churchill Scholarship
by
MIT senior Katie Spivakovsky has been selected as a 2026-27 Churchill Scholar and will undertake an MPhil in biological sciences at the Wellcome Sanger Institute at Cambridge University in the U.K. this fall. Spivakovsky, who is double-majoring in biological engineering and artificial intelligence, with minors in mathematics and biology, aims to integrate computation and bioengineering […]
-
Counter intelligence
by
How can artificial intelligence step out of a screen and become something we can physically touch and interact with? That question formed the foundation of class 4.043/4.044 (Interaction Intelligence), an MIT course focused on designing a new category of AI-driven interactive objects. Known as large language objects (LLOs), these physical interfaces extend large language models […]
-
SMART launches new Wearable Imaging for Transforming Elderly Care research group
by
What if ultrasound imaging is no longer confined to hospitals? Patients with chronic conditions, such as hypertension and heart failure, could be monitored continuously in real-time at home or on the move, giving health care practitioners ongoing clinical insights instead of the occasional snapshots — a scan here and a check-up there. This shift from […]
-
SMART launches new Wearable Imaging for Transforming Elderly Care research group
by
What if ultrasound imaging is no longer confined to hospitals? Patients with chronic conditions, such as hypertension and heart failure, could be monitored continuously in real-time at home or on the move, giving health care practitioners ongoing clinical insights instead of the occasional snapshots — a scan here and a check-up there. This shift from […]
-
Europe’s hidden methane impact from landfills: New study
by
A new study appears to show that methane from landfilled municipal waste in Europe is a major, long-term climate risk that is systematically underestimated in policy debates. Methane is one of the most powerful short-lived climate pollutants; it plays a critical role in near- and long-term warming while also contributing to climate destabilisation. The authors […]
-
Plastics treaty negotiations scheduled to restart, and report sets out recommendations for a reset
by
A new report published on 2 February identifies critical challenges in the Global Plastics Treaty negotiations and sets out practical steps to strengthen the next phase of the process ahead of the next UN negotiation committee meeting on 7 February. The authors of the report, released by the Global Plastics Policy Centre at the University […]
-
A rocky road ahead? EU risks running short of raw materials for renewables
by
According to the audit, “we are now dangerously dependent on a handful of countries outside the EU” for the supply of materials critical to the energy transition, including cobalt (pictured). The EU is having difficulties securing the supply of the raw materials it needs to meet its energy and climate goals. This is the conclusion […]
-
‘Rush’ for new coal in China hits record high in 2025 as climate deadline looms
Proposals to build coal-fired plants in China reached a record high in 2025, finds a new study. The report, released by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) and Global Energy Monitor (GEM), says that, in 2025, developers submitted new or reactivated proposals to build a total of 161 gigawatts (GW) of […]
-
How generative AI can help scientists synthesize complex materials
by
Generative artificial intelligence models have been used to create enormous libraries of theoretical materials that could help solve all kinds of problems. Now, scientists just have to figure out how to make them. In many cases, materials synthesis is not as simple as following a recipe in the kitchen. Factors like the temperature and length […]
-
Cost-sharing model unlocks growth opportunities for connecting biomethane to the gas network
by
Image credit: Cadent Gas distribution network Cadent says it has taken a major step towards removing one of the biggest obstacles facing developers of biomethane – the high cost of reinforcing the gas network – by introducing the UK’s first cost-sharing model for entry connections capacity. The group, the UK’s largest gas distribution network, has […]
-
Late January arrests made over Oxfordshire illegal waste dump
by
A 2025 photograph of the site (image credit: Thames21). Four further arrests have been made in late January in connection with a large illegal waste dump occurring in Kidlington, Oxfordshire last Summer, which was widely reported in November. In a joint raid early on Tuesday 20 January, officers from both the Environment Agency and the […]
-
The Material You Never Notice: The Rise of Polycarbonate
by
Image Source: Pixabay People walk beneath roofs, walkways and canopies every day without giving much thought to the clear sheet above them. Polycarbonate blends into the background, it keeps the space bright and stays strong in rough weather. It’s an incredible material, but most passersby still assume they are standing under glass. That quiet presence […]
-
Tips for Managing Mobile Workers Effectively
by
Field service businesses hemorrhage money through inefficient mobile workforce management, not from hiring mistakes or lazy employees, but from supervisory systems designed for cubicles, not service trucks. Dozens of pest control and field service operations adopt the latest pest control scheduling software, implement GPS tracking, and roll out new communication platforms, only to see technician […]