A noninvasive method for measuring blood glucose levels, developed at MIT, could save diabetes patients from having to prick their fingers several times a day. The MIT team used Raman spectroscopy — a technique that reveals the chemical composition of tissues by shining near-infrared or visible light on them — to develop a shoebox-sized device that can measure blood glucose levels without any needles. In tests in a healthy volunteer, the researchers found that the measurements from their device were similar to those obtained by commercial continuous glucose mon...

In 2017, MIT researchers developed light-emitting plants by infusing nanoparticles into plants. With the technology, scientists hope to create a greener solution for lighting which electricity will no longer be necessary. The idea then led to an interdisciplinary collaboration between an MIT architecture professor and a professor of chemical engineering. Michael Strano, the Carbon P. Dubbs Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT, and his team implanted an enzyme that turns the plants’ stored energy into light, making plants glow like how fireflies do. Based on ...

MIT researchers have unveiled a study in 2016 that exposure to LED flickering light with a specific frequency could reduce the amyloid plaques seen in mice with Alzheimer’s disease. The team recently published a new study which explains the effect of the light therapy at cell level. The new study, published in Neuron on May 7, found that this light treatment has widespread effects at the cellular level, helping not just neurons but also immune cells called microglia. Overall, these effects reduce inflammation, enhance synaptic function, and protect against cell death, in ...

Using LED lights flickering at a specific frequency, MIT researchers have shown that they can substantially reduce the beta amyloid plaques seen in Alzheimer’s disease, in the visual cortex of mice.

Researchers at MIT and elsewhere have found a new way of using mid-infrared lasers to turn regions of molecules in the open air into glowing filaments of electrically charged gas, or plasma. The new method could make it possible to carry out remote environmental monitoring to detect a wide range of chemicals with high sensitivity.

Researchers at MIT are making fluorescent polymer gels that change color when they’re shaken, heated, exposed to acid, or otherwise disrupted. Given such a response, these novel materials could be effective sensors for detecting changes in structures, fluids, or the environment.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) installed 48 Incito™ LED downlights embedded with nLIGHT® lighting controls from Acuity Brands Inc. (NYSE: AYI) as part of the University’s renovation of the Great Dome in the Barker Engineering Library. MIT updated the historic dome using integrated Gotham® LED downlighting with embedded controls to provide consistent light levels for reading in the library, while complementing daylighting from the Dome’s skylight. The daylighting and electric lighting work together seamlessly ...