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MIT researchers built an AI-based two-part control system for their insect-scale flying robot, boosting its top speed by roughly 450 percent and acceleration by about 250 percent over prior versions. The upgraded robot managed ten consecutive body flips in 11 seconds while resisting wind gusts, matching flight traits seen in real insects.
Graciela Gómez Hernández, 30, crossed from Tijuana into Southern California on September 14, 2025, hoping to work and support her three children and parents in Mexico. She sent voice messages to family as she hiked through the rugged Otay Mountain Wilderness, but stopped responding by mid-afternoon, saying she could not continue. Her remains were not recovered until two weeks later, despite the area being heavily monitored by border surveillance cameras and technology.
Researchers have identified numerous rock glaciers—ice masses disguised beneath layers of rock and debris—that were previously overlooked in freshwater assessments. The newly mapped ice reserves amount to roughly 600 Olympic-sized swimming pools worth of water, hidden in mountainous terrain around the world.
MIT researchers released a report on education finding that many students increasingly rely on AI chatbots to complete coursework, sometimes offloading thinking entirely rather than just seeking assistance. The study links this overreliance to declining critical thinking, weaker memory, reduced confidence, and diminished mastery of course material, with some students unable to engage in class discussions.
Senator Mitch McConnell reappeared at the US Capitol after a 92-day absence following a fall and pneumonia, during which he made no public statements at all. Footage showing him appearing disoriented and unresponsive to reporters has circulated widely, prompting concern from medical professionals and the public alike.
MIT Technology Review released an on-demand Roundtable featuring editors Niall Firth, Will Douglas Heaven and Grace Huckins debating how seriously to take Silicon Valley's warnings about AI causing human extinction. Separately, the outlet published a narrated podcast episode examining Generation Lab, a startup claiming a two-drug combination can rejuvenate blood and reverse aging effects without exchanging bodily fluids, though it refuses to disclose the drugs involved.
Researchers show that mitochondrial fission factor (MFF) controls a chain of events during ferroptosis, linking mitochondrial dysfunction, peroxisomal and mitochondrial ROS production, and release of mitochondrial DNA into the cytosol through VDAC1 oligomerization. Using CRISPR knockouts, rescue experiments and pharmacological inhibitors in HeLa cells, they mapped how loss of MFF or its downstream partners (PEX5, MFN1/2, DRP1) alters cell survival after RSL3-induced ferroptotic stress.
The Internet Archive said the Wayback Machine has faced surges of high-volume automated traffic, prompting it to deploy protective measures that occasionally block legitimate users. The organization updated the error message shown when requests are rejected with a 429 'too many requests' code and is refining how it distinguishes abusive bots from genuine visitors.
OpenAI and Anthropic executives have begun publicly urging caution about AI's risks even as their companies pursue trillion-dollar valuations, prompting MIT Technology Review to examine what a real slowdown would look like and whether the industry's own calls for restraint can be trusted. The publication is also hosting a subscriber roundtable discussing the credibility of AI extinction fears, once considered fringe but now voiced by researchers within top labs.
MIT Technology Review is hosting a live roundtable discussion examining claims from AI lab employees that advanced AI systems could pose an existential threat to humanity. The session, led by executive editor Niall Firth alongside senior AI editor Will Douglas Heaven and AI reporter Grace Huckins, will scrutinize the origins and credibility of these fears. It airs Tuesday, September 15 at 16:00 BST.
Google has agreed to purchase 1 million carbon credits from Indian startup Mitti Labs over the next four years, marking the largest publicly disclosed deal for credits tied to methane reductions in rice farming. The project will pay farmers in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana to shorten how long rice fields stay flooded, cutting methane emissions by roughly half and water use by about 40% without hurting yields. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
A Big Story investigation from MIT Technology Review, done with Type Investigations, examines how pastor Eli Regalado and his wife launched INDXcoin after claiming divine instruction, raising over $3 million from more than 500 people before the project collapsed within a year with investors losing everything. Separately, the nonprofit Reflective has published a detailed plan outlining the experiments and infrastructure needed to better understand solar geoengineering before any real-world deployment decisions are made.