MIT Technology Review

01/10/2026

Perhaps we need to readjust our expectations.

Four ways to think about this year's reckoning

01/10/2026

Omar Yaghi thinks crystals with gaps that capture moisture could bring technology from “Dune” to the arid parts of Earth.

01/10/2026

Developers are navigating confusing gaps between expectation and reality. So are the rest of us.

01/10/2026

After a few years of out-of-control hype, people are now starting to re-calibrate what AI is, what it can do, and how we should think about its ultimate impact.

Here, at the beginning of 2026, we're starting the post-hype phase. This package of stories is a way to reset expectations—a critical look at where we are, what AI makes possible, and where we go next.

An MIT Technology Review series Hype Correction It’s time to reset expectations. AI is going to reproduce human intelligence. AI will eliminate disease. AI is the single biggest, most important invention in human history. You’ve likely heard it all—but probably none of these things are true. ...

01/10/2026

The rise of GPS vulnerability is putting more resilient, atom-based navigational tools on the map.

01/09/2026

Today in The Download, our daily newsletter: the case for AI slop, and helping CRISPR fulfill its promise.

Plus: Grok is restricting its image-generating function to paid subscribers only

01/09/2026

What will it take for CRISPR to help more people? A new startup says the answer could be an “umbrella approach” to testing and commercializing treatments which could avoid costly new trials or approvals for every new version.

Aurora Therapeutics' first target is the rare inherited disease phenylketonuria, also known as PKU.

01/09/2026

In the past, identifying victims of mass casualty events has been a long and tedious process. Families have often had to wait weeks, if not months, to confirm the loss of a loved one. And historically, DNA testing has been the longest, most challenging process of all—potentially taking years to make a positive identification.

But new rapid DNA analysis is now changing the field. The grim yet revolutionary technology is allowing investigators to positively identify victims in a matter of hours, giving families some semblance of the closure they deserve much more quickly than ever before. Unfortunately, it’s also a preview of how we’ll live in a future marked by increasingly frequent and catastrophic mass-casualty disasters.

After hundreds went missing in Maui’s deadly fires, rapid DNA analysis helped identify victims within just a few hours and bring families some closure more quickly than ever before. But it also previews a dark future marked by increasingly frequent catastrophic events.

01/09/2026

Artificial intelligence is the hottest technology of our time. But what is it? It sounds like a stupid question, but it’s one that’s never been more urgent.

Everyone thinks they know, but no one can agree. And that’s a problem.

01/09/2026

"It’s not science fiction; it’s just biology."

Anti-aging drugs are being trialed in companion dogs—but the goal is to find ways to have people, as well as beloved pets, live longer, healthier lives.

01/09/2026

They might not make you beautiful, but research suggests exosomes might help us diagnose and treat diseases.

01/09/2026

Widespread distrust of our public health system is reviving long-debunked ideas on HIV and AIDS—and energizing a broad movement that questions the foundations of disease prevention.