MIT Creates material that can remember its original shape

[nefitty]

https://techcrunch.com/2016/08/26/mits-shape-shifting-3d-printed-objects-could-improve-medicine-and-solar-power/

[IANAD]

Would have been a better title if it named the material instead of making it sound like a new concept.

Memory metal's been around since 1949: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shape-memory_alloy

[chinzsteel → IANAD]

Same thing. I don't understand what exactly is the difference?

[anfractuosity]

Nitinol motors seem pretty cool, such as https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sscoMtJV0uY as an example of shape memory metal

[amelius]

> This could be hugely beneficial in applications like creating drugs that can lie dormant until it detects a change in body temperature indicative of a fever, for instance

Could this drug be activated by e.g. a hot laptop sitting on your lap?

[pvaldes → amelius]

To mess with fever's system designed to protect the body looks like a very bad plan to me. A machine or a crocodile can afford to change its temperature by many degrees and go unscathed. We, humans, need to be able to finely termoregulate in a very narrow interval of temperature. Would make a 'cool' sci-fi crime if you go for a beach day and a hidden drug puts your body to 30ºC while you are tanning. Or like a chemical chastity belt.

Moreover, animals aren't machines, they have a complex metabolism that would inactivate, eliminate in the urine, modify, store, isolate or even create noxious substances whereas trying to get rid of those drugs.

[bjd2385]

I'm tired of hearing about every little thing MIT does. Good for you! Great!