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

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

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

> 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?

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.

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