Research

A cell protector collaborates with a killer
MIT News
A cell protector collaborates with a killer From early development to old age, cell death is a part of life. Without enough of a critical type of cell death known as apoptosis, animals wind up with too many cells, which can set the stage for cancer or ...
Posted:
MIT physicists predict exotic form of matter with potential for quantum computing
MIT News
MIT physicists predict exotic form of matter with potential for quantum computing MIT physicists have shown that it should be possible to create an exotic form of matter that could be manipulated to form the qubit (quantum bit) building blocks of future quantum computers that are even more powerful than the quantum ...
Posted:
How can electrons can split into fractions of themselves?
MIT News
How can electrons can split into fractions of themselves? MIT physicists have taken a key step toward solving the puzzle of what leads electrons to split into fractions of themselves. Their solution sheds light on the conditions that give rise to exotic electronic states in graphene and other two-dimensional ...
Posted:
J-PAL North America announces new evaluation incubator collaborators from state and local governments
MIT News
J-PAL North America announces new evaluation incubator collaborators from state and local governments J-PAL North America recently selected government partners for the 2024-25 Leveraging Evaluation and Evidence for Equitable Recovery (LEVER) Evaluation Incubator cohort. Selected collaborators will receive funding and technical assistance to develop or launch a randomized evaluation for one of their programs. ...
Posted:
MIT engineers make converting CO2 into useful products more practical
MIT News
MIT engineers make converting CO2 into useful products more practical As the world struggles to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, researchers are seeking practical, economical ways to capture carbon dioxide and convert it into useful products, such as transportation fuels, chemical feedstocks, or even building materials. But so far, such attempts ...
Posted:
Graph-based AI model maps the future of innovation
MIT News
Graph-based AI model maps the future of innovation Imagine using artificial intelligence to compare two seemingly unrelated creations — biological tissue and Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 9.” At first glance, a living system and a musical masterpiece might appear to have no connection. However, a novel AI method developed ...
Posted:
When muscles work out, they help neurons to grow, a new study shows
MIT News
When muscles work out, they help neurons to grow, a new study shows There’s no doubt that exercise does a body good. Regular activity not only strengthens muscles but can bolster our bones, blood vessels, and immune system.Now, MIT engineers have found that exercise can also have benefits at the level of individual ...
Posted:
Tackling the energy revolution, one sector at a time
MIT News
Tackling the energy revolution, one sector at a time As a major contributor to global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, the transportation sector has immense potential to advance decarbonization. However, a zero-emissions global supply chain requires re-imagining reliance on a heavy-duty trucking industry that emits 810,000 tons of CO2, or 6 ...
Posted:
A causal theory for studying the cause-and-effect relationships of genes
MIT News
A causal theory for studying the cause-and-effect relationships of genes By studying changes in gene expression, researchers learn how cells function at a molecular level, which could help them understand the development of certain diseases.But a human has about 20,000 genes that can affect each other in complex ways, so ...
Posted:
Neuroscientists create a comprehensive map of the cerebral cortex
MIT News
Neuroscientists create a comprehensive map of the cerebral cortex By analyzing brain scans taken as people watched movie clips, MIT researchers have created the most comprehensive map yet of the functions of the brain’s cerebral cortex.Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data, the research team identified 24 networks with ...
Posted:
Asteroid grains shed light on the outer solar system’s origins
MIT News
Asteroid grains shed light on the outer solar system’s origins Tiny grains from a distant asteroid are revealing clues to the magnetic forces that shaped the far reaches of the solar system over 4.6 billion years ago.Scientists at MIT and elsewhere have analyzed particles of the asteroid Ryugu, which were ...
Posted:
A portable light system that can digitize everyday objects
MIT News
A portable light system that can digitize everyday objects When Nikola Tesla predicted we’d have handheld phones that could display videos, photographs, and more, his musings seemed like a distant dream. Nearly 100 years later, smartphones are like an extra appendage for many of us.Digital fabrication engineers are now working ...
Posted:
Startup gives surgeons a real-time view of breast cancer during surgery
MIT News
Startup gives surgeons a real-time view of breast cancer during surgery Breast cancer is the second most common type of cancer and cause of cancer death for women in the United States, affecting one in eight women overall.Most women with breast cancer undergo lumpectomy surgery to remove the tumor and a ...
Posted:
A new approach to modeling complex biological systems
MIT News
A new approach to modeling complex biological systems Over the past two decades, new technologies have helped scientists generate a vast amount of biological data. Large-scale experiments in genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and cytometry can produce enormous quantities of data from a given cellular or multicellular system.However, making sense ...
Posted:
Despite its impressive output, generative AI doesn’t have a coherent understanding of the world
MIT News
Despite its impressive output, generative AI doesn’t have a coherent understanding of the world Large language models can do impressive things, like write poetry or generate viable computer programs, even though these models are trained to predict words that come next in a piece of text.Such surprising capabilities can make it seem like the ...
Posted:
Q&A: A STEAM framework that prepares learners for evolving careers and technologies
MIT News
Q&A: A STEAM framework that prepares learners for evolving careers and technologies As educators are challenged to balance student learning and well-being with planning authentic and relevant course materials, MIT pK-12 at Open Learning developed a framework that can help. The student-centered STEAM learning architecture, initially co-created for Itz’at STEAM Academy in Belize, ...
Posted:
Nanoscale transistors could enable more efficient electronics
MIT News
Nanoscale transistors could enable more efficient electronics Silicon transistors, which are used to amplify and switch signals, are a critical component in most electronic devices, from smartphones to automobiles. But silicon semiconductor technology is held back by a fundamental physical limit that prevents transistors from operating below ...
Posted:
Killing the messenger
MIT News
Killing the messenger Like humans and other complex multicellular organisms, single-celled bacteria can fall ill and fight off viral infections. A bacterial virus is caused by a bacteriophage, or, more simply, phage, which is one of the most ubiquitous life forms on earth. ...
Posted:
3 Questions: Can we secure a sustainable supply of nickel?
MIT News
3 Questions: Can we secure a sustainable supply of nickel? As the world strives to cut back on carbon emissions, demand for minerals and metals needed for clean energy technologies is growing rapidly, sometimes straining existing supply chains and harming local environments. In a new study published today in Joule, ...
Posted:
Revealing causal links in complex systems
MIT News
Revealing causal links in complex systems Getting to the heart of causality is central to understanding the world around us. What causes one variable — be it a biological species, a voting region, a company stock, or a local climate — to shift from one state ...
Posted:

Load More