With a new experimental technique, MIT engineers probe the mechanisms of landslides and earthquakes

The behavior of granular materials has been difficult to visualize, but a new method reveals their internal forces in 3D detail. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 9 months ago

Engineering household robots to have a little common sense

With help from a large language model, MIT engineers enabled robots to self-correct after missteps and carry on with their chores. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 9 months ago

Large language models use a surprisingly simple mechanism to retrieve some stored knowledge

Researchers demonstrate a technique that can be used to probe a model to see what it knows about new subjects. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 9 months ago

Study: Movement disorder ALS and cognitive disorder FTLD show strong molecular overlaps

Single-cell gene expression patterns in the brain, and evidence from follow-up experiments, reveal many shared cellular and molecular similarities that could be targeted for potential treatment. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 9 months ago

Students explore career opportunities in semiconductors

Global Semiconductor Alliance’s Women’s Leadership Initiative provides inspiration and guidance to MIT students. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 9 months ago

Think globally, rebuild locally

In order to recycle construction materials, keep them close to home, a new study of Amsterdam suggests. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 9 months ago

A new way to quantify climate change impacts: “Outdoor days”

This measure, developed by MIT researchers, reflects direct effects on people’s quality of life — and reveals significant global disparities. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 9 months ago

For MIT students, there is much to learn from crafting a chair

In class 4.500 (Design Computation), Professor Larry Sass teaches the thoughtful and experimental process of design through the familiar idea of a chair, while exploring “foundational technologies.” | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 9 months ago

Understanding the impacts of mining on local environments and communities

Extractive industries threaten water, glaciers, and livelihoods, but new research offers hope. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 9 months ago

Lessons from Fukushima: Prepare for the unlikely

An analysis of the 2011 nuclear accident reveals a need for more preparation, training, and protocols for responding to low-probability accidents. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 9 months ago

MIT announces financial aid and tuition rates for the 2024–25 academic year

Financial aid increased, more than offsetting a 3.75 percent increase in tuition. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 9 months ago

AI generates high-quality images 30 times faster in a single step

Novel method makes tools like Stable Diffusion and DALL-E-3 faster by simplifying the image-generating process to a single step while maintaining or enhancing image quality. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 9 months ago

Optimizing nuclear fuels for next-generation reactors

While working to nurture scientific talent in his native Nigeria, Assistant Professor Ericmoore Jossou is setting his sights on using materials science and computation to design robust nuclear components. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 9 months ago

Study: Life’s building blocks are surprisingly stable in Venus-like conditions

Results suggest the clouds of Venus could be hospitable for some forms of life. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 9 months ago

Creative collisions: Crossing the art-science divide

A collaboration between ACT and MIT.nano, the class 4.373/4.374 (Creating Art, Thinking Science) asks what it really takes to cultivate dialogue between disciplines. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 9 months ago

Visiting scholars from Ukraine kick off Global MIT At-Risk Fellows Program

Ukrainian researchers and faculty will spend a semester at MIT during the two-year pilot program. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 9 months ago

Visting scholars from Ukraine kick off Global MIT At-Risk Fellows Program

Ukrainian researchers and faculty will spend a semester at MIT during the two-year pilot program. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 9 months ago

3 Questions: Progress on updating MIT’s undergraduate curriculum

Professors Adam Martin and Joel Volman explain the genesis, scope, and objectives of the recently launched Task Force on the MIT Undergraduate Academic Program. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 9 months ago

A protein found in human sweat may protect against Lyme disease

Researchers also found that a variant of the protein is not as protective against the bacteria and increases susceptibility to the disease. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 9 months ago

Pushing material boundaries for better electronics

Associate Professor Jeehwan Kim is exploring systems that could take over where silicon leaves off. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 9 months ago

New algorithm unlocks high-resolution insights for computer vision

FeatUp, developed by MIT CSAIL researchers, boosts the resolution of any deep network or visual foundation for computer vision systems. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 9 months ago

Five MIT faculty members take on Cancer Grand Challenges

Joining three teams backed by a total of $75 million, MIT researchers will tackle some of cancer’s toughest challenges. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 9 months ago

Unlocking the quantum future

At the MIT Quantum Hackathon, a community tackles quantum computing challenges. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 9 months ago

Making the clean energy transition work for everyone

At the 2024 MIT Energy Conference, participants grappled with the key challenges and trends shaping our fight to prevent the worst effects of climate change. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 9 months ago

3 Questions: What you need to know about audio deepfakes

MIT CSAIL postdoc Nauman Dawalatabad explores ethical considerations, challenges in spear-phishing defense, and the optimistic future of AI-created voices across various sectors. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 9 months ago

Study finds lands used for grazing can worsen or help climate change

Too much livestock on a given amount of land can lead to carbon losses, but appropriate numbers can actually help sequester the carbon. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 9 months ago

Envisioning a time when people age without fear of dementia

Moved by the human devastation and scientific conundrum of Alzheimer’s, William Li seeks to work on therapies for the disease. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 9 months ago

2024 MacVicar Faculty Fellows named

Professors Berggren, Campbell, Pollock, and Vaikuntanathan are honored for exceptional undergraduate teaching. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 9 months ago

Researchers help robots navigate efficiently in uncertain environments

A new algorithm can automatically select the best shortcuts for a robot to take on its way to a destination that will reduce the overall travel time while limiting the likelihood that the robot will meet an impassable obstacle. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 9 months ago

Study finds workers misjudge wage markets

A new study finds employees underestimate salary levels in their own industry, leading them to spend less time exploring the job market. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 9 months ago

“Imagine it, build it” at MIT

MIT mechanical engineering class 2.679 (Electronics for Mechanical Systems II) transforms students from consumers of knowledge to explorers and innovators. The design intent of 2.679 is to empower students to ‘imagine it, build it,'" says Professor Tonio Buonassisi. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 9 months ago

Life on Mars, together

MIT students Madelyn Hoying and Wing Lam (Nicole) Chan were part of Crew 290 at the Mars Desert Research Station. The six-person crew completed a two-week simulation under the name Project MADMEN, an analog of potential Martian search-for-life missions. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 9 months ago

Letting the Earth answer back: Designing better planetary conversations

Chen Chu explores the global relevance of local floodplain resilience strategies, and brings to the Morningside Academy his unique perspective in political ecology and urban design. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 9 months ago

How free online courses from MIT can “transform the future of the world”

MIT OpenCourseWare is a global model for open sharing in higher education. With more than 5 million subscribers, OpenCourseWare’s YouTube channel inspires millions of learners across the globe to expand their knowledge and develop new skills for free. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 10 months ago

Master bladesmith Bob Kramer’s lessons from the school of life

In an MIT visit, the endlessly curious Kramer explained how he sampled careers from cook to circus clown before beginning the pursuit of mastery within his craft. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 10 months ago

Remembering Ken Johnson Jr., MIT DAPER director of communications, promotions, and marketing

Ken Johnson Jr., director of communications, promotions, and marketing in the MIT Department of Athletics, Physical Education, and Recreation (DAPER), passed away after suffering a stroke. He was 47 years old. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 10 months ago

A sprayable gel could make minimally invasive surgeries simpler and safer

The new GastroShield gel can be sprayed through an endoscope after polyps are removed during colonoscopy, protecting the gut and helping prevent complications from weakened gastrointestinal tissues. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 10 months ago

Boosting student engagement and workforce development in microelectronics

The Northeast Microelectronics Internship Program for first- and second-year college students looks to expand its reach, with thanks to new funding from the Northeast Microelectronics Coalition Hub. The program is an initiative of MIT’s Microsystems Technology Laboratories. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 10 months ago

Scientists develop a rapid gene-editing screen to find effects of cancer mutations

MIT researchers found a way to screen cancer-linked gene mutations much more easily and quickly than existing approaches, using a variant of CRISPR genome-editing known as prime editing. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 10 months ago

Reducing pesticide use while increasing effectiveness

MIT spinout AgZen developed a system for feedback-optimized spraying that can help farmers spray more efficiently and effectively, using fewer chemicals overall. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 10 months ago

Exploring the cellular neighborhood

Machine-learning software called tomoDRGN allows scientists to model shapeshifting proteins in their native environment. The work is led by Barrett Powell and Joey Davis of the MIT Department of Biology. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 10 months ago

A new sensor detects harmful “forever chemicals” in drinking water

An MIT sensor can detect “forever chemicals” known as PFAS (perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances) in drinking water. PFAS are found in many consumer products and are linked to cancer and other health problems. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 10 months ago

For people who speak many languages, there’s something special about their native tongue

An MIT study of polyglots found the brain’s language network responds more strongly when hearing languages a speaker is more proficient in — and much more weakly to the speaker’s native language. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 10 months ago

Researchers enhance peripheral vision in AI models

A dataset of transformed images can be used to effectively simulate peripheral vision in a machine-learning model, improving the performance of these models on detecting and recognizing objects that are off to the side or in the corner of a scene. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 10 months ago

How sensory gamma rhythm stimulation clears amyloid in Alzheimer’s mice

An MIT study finds stimulating a key brain rhythm with light and sound increases peptide release from interneurons, driving clearance of an Alzheimer’s protein via the brain’s glymphatic system. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 10 months ago

Is this the future of fashion?

The 4D Knit Dress developed by MIT's Self-Assembly Lab combines several technologies — heat-activated yarns, computerized knitting; robotic activation — to create a garment that is sculpted to create a personalized fit and style. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 10 months ago

Three MIT alumni graduate from NASA astronaut training

MIT alumni Marcos Berríos, Christina Birch, and Christopher Williams have graduated from NASA astronaut training and are eligible for flight assignments. They encourage MIT students to apply for the next astronaut class. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 10 months ago

How the brain coordinates speaking and breathing

MIT researchers discovered a brain circuit that drives vocalization and ensures that you talk only when you breathe out, and stop talking when you breathe in. This circuit is under control of a brainstem region called the pre-Bötzinger complex. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 10 months ago