Researchers develop speedier network analysis for a range of computer hardware

MIT researchers developed software to more efficiently run graph applications on a range of computing hardware, including both CPUs and GPUs. The advance could boost analysis of social networks, recommendation algorithms, and internet search. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 3 years ago

Nanowire could provide a stable, easy-to-make superconducting transistor

MIT researchers developed a superconducting nanowire that could enable efficient, easy-to-make electronics. The advance could boost quantum computing, as well as magnetic sensors for applications in brain imaging and telescopes. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 3 years ago

Language learning system that pays attention – more efficiently than ever before

SpAtten, a hardware and software system developed at MIT, streamlines state-of-the-art natural language processing. The advance could reduce the computing power, energy, and time required for text analysis and generation. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 3 years ago

LaserFactory: Fabrication of Fully Functional Devices

MIT researchers developed a system called LaserFactory for manufacturing functional, custom-made devices and robots, without human intervention. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 3 years ago

“I know what you bought at Chipotle”

A new algorithm offers insights into consumer spending by identifying what someone purchased from only the bill total. The work was led by Michael Fleder and Devavrat Shah at MIT. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 3 years ago

Geologists produce new timeline of Earth’s Paleozoic climate changes

MIT geologists have produced a new timeline of Earth’s Paleozoic climate changes. The record shows ancient temperature variations coinciding with shifts in planet’s biodiversity. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 3 years ago

Solving a Rubik's Cube in record time (2018)

A robot developed by MIT students Ben Katz and Jared Di Carlo can solve a Rubik’s Cube in a record-breaking 0.38 seconds. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 3 years ago

Robust artificial intelligence tools to predict future cancer

MIT researchers have improved their machine learning system, Mirai, developed to predict cancer risk from mammogram images, and validated their effectiveness with studies across several hospitals. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 3 years ago

Boosting the efficiency of carbon capture and conversion systems

Researchers at MIT have developed a method to boost the performance of carbon capture systems that use catalytic surfaces to enhance the rates of carbon-sequestering electrochemical reactions. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 3 years ago

Turning desalination waste into a useful resource

Chemical processing could turn brine from desalination plants into useful industrial chemicals like sodium hydroxide, so that it doesn’t need to be dumped back into the sea. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 3 years ago

Designing Customized “Brains” for Robots

MIT researchers have developed an automated way to design customized hardware that speeds up a robot’s operation. The system, called robomorphic computing, accounts for the robot’s physical layout in suggesting an optimized hardware architecture. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 3 years ago

MIT developed NLP models that help make better vaccine targets

MIT researchers have devised a way to computationally model viral escape, using models that were originally developed to model language. The model can predict which sections of viral surface proteins, including those of influenza, HIV, and SARS-CoV-2, are more likely to mutate in … | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 3 years ago

MIT's Eric Lander and Maria Zuber for senior science posts in US cabinet

President-elect Joseph Biden has selected two MIT faculty leaders — Broad Institute Director Eric Lander and Vice President for Research Maria Zuber — for top science and technology posts in his administration. Lander will be Presidential Science Advisor and Zuber will co-lead th … | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 3 years ago

MIT study sheds light on longstanding question of why cancer cells waste energy

MIT biologists have found a possible explanation for the Warburg effect, first seen in cancer cells in the 1920s. They found cancer cells use fermentation, an inefficient metabolic pathway, because it helps them to generate large quantities of a molecule called NAD+, which they n … | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 3 years ago

MIT Proposed Electric Plane design could reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by 95%

A proposed hybrid-electric plane could “eliminate aviation’s air pollution problem,” say MIT engineers. Their design could reduce global nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions by 95 percent, they report in a study. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 3 years ago

Ten “keys to reality” from Nobel laureate Frank Wilczek

In his book, “Fundamentals: Ten Keys to Reality,” MIT physicist and Nobel laureate Frank Wilczek distills scientists’ understanding of the physical world into 10 philosophical themes, using the fundamental theories of physics to reframe ideas of space, time, and our place in the … | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 3 years ago

Inspired by kombucha tea, engineers create “living materials”

Engineers at MIT and Imperial College London have developed a new way to generate tough, functional materials using a mix of bacteria and yeast similar to the “kombucha mother” used to ferment tea. Using this mix, called a Syn-SCOBY (synthetic symbiotic culture of bacteria and ye … | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 3 years ago

Portable device can quickly detect plant stress

Researchers from Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) designed a portable optical sensor that allows rapid monitoring of plant stress. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 3 years ago

Are you a “harbinger of failure”? (2015)

An MIT study finds the same consumers tend to purchase failed products. Dubbed “harbingers of failure,” these buyers may provide new window into consumer behavior and behavioral economics. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 3 years ago

Dava Newman named director of MIT Media Lab

Dava Newman, MIT professor of aeronautics and astronautics, has been named the new director of the MIT Media Lab. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 3 years ago

Dava Newman Named Director of MIT Media Lab

Dava Newman, MIT professor of aeronautics and astronautics, has been named the new director of the MIT Media Lab. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 3 years ago

Being capable of thinking quantitatively is the single most important thing

Former NFL lineman and MIT grad student John Urschel has penned his memoir, ““Mind and Matter: A Life in Math and Football.” “Being capable of thinking quantitatively — it’s the single most important thing,” he tells MIT News. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 3 years ago

Method finds hidden warning signals in measurements collected over time

MIT researchers have developed a deep learning-based algorithm to detect anomalies in time series data. The technology could provide advance warning of potential failures in systems ranging from satellites to computer data centers. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 3 years ago

Making smart thermostats more efficient

A new smart thermostat can quickly learn to optimize building microclimates. The device was developed by the MIT Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems and partners at Skoltech. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 3 years ago

Net emissions reductions from EVs depends on when they are recharged

MIT researchers developed a novel electric vehicle emissions model to quantify the importance of vehicle-charging patterns and the impact of ambient temperature on EV emissions levels. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 3 years ago

New type of atomic clock keeps time even more precisely

An MIT-designed atomic clock uses entangled atoms to keep time even more precisely than its state-of-the-art counterparts. The design could help scientists detect dark matter and study gravity’s effect on time. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 3 years ago

Making data-informed Covid-19 testing plans

A new web-friendly modeling tool at whentotest.org helps organizations build tailored Covid-19 testing strategies that can save money and reduce coronavirus spread. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 3 years ago

To the brain, reading computer code is not the same as reading language

MIT neuroscientists have found reading computer code does not rely on the regions of the brain involved in language processing. Instead, it activates the “multiple demand network,” which is also recruited for complex cognitive tasks such as solving math problems or crossword puzz … | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 3 years ago

Storing medical information below the skin’s surface (2019)

MIT researchers have developed a novel way to record a patient’s vaccination history: storing the data in a pattern of quantum-dot dye, invisible to the naked eye, that is delivered under the skin at the same time as the vaccine. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 3 years ago

An LED that can be integrated directly into computer chips

MIT researchers have developed a bright, efficient silicon LED that can be integrated directly onto computer chips. The advance could reduce cost and improve performance of microelectronics that use LEDs for sensing or communication. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 3 years ago

A cool advance in thermoelectric conversion

An MIT team led by Mingda Li has achieved a breakthrough in thermoelectric generation, which offers a direct means of converting thermal energy, including waste heat, into electricity. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 3 years ago

A technique to sift out the universe's first gravitational waves

A new MIT technique may sift out universe’s very first gravitational waves. Identifying primordial ripples would be key to understanding conditions of the early universe. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 3 years ago

Discovery suggests new promise for nonsilicon computer transistors

An alloy material called InGaAs could be suitable for high-performance computer transistors, according to MIT researchers. If operated at high-frequencies, InGaAs transistors could one day rival those made of silicon. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 3 years ago

Neuroscientists find a way to make object-recognition models perform better

MIT neuroscientists have developed a way to overcome computer vision models’ vulnerability to “adversarial attacks,” by adding to these models a new layer that is designed to mimic V1, the earliest stage of the brain’s visual processing system. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 3 years ago

Better learning with shape-shifting objects

MIT researchers have developed an adaptive basketball hoop that shrinks and raises as its user makes shots more consistently. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 3 years ago

System can sterilize medical tools using solar heat

Autoclaves, which are used to sterilize medical tools, require a steady supply of hot, pressurized steam. Researchers at MIT and the Indian Institute of Technology have come up with a way to generate that steam passively, using just the power of sunlight, to help maintain safe, s … | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 3 years ago

Versatile building blocks make structures with surprising mechanical properties

Researchers at MIT’s Center for Bits and Atoms have created tiny building blocks that exhibit unique mechanical properties, such as the ability to produce a twisting motion when squeezed. These subunits could potentially be assembled by robots into a nearly limitless variety of o … | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 3 years ago

We shouldn’t fear the future of work

MIT’s Task Force on the Work of the Future, along with the Initiative on the Digital Economy and the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), held a conference to mark the release of its final report, “The Work of the Future: Building Better Jobs in an Age … | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 3 years ago

Study identifies reasons for soaring nuclear plant cost overruns in the U.S.

MIT researchers have analyzed the causes of many cost overruns on new nuclear power plants in the U.S., which have soared in the past 50 years. The findings may help designers of new plants build in resilience to prevent such added costs. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 3 years ago

A neural network learns when it should not be trusted

MIT researchers have developed a way for deep learning neural networks to rapidly estimate confidence levels in their output. The advance could enhance safety and efficiency in AI-assisted decision making, with applications ranging from medical diagnosis to autonomous driving. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 3 years ago

Vibrations of coronavirus proteins may play a role in infection

MIT research finds vibrations of the protein spikes on coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2, play a crucial part in allowing the virus to penetrate human cells. The findings could help determine how dangerous different strains or mutations of coronaviruses may be, and might point … | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 3 years ago

Power-free system harnesses evaporation to keep items cool

MIT researchers have developed a two-layer passive cooling system, made of hydrogel and aerogel, that can keep foods and pharmaceuticals cool for days without the need for electricity. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 3 years ago

System brings deep learning to “internet of things” devices

MCUNet is a new MIT system that brings machine learning to microcontrollers. The advance could enhance the function and security of devices connected to the Internet of Things (IoT). | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 3 years ago

Using machine learning to track the pandemic’s impact on mental health

Researchers have found an increase in anxiety and in thoughts about suicide in response to Covid-19 after analyzing Reddit posts. They used machine learning to study hundreds of thousands of posts, allowing them to identify changes in the tone and content of language that people … | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 3 years ago

Researchers develop a high-power, portable terahertz laser

MIT and University of Waterloo researchers have developed a high-power, portable version of a quantum cascade laser, which can generate terahertz radiation outside of a laboratory setting. The laser could be used in applications such as pinpointing skin cancer and detecting hidde … | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 3 years ago

“The Age of Living Machines” Honored by the American Institute of Physics

MIT President Emerita Susan Hockfield wins the 2020 Science Communication Award from the American Institute of Physics for her book "The Age of Living Machines." | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 3 years ago

Detecting asymptomatic Covid-19 infections through cellphone-recorded coughs

An artificial intelligence model can detect people who are asymptomatic with Covid-19, through cellphone-recorded coughs. The work was led by Brian Subirana and colleagues at the MIT Auto-ID Lab. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 3 years ago

A worm may yield insights into the gut-brain relationship

Gurrein Madan, an MIT graduate student in brain and cognitive sciences and MathWorks Fellow, studies gut–brain signaling with implications for human health. | Continue reading


@news.mit.edu | 3 years ago