Researchers at MIT have discovered “the most direct evidence to date of unconventional superconductivity in ‘magic-angel’ twisted trilayer graphene (MATTG), reports Aman Tripathi for Interesting Engineering. “This finding is a crucial step in the global search for room-temperature superconductors, often referred to as the ‘Holy Grail’ of physics,” writes Tripathi.
Sonia Raman, who served as the MIT women’s basketball coach for 12 seasons, has been named the next coach of the WNBA’s Seattle Storm, reports Andrew Destin for the Associated Press. During her career at MIT, Raman “led the school to the Division III NCAA Tournament twice and remains the winningest coach in program history,” writes Destin.
Prof. Tess Smidt and incoming Prof. Lindsey Raymond have been named Schmidt Sciences 2025 AI2050 Early Career Fellows, reports Michael T. Nietzel for Forbes. The AI2050 project is “aimed at advancing the capacity of artificial intelligence to tackle an evolving list of 10 ‘hard problems,’ involving major scientific questions, technical issues, and risks associated with revolutionary technology,” explains Nietzel.
MassLive reporter Scott Kirsner visited CSAIL’s Living Lab, a mocked-up apartment space designed to test and train humanoid robots. “We’re creating an environment that captures real-life properties of the spaces where we want to put machines in. So that’s a real kitchen with a real fridge and a real dishwasher and a real oven. We can make cookies in the kitchen,” explains Prof. Daniela Rus, director of CSAIL. “In the past, our robots have been in research environments, where the environment is heavily simplified over the kinds of things we expect to see in the physical world.”
In honor of the 25th anniversary of the International Space Station (ISS), Earth.com reporter Derek Davis spotlights the contributions of a number of MIT-trained astronauts and engineers, who played pivotal roles in the ISS’ history.
Prof. Linda Griffith speaks with Science Friday host Flora Lichtman about her work studying endometriosis. “I did a lot of things in the regenerative medicine space. But I had an epiphany that there’s so many chronic and inflammatory disease that we don’t know how to treat so I started building models of human organs and tissues in the lab using what we called microfluidic chips,” Griffith explains. “When I got asked about endometriosis, it was actually a perfect application for this kind of approach because we really need to study the lesions very carefully in the lab in ways that is very hard to study in patients.”
A new study from researchers at MIT shows that lack of focus after a poor night’s sleep often corresponds with a surge of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain, which usually flows while we’re asleep. “We like to think we’re in control—that willpower, caffeine, and determination can overcome a missed night of sleep,” writes Bill Murphy Jr. for Inc. “However, this research suggests otherwise. When your brain needs to clean itself, it’s going to find a way to do it, whether you’re ready for it or not.”
In her forthcoming book, “Phenomenal Moments: Revealing the Hidden Science Around Us,” MIT Research Scientist and science photographer Felice Frankel encourages readers to search for science everywhere, while highlighting the beauty of science. The photographs “challenge readers to deduce the underlying chemical, natural, or physical processes at play.”
MIT researchers have developed a new AI tool, dubbed “DrugReflector,” aimed at speeding up the drug discovery process, reports William A. Haseltine for Forbes. The researchers used DrugReflector to test tested almost 9,600 drugs in different human cell types.“This system was 17 times more accurate than older computational methods and improved as it used honest lab feedback,” writes Haseltine.
Forbes reporter Gemma Allen spotlights Prof. Daniela Rus, director of CSAIL, and her work revolutionizing the field of robotics by bringing “empathy into engineering and proving that responsibility is as radical and as commercially attractive as unguarded innovation.” Rus says of her vision for the future of robotics and AI: “With robots, we can amplify strength and precision. With AI, we can amplify cognition, creativity, empathy, and foresight. These tools should help us become better versions of ourselves."
WalletHub has ranked MIT among the top 10 best colleges and universities in America, reports Ben Kesslen for Quartz. “MIT continues to set the global standard for innovation and research. Its strengths lie in faculty resources and career outcomes, with graduates often leading advancements in science, technology, and business,” writes Kesslen.
MIT has been named the No. 1 university for graduate employability for 2026, according to Times Higher Education’s latest survey.
Prof. Stuart Madnick speaks with Miami Herald reporter Michelle Marchante about online phishing schemes. Madnick explains that while IP addresses can sometimes give a general idea of where a person was when they went online, it’s not a foolproof way to determine their exact location. He adds that anyone can buy a URL and redirect it to another website.
Researchers at MIT have found that momentary lapses in attention, often described as zoning out, coincide with waves of fluid flowing out of the brain, reports Ian Sample for The Guardian. “The moment somebody’s attention fails is the moment this wave of fluid starts to pulse,” says Prof. Laura Lewis. “It’s not just that your neurons aren’t paying attention to the world, there’s this big change in fluid in the brain at the same time.”
Prof. Kerry Emanuel speaks with CNN reporter Andrew Freedman about the impact of human-caused influences on massive storms, such as Hurricane Melissa. “This is the third Category 5 tropical cyclone in the Atlantic this year, and the other two also went through periods of rapid intensification. Taken together, this season might be said to be consistent with what we have been saying for some time,” Emanuel explains. “The proportion of global tropical cyclones reaching high intensity is increasing, as is the incidence of rapidly intensifying storms.”