School of Science

Of note: Annual Energy Night taking place Oct. 16

October 14, 2009

Prof. Dennis Whyte leads the PSFC effort at the new center devoted to the study of plasma surface interactions.

PSFC collaborates on new Plasma Surface Interactions Center

The Plasma Science and Fusion Center (PSFC) has partnered with the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and the University of California, Berkeley to create a new center for the study of Plasma Surface Interactions (PSI).

October 13, 2009

Economics professor Amy Finkelstein, left; and Tyler Jacks, the director of the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, were elected today to the Institute of Medicine.

Two from MIT elected to the Institute of Medicine

Professor of Economics Amy Finkelstein and Tyler Jacks, director of the Koch Institute, join arm of the National Academies of Science.

October 12, 2009

Avinatan Hassidim, a postdoc in the Research Laboratory of Electronics, writes out a system of four linear equations with four variables. The quantum algorithm that he, Seth Lloyd, and Aram Harrow devised can solve systems with a trillion equations and a trillion variables.

Quantum computing may actually be useful

A quantum algorithm that solves systems of linear equations could point in a promising new direction.

October 9, 2009

$Until recently, scientists theorized that DNA organized itself into a structure known as an equilibrium globule, left. This type of structure is highly tangled, and stretches of DNA located near each other on a chromosome may be far apart in the 3D structure. MIT, Harvard and UMass Medical School researchers have shown that DNA is actually organized as a fractal globule, right, which resists knott...$

A new dimension for genome studies

By revealing the 3-D structure of DNA, scientists explain how it manages to stay untangled. The findings could also help reveal how cells regulate their genes.

October 9, 2009

Diagram showing the predicted track of the occultation of a star by a Kuiper Belt Object on the night of Oct. 9.

Tracking icy objects, across the globe

Pilot project sets the stage for MIT-led globe-girdling efforts to learn about icy relics of the solar system's birth.

October 9, 2009

A capital achievement

In White House ceremony, President Barack Obama presents JoAnne Stubbe with the National Medal of Science in recognition of enzyme research that led to cancer drug.

October 7, 2009

Asteroids honor and motivate young scientists

Since 2001, MIT Lincoln Laboratory’s Ceres Connection program, in conjunction with the International Astronomical Union, has celebrated more than 1,500 science fair winners by naming minor planets in their honor.

October 6, 2009