Study: The infant universe’s “primordial soup” was actually soupy
MIT physicists observed the first clear evidence that quarks create a wake as they speed through quark-gluon plasma, confirming the plasma behaves like a liquid.
Cancer’s secret safety net
Researchers uncover a hidden mechanism that allows cancer to develop aggressive mutations.
Richard Hynes, a pioneer in the biology of cellular adhesion, dies at 81
Professor, mentor, and leader at MIT for more than 50 years shaped fundamental understandings of cell adhesion, the extracellular matrix, and molecular mechanisms of metastasis.
Biology-based brain model matches animals in learning, enables new discovery
New “biomimetic” model of brain circuits and function at multiple scales produced naturalistic dynamics and learning, and even identified curious behavior by some neurons.
To flexibly organize thought, the brain makes use of space
MIT researchers tested their theory of spatial computing, which holds that the brain recruits and controls ad hoc groups of neurons for cognitive tasks by applying brain waves to patches of the cortex.
Polar weather on Jupiter and Saturn hints at the planets’ interior details
New research may explain the striking differences between the two planets’ polar vortex patterns.
Demystifying college for enlisted veterans and service members
For nearly a decade, the MIT Warrior-Scholar Project STEM boot camp has helped enlisted members of the military prepare for higher education.
At MIT, a continued commitment to understanding intelligence
With support from the Siegel Family Endowment, the newly renamed MIT Siegel Family Quest for Intelligence investigates how brains produce intelligence and how it can be replicated to solve problems.
Chemists determine the structure of the fuzzy coat that surrounds Tau proteins
Learning more about this structure could help scientists find ways to block Tau from forming tangles in the brain of Alzheimer’s patients.
A protein found in the GI tract can neutralize many bacteria
The protein, known as intelectin-2, also helps to strengthen the mucus barrier lining the digestive tract.
Eighteen MIT faculty honored as “Committed to Caring” for 2025-27
The program recognizes outstanding mentorship of graduate students.
Celebrating worm science
Time and again, an unassuming roundworm has illuminated aspects of biology with major consequences for human health.
New research may help scientists predict when a humid heat wave will break
As these events become more common at midlatitudes, a phenomenon called an atmospheric inversion will determine how long they last.
MIT in the media: 2025 in review
MIT community members made headlines with key research advances and their efforts to tackle pressing challenges.
MIT community in 2025: A year in review
Top stories highlighted the Institute’s leading positions in world and national rankings; new collaboratives tackling manufacturing, generative AI, and quantum; how one professor influenced hundreds of thousands of students around the world; and more.