3 Questions: How Covid-19 tests work and why they’re in short supply
MIT scientists Omar Abudayyeh and Jonathan Gootenberg explain the current state of Covid-19 testing, and how a CRISPR tool may help solve the supply problem.
Researchers achieve remote control of hormone release
Using magnetic nanoparticles, scientists stimulate the adrenal gland in rodents to control release of hormones linked to stress.
First sighting of mysterious Majorana fermion on a common metal
Physicists’ discovery could lead to a new family of robust qubits for quantum computing.
Professor Emeritus Ulrich Becker, who made major contributions to particle physics, dies at 81
Longtime MIT physicist and mentor created instruments that advanced high-energy physics, including the Nobel Prize-winning discovery of the J particle.
Katie Collins, Vaishnavi Phadnis, and Vaibhavi Shah named 2020-21 Goldwater Scholars
Three MIT undergraduates who use computer science to explore human biology and health honored for their academic achievements.
Origins of Earth’s magnetic field remain a mystery
The existence of a magnetic field beyond 3.5 billion years ago is still up for debate.
Titan’s missing river deltas and an Earthly climate connection
Samuel Birch, a new Heising-Simons Foundation 51 Pegasi b Fellow at MIT, will investigate the surfaces of outer solar system objects.
New “refrigerator” super-cools molecules to nanokelvin temperatures
Technique may enable molecule-based quantum computing.
Computational thinking class enables students to engage in Covid-19 response
Nearly 300 students join an open course that applies data science, artificial intelligence, and mathematical modeling using the Julia language to study Covid-19.
Researching from home: Science stays social, even at a distance
Picower Institute researchers are advancing their work in many ways despite time away from the lab required to corral Covid-19.
Neuroscientists find memory cells that help us interpret new situations
Neurons that store abstract representations of past experiences are activated when a new, similar event takes place.
3 Questions: Greg Britten on how marine life can recover by 2050
Committing to aggressive conservation efforts could rebuild ocean habitats and species populations in a few decades.
MIT scientist helps build Covid-19 resource to address shortage of face masks
Jill Crittenden and colleagues in a new consortium provides guidance for health care workers on decontamination and reuse of N95 face masks.
How dopamine drives brain activity
A specialized MRI sensor reveals the neurotransmitter’s influence on neural activity throughout the brain.
Newly discovered enzyme “square dance” helps generate DNA building blocks
MIT biochemists can trap and visualize an enzyme as it becomes active — an important development that may aid in future drug development.