Quantum fluctuations can jiggle objects on the human scale
Study shows LIGO’s 40-kilogram mirrors can move in response to tiny quantum effects, revealing the “spooky popcorn of the universe.”
TESS mission discovers massive ice giant
Neptune-sized planet may be remnant core of a much larger planet.
How worms move: Dopamine helps nematodes coordinate motor behaviors
To spy on worms for days on end, Picower Institute scientists invent a new open-source microscopy platform.
Twelve MIT faculty honored as “Committed to Caring” for 2020-2021
Honor recognizes faculty mentors who devote true attention to students’ well-being.
Learning during lockdown
Whether seeking a career change or rediscovering intellectual pursuits, learners worldwide turn to MITx courses.
Producing a gaseous messenger molecule inside the body, on demand
Method could shed light on nitric oxide’s role in the neural, circulatory, and immune systems.
Biology community holds daylong program to address diversity and inclusion
In honor of #ShutDownSTEM, students, faculty, and staff facilitated virtual discussions to understand and combat anti-Black racism in academia.
How cancer drugs find their targets
Certain cancer therapeutics concentrate within cells — a finding that could change the way scientists think about drug design.
Identifying a melody by studying a musician’s body language
Music gesture artificial intelligence tool developed at the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab uses body movements to isolate the sounds of individual instruments.
Like a treasure map, brain region emphasizes reward location
The lateral septum encodes spatial information with a special emphasis on where the reward lies.
Dietmar Seyferth, professor emeritus of chemistry, dies at 91
Inorganic chemist and MIT professor for over 40 years was “a bedrock of the organometallic community.”
Ice, ice, maybe
EAPS graduate student Meghana Ranganathan zooms into the microstructure of ice streams to better understand the impacts of climate change.
What jumps out in a photo changes the longer we look
Researchers capture our shifting gaze in a model that suggests how to prioritize visual information based on viewing duration.
Astronomers detect regular rhythm of radio waves, with origins unknown
Signal from 500 million light years away is the first periodic pattern of radio bursts detected.
Study sheds light on a classic visual illusion
Neuroscientists delve into how background brightness influences our perception of an object.