School of Science

The Ad Hoc Task Force on Open Access to MIT’s Research has released its final recommendations, which aim to support and increase the open sharing of MIT publications, data, software, and educational materials.

Open access task force releases final recommendations

Report urges MIT community to openly share the products of its research and teaching.

October 17, 2019

Applied mathematics Professor Alan Edelman has been selected to receive the 2019 IEEE Computer Society Sidney Fernbach Award.

Alan Edelman recognized with 2019 IEEE Computer Society Sidney Fernbach Award

Edelman's Julia programming language was recognized for solving large computational problems for high-performance computers.

October 17, 2019

$The repeating patterns in a snowflake are a classic example of beautiful, geometric fractals. Now MIT scientists have discovered fractal-like patterns in the magnetic configurations of a quantum material for the first time.$

Scientists discover fractal patterns in a quantum material

The X-ray-focusing lens used in the experiment is based on a design used in lighthouses for centuries.

October 16, 2019

MIT neuroscientists have shown that the core elements of an internal model also control purely mental processes.

Controlling our internal world

Design principles from robotics help researchers decipher elements controlling mental processes in the brain.

October 16, 2019

The MIT Department of Biology and Whitehead Institute are collaborating to produce a podcast, BioGenesis, featuring graduate students and their origin stories.

“Biogenesis” podcast highlights MIT students behind cutting-edge biology research

The MIT Department of Biology and Whitehead Institute are producing a podcast featuring young scientists and why they chose to study biology.

October 16, 2019

Researchers have for the first time used a massive cluster of galaxies as a huge magnifying lens to detect a small, star-forming dwarf galaxy.

Astronomers use giant galaxy cluster as X-ray magnifying lens

New lens technique spots tiny dwarf galaxy in the first, super-energetic stages of star formation.

October 14, 2019

In the top row, neurons are labeled with a fluorescent probe that reveals electrical activity. In the bottom row, neurons are labeled with a variant of the probe that accumulates specifically in the neuron cell bodies, preventing interference from axons of neighboring neurons.

New method visualizes groups of neurons as they compute

Fluorescent probe could allow scientists to watch circuits within the brain and link their activity to specific behaviors.

October 9, 2019

The 2019-2020 MLK Visiting Scholars and Professors: (l-r) Tina Opie, Matthew Schumaker, Rhonda Williams, Ben McDonald, Kasso Okoudjou, and Jamie Macbeth.

Meet the 2019-20 MLK Visiting Professors and Scholars

Six scholars and professors are spending this academic year in engagement with the MIT community.

October 8, 2019

A white-stained cluster of amyloid plaque proteins, a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease pathology, is evident in the mammillary body of a 2-month-old Alzheimer's model mouse. A new study finds that plaques begin in such deep regions and spread throughout the brain along specific circuits.

Alzheimer’s plaque emerges early and deep in the brain

Clumps of amyloid protein emerge early in deep regions, such as the mammillary body, and march outward in the brain along specific circuits.

October 8, 2019

MIT professor of mathematics Victor Kac will be inducted into the Accademia Nationale dei Lincei in November.

Victor Kac elected to the Accademia Nationale dei Lincei

Victor Kac elected to the Accademia Nationale dei Lincei Mathematics professor will join Galileo and Einstein as a member of the world's oldest science academy.

October 7, 2019