School of Science

Biologist Adam Martin studies the mechanics of tissue folding

The dynamic process is critical to embryonic development and other cellular phenomena.

January 31, 2019

MIT researchers found that lung tumors in mice treated with antibiotics (right, purple stain) were much smaller than untreated lung tumors (left).

Bacteria promote lung tumor development, study suggests

Antibiotics or anti-inflammatory drugs may help combat lung cancer.

January 31, 2019

This mosaic image of asteroid Bennu is composed of 12 PolyCam images collected on Dec. 2 by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft from a range of 15 miles (24 km). The image was obtained at a 50 degree phase angle between the spacecraft, asteroid, and the sun.

MIT’s REXIS and Bennu’s watery surface

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx sample-return spacecraft, carrying MIT instrument, arrived at asteroid in December; now begins the science to select a sampling location.

January 29, 2019

$Experiments on ultra-thin copper-oxide ceramic superconductors performed by MIT researchers showed an unexpected disorderly, or “glassy,” arrangement of electrons, known as a “Wigner glass.” At left, “Fourier space,” or momentum space, shows the diffraction data that proved the tendency of the charge ripples to align in any direction, while the image at right displays the random placem...$

Surprising electronic disorder in a copper oxide-based ceramic

MIT researchers use resonant X-ray scattering measurements to reveal unexpected “Wigner glass” in desirable superconducting material.

January 28, 2019

Poonam was 13 years old and blind from cataracts when Project Prakash provided her with surgery to restore her sight.

The gift of light, through science and service

Professor Pawan Sinha addresses a humanitarian need — treatable blindness — and advances our understanding of visual development in the brain.

January 28, 2019

Tsai earns Hans Wigzell's Prize in Medicine

Award recognizes Alzheimer's disease discoveries.

January 25, 2019

Members of the Health Analytics Collective: (left to right) Mohamad Zahreddine, Michelle Gayari, Duane Robinson, Uma Sharma, Vijay Ivaturi, Kelly Hill, Joga Gobburu, Alan Edelman, and Prasad Koppolu, gather at MMS Holdings in Canton, Michigan.

Julia Lab joins team to speed up drug approval process

Health Analytics Collective uses real-world evidence to modernize health and drug development decisions.

January 25, 2019

Richard "Dick" Lyon, acoustics expert and professor emeritus of mechanical engineering, dies at 89

Leading expert in acoustics, vibration, and machine dynamics served on the Department of Mechanical Engineering faculty for 32 years.

January 24, 2019

William Oliver says government research funding will have to be augmented with commercialization of quantum computing, and that will require trained scientists and engineers.

Q&A: The talent shortage in quantum computing

William Oliver says a lack of available quantum scientists and engineers may be an inhibitor of the technology’s growth.

January 23, 2019

The first color image of Ultima Thule, taken at a distance of 85,000 miles (137,000 kilometers) at 4:08 Universal Time on Jan. 1, 2019, highlights its reddish surface. The left image was taken by the Long-Range Reconnaissance Imager. At right, color has been overlaid onto the LORRI image.

3Q: On the significance of Ultima Thule

New Horizons Mission Team members Alissa Earle and Richard Binzel discuss the revelations the icy world provides about the formation of our solar system.

January 23, 2019