School of Science

MIT engineers have devised a way to automate the process of monitoring neurons in a living brain using a computer algorithm that analyzes microscope images and guides a robotic arm to the target cell. In this image, a pipette guided by a robotic arm approaches a neuron identified with a fluorescent stain.

Robotic system monitors specific neurons

Success rate is comparable to that of highly trained scientists performing the process manually.

August 30, 2017

Several thousand people gathered at MIT to watch the partial solar eclipse on Aug. 21.

Experiencing the Great American Solar Eclipse

Thousands attend MIT solar eclipse-watching parties on campus, at the MIT Wallace Observatory, and in Rexburg, Idaho.

August 29, 2017

Scientists in MIT’s Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences (EAPS) have for the first time determined the strength of the stratosphere’s circulation, based on observations of key chemicals traveling within this atmospheric layer.

Strength of global stratospheric circulation measured for first time

Estimate will help gauge hang time of greenhouse gases, water vapor, and ozone in upper atmosphere.

August 28, 2017

When electrons travelling individually pass through a constricted opening, they will bounce off the walls at either side, losing their momentum as well as some of their energy. But when the electrons travel in dense groups, they are much more likely to bounce off each other than the walls, and travel quickly.

Experiments confirm theory of “superballistic” electron flow

Behaving like particles in a viscous fluid can help bunches of electrons squeeze through a tight space.

August 23, 2017

Alison Criscitiello PhD '14 summits Mount Logan, Canada’s highest mountain, in May 2016 after ice coring nearby in the Yukon Territory.

For the love of ice: Journeys to the remote and inhospitable

Alison Criscitiello PhD '14 seeks ice cores in inhospitable locations, sometimes camping on ice sheets and sleeping with a shotgun in case of bear attacks.

August 23, 2017

MIT students, students from the University of Venice, and faculty members from both institutions pose in front of Venice's experimental floodgates as part of a collaborative summer workshop.

Saving Venice, MIT-style

MISTI interns and MIT faculty tackle rising sea level challenges at Italian research camp this summer.

August 23, 2017

PhD student Tsehai Grell believes the variety of MIT students’ experiences and perspectives is one of the Institute’s greatest qualities. “When you don’t have diversity of thought and experiences, you are missing out on a number of problems and potential solutions, especially in the research lab,” she says.

Expanding the pipeline to graduate school

Outside of the chemistry lab, PhD candidate Tsehai Grell works to make MIT more inclusive for grad students.

August 22, 2017

New findings suggest the ancient Earth harbored a mantle that was much more efficient at drawing down pieces of the planet’s crust.

Ancient Earth’s hot interior created “graveyard” of continental slabs

Higher mantle temperatures caused subducting tectonic plates to sink much further than they do today.

August 22, 2017

2017 Gilliam Fellowship awardee Lindsey Backman

Lindsey Backman awarded Gilliam Fellowship

Howard Hughes Medical Institute fellows are chosen for their potential to be leaders in their scientific fields and for their commitment to diversity.

August 18, 2017