School of Science

Researchers have found a new kind of long-range interaction between particles, in a liquid medium, that is based entirely on their motion. Alfredo Alexander-Katz describes the kind of interactions his team found as being related to the research field of active matter. Example of active systems are the flocking behavior of birds or the schooling of fish. In this illustration, moving particles in a ...

Study finds unexpected long-range particle interactions

Spinning cells could attract each other across surprisingly long distances.

April 11, 2016

Using high-speed pulsed lasers, Nuh Gedik (pictured) has managed to observe a hybrid state between electrons and photons. These states had been theoretically proposed but never before experimentally observed in solids.

Nuh Gedik: Peering into the heart of matter

MIT physicist uses laser beams to study exotic electronic phenomena at high speeds.

April 11, 2016

QS World University Rankings rates MIT No. 1 in 12 subjects for 2016

MIT ranked within the top 5 globally for 19 of 42 subject areas.

April 8, 2016

Clockwise from top, left: Itay Tirosh, Benjamin Izar, Aviv Regev, Alex Shalek, Orit Rozenblatt Rosen, and Levi Garraway

Taking on melanoma, one cell at a time

In step toward personalized medicine, researchers are using single-cell analysis to unravel cancer’s secrets.

April 7, 2016

April 12 symposium: Take an immersive, intellectual journey across campus

Beyond 2016: MIT’s Frontiers of the Future event offers a playful introduction to research at MIT.

April 5, 2016

The team was initially inspired by videos of chocolatiers making bonbons and other chocolate shells. Pedro Reis and his team wondered whether there was a way to precisely predict the final thickness of chocolate and other shells that start out as a liquid film.

How crispy is your bonbon?

New theory, inspired by chocolate coatings, predicts thickness of thin shells.

April 4, 2016

MacVicar Day panelists: (l-r) Janet Rankin, Martin Culpepper, Robert Miller, Catherine Drennan, David Darmofal, and Michael Cuthbert.

Evidence-based teaching is alive and well at MIT

MacVicar Day symposium features a sampling of innovative pedagogical practices and lessons learned.

April 1, 2016

This device built by MIT researchers can be reconfigured to manufacture several different types of pharmaceuticals.

Pharmacy on demand

New, portable system can be configured to produce different drugs.

March 31, 2016

Two neurons of the basolateral amygdala. MIT neuroscientists have found that these neurons play a key role in separating information about positive and negative experiences.

How the brain processes emotions

Neuroscientists identify circuits that could play a role in mental illnesses, including depression.

March 31, 2016

“For China, it looks like industrial growth [has the greatest impact on water shortages] as people get wealthier,” Charles Fant says. “In India, population growth has a huge effect. It varies by region.”

Water problems in Asia’s future?

Study finds high risk of severe water stress in Asia by 2050.

March 30, 2016

This artist’s rendering shows the super-Earth 55 Cancri e in front of its parent star. The planet is essentially a heat-seeking fireball, orbiting extremely close to its star. It circles in just 18 hours, compared to Earth’s leisurely 365-day journey around the sun.

First temperature map of a “super-Earth” reveals lava world

Exoplanet lacks atmosphere, is covered in rivers of magma.

March 30, 2016

MIT has named its historic Building 2 in honor of James H. '58 and Marilyn Simons, whose generosity enabled the Institute to restore and renovate the building.

MIT names historic Building 2, home of mathematics, in honor of James '58 and Marilyn Simons

March 30, 2016