It pays to cooperate
Yeast cells that share food have a survival edge over their freeloading neighbors — particularly when there is bacterial competition.
Stronger than a speeding bullet
New tests of nanostructured material could lead to better armor against everything from gunfire to micrometeorites.
A burst of activity in the middle of the Milky Way
Researchers detect the brightest flare ever observed in our galaxy’s black hole.
A step toward stronger polymers
Counting loops that weaken materials could help researchers eliminate structural flaws.
Inside the unconscious brain
New study reveals brain-wave patterns that mark loss of consciousness during anesthesia.
How the brain controls our habits
MIT neuroscientists identify a brain region that can switch between new and old habits.
Belfer gift creates consortium targeting neurodegenerative diseases
Collaboration unites Picower Institute at MIT with MD Anderson Cancer Center and Baylor College of Medicine.
A new glow for electron microscopy
Protein-labeling technique allows high-resolution visualization of molecules inside cells.
Calcium reveals connections between neurons
New way to image brain-cell activity could shed light on autism and other psychiatric disorders.
Brain’s language center has multiple roles
Neuroscientists find Broca’s area is really two subunits, each with its own function.
Scientists find first evidence of dynamo generation on an asteroid
A meteorite found in Antarctica holds evidence of a once-active dynamo on Vesta.
Explaining the origins of word order using information theory
Researchers believe that information theory — the discipline that gave us digital communication — can explain differences between human languages.