How the brain distinguishes oozing fluids from solid objects
A new study finds parts of the brain’s visual cortex are specialized to analyze either solid objects or flowing materials like water or sand.
Mapping cells in time and space: New tool reveals a detailed history of tumor growth
Researchers developed a tool to recreate cells’ family trees. Comparing cells’ lineages and locations within a tumor provided insights into factors shaping tumor growth.
Staff members honored with 2025 Excellence Awards, Collier Medal, and Staff Award for Distinction in Service
The MIT community celebrates their fellow staff members’ talent and dedication to the Institute.
Famous double-slit experiment holds up when stripped to its quantum essentials
MIT physicists confirm that, like Superman, light has two identities that are impossible to see at once.
New machine-learning application to help researchers predict chemical properties
ChemXploreML makes advanced chemical predictions easier and faster — without requiring deep programming skills.
Astronomers discover star-shredding black holes hiding in dusty galaxies
Unlike active galaxies that constantly pull in surrounding material, these black holes lie dormant, waking briefly to feast on a passing star.
What do we owe each other?
A new class teaches MIT students how to navigate a fast-changing world with a moral compass.
Connect or reject: Extensive rewiring builds binocular vision in the brain
A first-of-its-kind study in mice shows neurons add and shed synapses at a frenzied pace during development to integrate visual signals from the two eyes.
Professor Emeritus Daniel Kleppner, highly influential atomic physicist, dies at 92
The “godfather of Bose-Einstein condensation” and MIT faculty member for 37 years led research into atomic, molecular, and optical physics that led to GPS and quantum computing.
Five MIT faculty elected to the National Academy of Sciences for 2025
Rodney Brooks, Parag Pathak, Scott Sheffield, Benjamin Weiss, Yukiko Yamashita, and 13 MIT alumni are recognized by their peers for their outstanding contributions to research.
New AI system uncovers hidden cell subtypes, boosts precision medicine
CellLENS reveals hidden patterns in cell behavior within tissues, offering deeper insights into cell heterogeneity — vital for advancing cancer immunotherapy.
How an MIT professor introduced hundreds of thousands of students to neuroscience
With an emphasis on approachability, Professor Mark Bear’s “Neuroscience: Exploring the Brain” enters its fourth decade as the text of undergraduate neuroscience classes worldwide.
Gift from Dick Larson establishes Distinguished Professorship in Data, Systems, and Society
Sasha Rakhlin, a professor in IDSS and brain and cognitive sciences, has been named the inaugural holder of the new professorship.
MIT chemists boost the efficiency of a key enzyme in photosynthesis
The enzyme, known as rubisco, helps plants and photosynthetic bacteria incorporate carbon dioxide into sugars.
Study: Babies’ poor vision may help organize visual brain pathways
MIT researchers found that low-quality visual input early in life may contribute to the development of key pathways in the brain’s visual system.