To make mini-organs grow faster, give them a squeeze Study finds that compressing cells, and crowding their contents, can coax them to grow and divide. October 13, 2020 Read full story →
Institute Professor Emeritus Mario Molina, environmental leader and Nobel laureate, dies at 77 The atmospheric chemist shared the Nobel Prize for the discovery that chemicals known as CFCs deplete the ozone layer. October 9, 2020 Read full story →
3 Questions: Why getting ahead of Covid-19 requires modeling more than a health crisis Researchers urge a holistic approach to forecasting the virus’ impact on public health and the economy. October 6, 2020 Read full story →
Andrea Ghez ’87 wins a share of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics MIT alumna and two others honored for discoveries in black hole physics. October 6, 2020 Read full story →
Geologists raise the speed limit for how fast continental crust can form Study suggests parts of the Sierra Nevadas formed in a “geologic instant,” more than twice as fast as previously thought. October 5, 2020 Read full story →
Antarctic sea ice may not cap carbon emissions as much as previously thought Study suggests sea ice blocks the flow of carbon both into and out of the ocean, in roughly equal measure. October 1, 2020 Read full story →
Astronomers discover an Earth-sized “pi planet” with a 3.14-day orbit The rocky world, with its baking-hot surface, is likely not habitable. September 21, 2020 Read full story →
Engineers produce a fisheye lens that’s completely flat The single piece of glass produces crisp panoramic images. September 18, 2020 Read full story →
Did our early ancestors boil their food in hot springs? Scientists have found evidence of hot springs near sites where ancient hominids settled, long before the control of fire. September 15, 2020 Read full story →
Astronomers may have found a signature of life on Venus Evidence indicates phosphine, a gas associated with living organisms, is present in the habitable region of Venus’ atmosphere. September 14, 2020 Read full story →
Four from MIT awarded 2021 New Horizons in Physics and New Frontiers in Mathematics prizes Physicists Tracy Slatyer and Netta Engelhardt and mathematicians Lisa Piccirillo and Nina Holden PhD ’18 are honored by the Breakthrough Prize Foundation. September 10, 2020 Read full story →
Velcro-like food sensor detects spoilage and contamination Color-changing array of silk microneedles could help stem outbreaks and avoid food waste. September 9, 2020 Read full story →
A “bang” in LIGO and Virgo detectors signals most massive gravitational-wave source yet A binary black hole merger likely produced gravitational waves equal to the energy of eight suns. September 2, 2020 Read full story →
An unexpected origin story for a lopsided black hole merger Researchers suggest a novel process to explain the collision of a large black hole and a much smaller one. September 2, 2020 Read full story →
A fall semester welcome to undergraduates “We will find great meaning and satisfaction in having endured this historic test together,” President Reif told new and returning students. September 1, 2020 Read full story →