Astronomers find a “cataclysmic” pair of stars with the shortest orbit yet
The stars circle each other every 51 minutes, confirming a decades-old prediction.
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Small eddies play a big role in feeding ocean microbes
Swirling waters replenish nutrients in open ocean, a new study finds, and could mitigate some climate change effects.
Peter Shor wins Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics
MIT professor to share $3 million prize with three others; Daniel Spielman PhD ’95 wins Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics.
Ocean scientists measure sediment plume stirred up by deep-sea-mining vehicle
A new field study reveals a previously unobserved fluid dynamic process that is key to assessing impact of deep-sea mining operations.
Saturn’s rings and tilt could be the product of an ancient, missing moon
A “grazing encounter” may have smashed the moon to bits to form Saturn’s rings, a new study suggests.
Study: Astronomers risk misinterpreting planetary signals in JWST data
Refining current opacity models will be key to unearthing details of exoplanet properties — and signs of life — in data from the powerful new telescope.
Divorce is more common in albatross couples with shy males, study finds
In a long-studied population of wandering albatrosses, females are less likely to stick with a shy mate.
MIT’s MOXIE experiment reliably produces oxygen on Mars
Day and night, and across seasons, the instrument generates breathable oxygen from the Red Planet’s thin atmosphere.
“You are here because you belong here”
President Reif and faculty members welcome the Class of 2026 to MIT.
Engineers fabricate a chip-free, wireless electronic “skin”
The device senses and wirelessly transmits signals related to pulse, sweat, and ultraviolet exposure, without bulky chips or batteries.
Engineers repurpose 19th-century photography technique to make stretchy, color-changing films
The technique opens a door to manufacturing of pressure-monitoring bandages, shade-shifting fabrics, or touch-sensing robots.
MIT engineers develop stickers that can see inside the body
New stamp-sized ultrasound adhesives produce clear images of heart, lungs, and other internal organs.
Physicists harness quantum “time reversal” to measure vibrating atoms
A new technique could improve the precision of atomic clocks and of quantum sensors for detecting dark matter or gravitational waves.
Starfish embryos swim in formation like a “living crystal”
Their swirling, clustering behavior might someday inform the design of self-assembling robotic swarms.
Astronomers detect a radio “heartbeat” billions of light-years from Earth
The clear and periodic pattern of fast radio bursts may originate from a distant neutron star.