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Harlow portrait as he stands in front of giant cylindrical white pipes. A strong pink light shines from the left.

Life in a hologram

Physicist Daniel Harlow explores an alternate quantum reality in search of fundamental truths to our physical universe.

June 7, 2023

4 rows show kirigami objects transforming. On top is an illustrated rendering of a how a heart transforms into a triangle; the row below then has photographs showing the same movements using blue paper. The bottom rows show an illustrated rendering of a square transforming into a circle-like shape; and then a row shows photographs of the same transformations on pink paper.

Turning a circle into a square is possible with this kirigami-inspired formula

A study inspired by the Japanese paper-cutting art provides a blueprint for designing shape-shifting materials and devices.

June 1, 2023

Illustration shows the Kepler Space Telescope, left floating next to a blue planet, a grey planet, and a red planet of similar sizes.

A telescope’s last view

Astronomers discover the last three planets the Kepler telescope observed before going dark.

May 30, 2023

Illustration has a black, rocky background, a large river forks off. A large greenfin darter is overlayed on the large river. The 3 forks each have smaller greenfin darters, each with a unique colorful glow.

River erosion can shape fish evolution, study suggests

The new findings could explain biodiversity hotspots in tectonically quiet regions.

May 25, 2023

Inside the Johnson Athletics Center, Sarah Stoops wears a 2.007 shirt as she uses a remote control to control a metal robot with 4 yellow wheels and lots of wires on top. In the background are balloons, a referee in a striped shirt, and people watching in the stands.

2.007 Forever!

With winches, spinners, and telescoping contraptions, bots go head to head in student robot competition inspired by “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.”

May 18, 2023

3 cartoony green microbes ride a raft made of shell on a blue ocean. One microbe has a telescope to look ahead. A sign in the water says they are heading towards to the “Ocean.”

Like ancient mariners, ancestors of Prochlorococcus microbes rode out to sea on exoskeleton particles

A new study shows the carbon-capturing phytoplankton colonized the ocean by rafting on particles of chitin.

May 11, 2023

A dynamic rendering shows, on the left, the edge of a gigantic, yellow spherical star. A tiny red planet is in the middle and has skimmed the star. Rays of white light and blue energy radiate out from their touch.

In a first, astronomers spot a star swallowing a planet

Earth will meet a similar fate in 5 billion years.

May 3, 2023

A moderator and seven MIT faculty members sit on stage. Professor Anne White, in the center, is speaking while the others look on.

MIT faculty tackle big ideas in a symposium kicking off Inauguration Day

Ahead of the Institute’s presidential inauguration, panelists describe advances in their research and how these discoveries are being deployed to benefit the public.

May 1, 2023

4 panels, 3 in monochrome with the bottom right in full color. The top two show similar pixelated, fuzzy white ovals, with the top right having a slightly larger oval. The bottom left shows a pixelated white circle with some grey fuzzy rays slightly protruding from it. The bottom right panel shows a swirling blue galaxy with a white center in black space.

Astronomers detect the closest example yet of a black hole devouring a star

The event was spotted in infrared data — also a first — suggesting further searches in this band could turn up more such bursts.

April 28, 2023

Against a dark background and in colorful, vivid light, about 200 worms are in ball. They are somewhat transparent.

How to untangle a worm ball: Mathematicians solve a knotty mystery

California blackworms tangle themselves up by the thousands, then separate in a split second. Their trick may inspire the design of self-detangling materials and fibers.

April 27, 2023