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Chen Chu poses for a photo, seated in front of a glass wall

Letting the Earth answer back: Designing better planetary conversations

Chen Chu explores the global relevance of local floodplain resilience strategies, and brings to the Morningside Academy his unique perspective in political ecology and urban design.

March 13, 2024

Pastel illustration shows two hands, creating a circle, and one hand holds a pencil and draws a DNA strand. More DNA strands are around the hands.

Scientists develop a rapid gene-editing screen to find effects of cancer mutations

With the new technique, MIT researchers hope to identify mutations that could be targeted with new cancer therapies.

March 12, 2024

A farm vehicle uses a long arm to spray many crops. Inset shows leaves, and the sprayed chemical shows up as bright blue.

Reducing pesticide use while increasing effectiveness

In field tests, MIT spinoff AgZen demonstrated that its feedback-optimized spraying system could halve the pesticide needs of farms and improve crop yields.

March 12, 2024

In a roughly spherical pattern, small blobs appear against a light gray background. Some are colored in pastel colors, others are just outlines

Exploring the cellular neighborhood

Software allows scientists to model shapeshifting proteins in native cellular environments.

March 11, 2024

12 astronauts in blue jumpsuits appear on stage. Several are clapping or waving at the crowd.

Three MIT alumni graduate from NASA astronaut training

Marcos Berríos ’06, Christina Birch PhD ’15, and Christopher Williams PhD ’12, now eligible for spaceflight assignments, encourage MIT students to apply for the next astronaut class.

March 7, 2024

Multiple robotic arms working in close proximity inside a warehouse setting

Method rapidly verifies that a robot will avoid collisions

Faster and more accurate than some alternatives, this approach could be useful for robots that interact with humans or work in tight spaces.

March 7, 2024

Ernest Fraenkel poses for a photo in a wet lab

Deciphering the cellular mechanisms behind ALS

Professor Ernest Fraenkel has decoded fundamental aspects of Huntington’s disease and glioblastoma, and is now using computation to better understand amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

March 6, 2024