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How the brain keeps time

Study reveals neuron-firing patterns that underlie time measurement.

October 8, 2015

Antiparallel beta-sheet structure of the enzyme catalase: The antiparallel hydrogen bonds (dotted) are between peptide NH and CO groups on adjacent strands. Arrows indicate the chain direction, and electron density contours outline the non-H atoms.

Analyzing protein structures in their native environment

Enhanced-sensitivity NMR could reveal new clues to how proteins fold.

October 8, 2015

Alumnus Paul Modrich wins Nobel Prize in chemistry

Biochemist who graduated from MIT in 1968 is honored for his work on DNA repair mechanisms.

October 7, 2015

Enhancing movement with computational models

PhD student David Hill maps human locomotion in detail to improve rehabilitative and assistive robotics.

October 7, 2015

Microbe sleuth

Tanja Bosak examines how life and the Earth evolved in tandem during their early history together.

October 5, 2015

MIT President L. Rafael Reif and Gianfelice Rocca sign documents renewing a partnership between the Institute and Politecnico di Milano (POLIMI), Italy's top engineering school.

Significant foundation grant extends two-way partnership with Italy through 2020

Agreement will support a number of joint research projects, seminars, lectures, and other programming.

October 2, 2015

Members of the MIT Class of 2019: Riana Hoagland, Zoe Gong, Michael Hartman, Abishkar Chhetri

New to campus

Members of the Class of 2019 possess ample talent and determination.

October 2, 2015

MIT Department of Chemical Engineering Associate Professor Kristala Jones Prather

Compound potential

Kristala Jones Prather engineers microbes to produce compounds that can be used in industrial processes efficiently and economically.

September 30, 2015

Color-corrected photograph of bacteria "spelling" B12, when the vitamin-B12-dependent photoreceptor protein, CarH, senses light.

A natural light switch

MIT scientists identify and map the protein behind a light-sensing mechanism.

September 28, 2015

MIT freshman conquer New Hampshire's Mount Washington as part of the DEAPS orientation program.

Experiencing extreme Earth

Freshmen discover the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences through weather and climate demonstrations and a trip to Mt. Washington.

September 25, 2015

CRISPR systems are found in many different bacterial species, and have evolved to protect host cells against infection by viruses.

New system for human genome editing has potential to increase power and precision of DNA engineering

CRISPR-Cpf1 offers simpler approach to editing DNA; technology could disrupt scientific and commercial landscape.

September 25, 2015

MIT professor of biological engineering Christopher Voigt

Engineering biology

With a new DARPA contract, biological engineer Christopher Voigt aims to harness the power of living cells.

September 24, 2015

MIT biologists found that the yeast protein Rim4 forms disordered clumps similar to the beta-amyloid plaques associated with Alzheimer’s disease, shown here.

Biologists find unexpected role for amyloid-forming protein

Yeast protein could offer clues to how Alzheimer’s plaques form in the brain.

September 24, 2015

MIT researchers find the soft palate (in red) — the soft tissue at the back of the roof of the mouth — plays a key role in how the flu virus (in background) travels through the air.

How flu viruses gain the ability to spread

New study reveals the soft palate is a key site for evolution of airborne transmissibility.

September 23, 2015

This image shows entorhinal "ocean cells" (red) and "island cells" (blue). Green fluorescence indicates ocean cells that have been genetically altered.

How the brain encodes time and place

Neuroscientists identify a brain circuit that is critical for forming episodic memories.