Explained: Near-miss asteroids
What to do in the event of an asteroid streaking toward Earth? Activate the asteroid ‘fire drill.’
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IEEE honors MIT milestones in computing and navigation
World’s first real-time digital computer and electronic navigation system are commemorated in Boston.
3 Questions: Andrea Campbell interprets the Supreme Court’s health care decision
A political scientist whose work was cited in one justice’s opinion weighs in on the ruling and its implications.
Communication scheme makes popular applications ‘gracefully mobile’
New MIT software keeps tens of thousands of people logged into remote computers from mobile devices, but the underlying technology could improve a host of other programs.
Chris A. Kaiser selected as MIT provost
Longtime member of the biology faculty to succeed L. Rafael Reif as the Institute’s senior academic and budget officer.
Lead from gasoline discovered in Indian Ocean
Levels began to climb in the 1970s, peaking a decade ago — a timeline consistent with the region’s pattern of leaded gasoline use.
Better surfaces could help dissipate heat
Heat transfer in everything from computer chips to powerplants could be improved through new analysis of surface textures.
Computer science tackles 30-year-old economics problem
MIT researchers generalize Nobel winner’s work on single-item auctions to auctions involving multiple items.
Bits of buildings: How is computing changing the architect’s job?
In a new book, an MIT researcher looks at the influence of high-tech simulations on the profession of architecture.
New technique allows simulation of noncrystalline materials
Multidisciplinary team develops mathematical approach that could help in simulating materials for solar cells and LEDs.
Researchers amplify variations in video, making the invisible visible
New software amplifies changes in successive frames of video that are too subtle for the naked eye.
All-carbon solar cell harnesses infrared light
New type of photovoltaic device harnesses heat radiation that most solar cells ignore.
Researchers find evidence of ice content at the moon’s south pole
Scientists map Shackleton crater, whose unusually bright floor may hint at the presence of ice.
Economists find evidence for famous hypothesis of ‘comparative advantage’
Why do nations trade goods instead of producing more themselves? An old theory, that countries specialize in the products they make well, may be on the money.
Fishing for answers to autism puzzle
Biologists take a new approach to deciphering the roles of genes associated with autism.