I’m walking here! A new model maps foot traffic in New York City
The first complete charting of foot traffic in any US city can be used for infrastructure decisions and safety improvements.
Some early life forms may have breathed oxygen well before it filled the atmosphere
A new study suggests aerobic respiration began hundreds of millions of years earlier than previously thought.
A satellite language network in the brain
Researchers find a component of the brain’s dedicated language network in the cerebellum, a region better known for coordinating movement.
Helping AI agents search to get the best results out of large language models
EnCompass executes AI agent programs by backtracking and making multiple attempts, finding the best set of outputs generated by an LLM. It could help coders work with AI agents more efficiently.
New vaccine platform promotes rare protective B cells
Based on a virus-like particle built with a DNA scaffold, the approach could generate broadly neutralizing antibody responses against HIV or influenza.
3D-printed metamaterials that stretch and fail by design
New framework supports design and fabrication of compliant materials such as printable textiles and functional foams, letting users predict deformation and material failure.
Terahertz microscope reveals the motion of superconducting electrons
For the first time, the new scope allowed physicists to observe terahertz “jiggles” in a superconducting fluid.
SMART launches new Wearable Imaging for Transforming Elderly Care research group
WITEC is working to develop the first wearable ultrasound imaging system to monitor chronic conditions in real-time, with the goal of enabling earlier detection and timely intervention.
New tissue models could help researchers develop drugs for liver disease
Two models more accurately replicate the physiology of the liver, offering a new way to test treatments for fat buildup.
Your future home might be framed with printed plastic
MIT engineers are using recycled plastic to 3D print construction-grade floor trusses.
How a unique class of neurons may set the table for brain development
Somatostatin-expressing neurons follow a unique trajectory when forming connections in the visual cortex that may help establish the conditions needed for sensory experience to refine circuits.
How generative AI can help scientists synthesize complex materials
MIT researchers’ DiffSyn model offers recipes for synthesizing new materials, enabling faster experimentation and a shorter journey from hypothesis to use.
A portable ultrasound sensor may enable earlier detection of breast cancer
The new system could be used at home or in doctors’ offices to scan people who are at high risk for breast cancer.
MIT engineers design structures that compute with heat
By leveraging excess heat instead of electricity, microscopic silicon structures could enable more energy-efficient thermal sensing and signal processing.
Study: The infant universe’s “primordial soup” was actually soupy
MIT physicists observed the first clear evidence that quarks create a wake as they speed through quark-gluon plasma, confirming the plasma behaves like a liquid.