Looking beyond natural sequences
A new machine-learning framework aims to improve the success rate of computational protein design while moving away from results that reproduce sequences found in nature.
New type of attack can slip past the defenses in your computer’s processor
MIT CSAIL researchers found a way to exploit a split-second gap in chip security — and used it to acquire a Linux system’s password file.
MIT engineers create a system for building shape-changing smart devices
Dubbed “bifur-circuits,” these interactive building blocks could be used to develop reconfigurable robotic grippers or customized assistive devices.
AI helps design new materials that work in the real world
The “CrysVCD” tool developed at MIT could cut the huge amounts of time and money spent on screening out chemically unstable designs.
Retooling to help democracy revive
Deindustrialization didn’t only hurt some workers, Daron Acemoglu says in a new book; it shrank the coalition supporting democracy, which needs expanding.
Cells use a little-known molecule to protect themselves from iron overload
This discovery points toward new combination strategies against cancer, and may explain the iron buildup seen in disorders such as early-onset Parkinson’s disease.
The secret love life of the longfin squid
MIT Sea Grant resident artist and acclaimed underwater photographer Keith Ellenbogen captures an intimate look at courtship and communication in a hidden spawning spectacle off Cape Cod.
Brain circuit keeps tabs on what just happened to aid judgment of what’s happening now
To keep track of what’s going on in front of it, the brain relies not only on what it sees, but also a comparison with what it just saw. A new study pinpoints the circuit that provides that service.
Meteorite dust holds records of magnetism that may have helped form the sun
The discovery likely represents the earliest known evidence of a magnetic field in the infant solar system.
Generating scenarios for extreme events, without extreme data
A new algorithm learns to anticipate the unprecedented scenarios that critical infrastructure and global supply chains are least prepared for.
Language skills stay strong in older adults, even while other cognitive abilities decline
MIT researchers find that activity in the brain’s language network is nearly identical in young and old people.
The importance of indoor airflow patterns in spreading airborne disease
Researchers explore how a key factor can mitigate or promote tuberculosis transmission.
Paving the way for greener ammonia production
New MIT research could lead to better materials for a fossil-fuel-free process for making the chemical that's essential to fertilizer and other products.
MIT engineers design a better controller for operating construction diggers
The new, more intuitive system could speed up the training process for excavator operators.
How the Toxoplasma parasite adapts to crowded conditions in host cells
A new study by Whitehead Institute researchers identifies how the widespread parasite Toxoplasma gondii survives in crowded environments in infected cells, which helps it persist in long-lasting brain cysts.