Research

The Committee on Animal Care solicits feedback

September 27, 2017

Dubbed “Primer,” a new cube-shaped robot can be controlled via magnets to make it walk, roll, sail, and glide. It carries out these actions by wearing different exoskeletons, which start out as sheets of plastic that fold into specific shapes when heated. After Primer finishes its task, it can shed its “skin” by immersing itself in water, which dissolves the exoskeleton.

“Superhero” robot wears different outfits for different tasks

Shape-shifting device from CSAIL can walk, roll, sail, and glide using recyclable exoskeletons.

September 27, 2017

An aerial view of the Virgo site shows the Mode-Cleaner building, the Central building, the 3km-long west arm and the beginning of the north arm. The other buildings include offices, workshops, computer rooms and the control room of the interferometer.

Gravitational waves from a binary black hole merger observed by LIGO and Virgo

Finding represents first joint detection of gravitational waves with both detectors.

September 27, 2017

“It’s important to have a single test that can differentiate between the four serotypes of Dengue and Zika, because they co-circulate. They’re spread by the same mosquito,” says Kimberly Hamad-Schifferli, an associate professor of engineering at the University of Massachusetts at Boston and a visiting scientist in MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering.

New test rapidly diagnoses Zika

Paper-based diagnostic avoids false positives from Dengue fever and other related viruses.

September 27, 2017

This model illustrates the three-dimensional upward spiral of North Atlantic deep water through the Southern Ocean.

Deep waters spiral upward around Antarctica

Research reveals the upwelling pathways and timescales of deep, overturning waters in the Southern Ocean.

September 26, 2017

Virion hikers with varying levels of fitness, illustrated here as preparedness, attempt to climb Folded Peak While some virions are too unfit to hit the trail (red), some are sufficiently fit to reach the summit without help from the park chaperones (blue). Other virions (yellow) are able to reach the summit by hijacking the park chaperones, which are also assisting certain host proteins, and so...

Biochemists discover mechanism that helps flu viruses evolve

Influenza viruses can hijack host cellular machinery to help mutated viral proteins fold and function.

September 26, 2017

“[Glucose-responsive insulin] has been a longstanding goal of the diabetes field,” says professor Michael Strano. “If done correctly, you could make it so that diabetics could take an occasional dose and never have to worry about their blood sugar.”

Model predicts performance of glucose-responsive insulin

Engineered insulin that can be activated by high blood sugar could improve diabetics’ quality of life.

September 26, 2017

Engineers at MIT have devised a framework for identifying key patterns that precede an extreme event.

Technique spots warning signs of extreme events

Method may help predict hotspots of instability affecting climate, aircraft performance, and ocean circulation.

September 22, 2017

The blue glow of Cerenkov radiation emanates from the core of MIT's reactor.

MIT Nuclear Reactor Laboratory launches seed grant program

New program eases access to the MIT Reactor for MIT faculty and research staff.

September 21, 2017

Kerry Emanuel, the Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Atmospheric Science and co-director of the Lorenz Center at MIT

Kerry Emanuel: This year’s hurricanes are a taste of the future

Climate scientist describes physics behind expected increase in storm strength due to climate change.

September 21, 2017

Researchers found that babies who watched an adult struggle to complete tasks before succeeding tried harder at their own difficult task, compared to babies who saw an adult succeed without effort.

Babies can learn that hard work pays off

Study finds infants try harder after seeing adults struggle to achieve a goal.

September 21, 2017

Erica James, associate professor of medical anthropology and urban studies in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning, co-presents with Dennis McLaughlin, H.M. King Bhumibol Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (not pictured) on the results of their research project, Leverage Points: Opportunities for Increasing Food Production in Developing Countries, funded by ...

Projects make inroads on global food and water challenges

MIT researchers supported by J-WAFS present results of their work on food and water security.

September 21, 2017

In this diagram, the atomic lattice of a crystal of barium oxide is depicted, with atoms of oxygen and barium represented by red and gray spheres. A neutral oxygen vacancy, a place where an oxygen atom should appear in the lattice but is instead replaced by two electrons, is represented by the yellow shape, which depicts the charge density of those electrons. At left, the crystal is seen with no e...

New analysis explains role of defects in metal oxides

Harnessing these imperfections could have implications for computer memory and energy conversion.

September 21, 2017

New leadership for MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab

Computer vision and machine learning expert Antonio Torralba to lead new artificial intelligence research lab.

September 20, 2017

“This is not saying that disaster occurs the next day,” says Professor Daniel Rothman about his new study. “It’s saying that, if left unchecked, the carbon cycle would move into a realm which would be no longer stable, and would behave in a way that would be difficult to predict. In the geologic past, this type of behavior is associated with mass extinction.”

Mathematics predicts a sixth mass extinction

By 2100, oceans may hold enough carbon to launch mass extermination of species in future millennia.

September 20, 2017

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The Committee on Animal Care solicits feedback

“Superhero” robot wears different outfits for different tasks

Gravitational waves from a binary black hole merger observed by LIGO and Virgo

New test rapidly diagnoses Zika

Deep waters spiral upward around Antarctica

Biochemists discover mechanism that helps flu viruses evolve

Model predicts performance of glucose-responsive insulin

Technique spots warning signs of extreme events

MIT Nuclear Reactor Laboratory launches seed grant program

Kerry Emanuel: This year’s hurricanes are a taste of the future

Babies can learn that hard work pays off

Projects make inroads on global food and water challenges

New analysis explains role of defects in metal oxides

New leadership for MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab

Mathematics predicts a sixth mass extinction

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