Research

“The challenge is to engineer a system where we get enough growth to have a productive microbial ‘ chemical factory’ but not so much that we can’ t channel enough of the sugars into a pathway to make large quantities of our target molecules,”says Kristala Prather, an associate professor of chemical engineering at MIT.

Chemical engineers boost bacteria’s productivity

New technique improves yield of useful chemicals.

February 13, 2017

MIT researchers have developed a portable technology, known as Seq-Well, that can rapidly prepare the RNA of many cells for sequencing simultaneously.

Making single-cell RNA sequencing widely available

Portable tool could help scientists learn more about cells’ roles in many diseases.

February 13, 2017

“There seems to be no shortage of exoplanets,” says Jennifer Burt, a Torres postdoctoral fellow in MIT’s Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research. “There are a ton of them out there, and a ton of science to be done.”

Scientists make huge dataset of nearby stars available to public

Users can search database of 1,600 stars to find signs of new exoplanets.

February 13, 2017

Libraries foster intellectual communities.

Is the library the new public square?

The Future of the Libraries Task Force seeks feedback on 10 recommendations including global library services and preserving more of MIT’s intellectual work.

February 9, 2017

Christian Soura, director of the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, speaks at MIT.

Government leaders gather at MIT to advance evidence-based policymaking

State and local policymakers joined with leading researchers to share experiences overcoming challenges to evaluating government programs.

February 9, 2017

In an effort to get ahead of the problem of counterfeit wireless chargers, MIT researchers have built a chip that blocks attempts to wirelessly charge a device’s battery unless the charger first provides cryptographic authentication.

Secure wireless chargers

New chip would thwart the counterfeiting that plagues the market for wired device chargers.

February 9, 2017

By studying the remanent magnetizations in ancient meteorites, an MIT team has determined that the solar nebula — the vast of disc of gas and dust that ultimately gave rise to the solar system — lasted around 3 to 4 million years.

Scientists estimate solar nebula’s lifetime

Study finds the swirling gas disk disappeared within the solar system’s first 4 million years.

February 9, 2017

Hock Tan '75 SM '75 (left) and Lisa Yang have made a commitment of $20 million to establish the Hock E. Tan and K. Lisa Yang Center for Autism Research at MIT's McGovern Institute.

New Center for Autism Research established at MIT’s McGovern Institute

A $20 million gift from Lisa Yang and Hock Tan ’75 SM ’75 will catalyze multidisciplinary autism research.

February 9, 2017

Left to right: Gabriela Schlau-Cohen, Rafael Jaramillo, David Hsu, Nuno Loureiro

New faculty strengthen, broaden MIT’s energy expertise

MIT's newest faculty bring a wide array of energy interests and developments to the Institute.

February 7, 2017

A team of researchers from MIT, Georgia Tech, and the University of Florida has devised a way to rapidly test different nanoparticles to see where they go in the body.

Nanoparticle screen could speed up drug development

New test helps identify particles for gene delivery or RNA interference.

February 7, 2017

Physicists from MIT, the University of Vienna, and elsewhere have presented a strong demonstration of quantum entanglement even when vulnerability to the freedom-of-choice loophole is significantly restricted.

Stars align in test supporting “spooky action at a distance”

Physicists address loophole in tests of Bell’s inequality, using 600-year-old starlight.

February 6, 2017

MIT professor of physics Senthil Todadri seeks to understand unusual metals that defy the textbook description. “We’ve been making slow but steady progress, not just I, myself, but the community as a whole, but I would really like that progress to accelerate,” he says.

Faculty highlight: Senthil Todadri

A quest to understand superconductivity leads MIT theoretical physicist Senthil Todadri to discoveries about new magnetic materials called quantum spin liquids.

February 6, 2017

MIT chemical engineers have developed an extremely sensitive detector that can track single cells’ secretion of dopamine. These video stills show a single cell releasing dopamine.

Sensor traces dopamine released by single cells

New technology could help neuroscientists understand how dopamine influences brain activity.

February 6, 2017

Researchers at MIT and Brigham and Women’s Hospital have designed and demonstrated a small, ingestible voltaic cell that is sustained by the acidic fluids in the stomach.

Engineers harness stomach acid to power tiny sensors

Ingestible electronic devices could monitor physiological conditions or deliver drugs.

February 6, 2017

"My own work has drawn heavily on a number of normally distant disciplines," says Richard Nielsen, MIT assistant professor of political science. "I’m convinced that ... despite the tendency for scholars to remain in our own disciplinary silos, the big breakthroughs on complex issues will come at the intersections of fields, from researchers and teams that are willing to bridge disciplinary divid...

3 Questions with Richard Nielsen: How political science helps combat terrorism

Assistant Professor Richard Nielsen explores why some Muslim clerics adopt the ideology of militant jihad while most do not.

February 3, 2017

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Chemical engineers boost bacteria’s productivity

Making single-cell RNA sequencing widely available

Scientists make huge dataset of nearby stars available to public

Is the library the new public square?

Government leaders gather at MIT to advance evidence-based policymaking

Secure wireless chargers

Scientists estimate solar nebula’s lifetime

New Center for Autism Research established at MIT’s McGovern Institute

New faculty strengthen, broaden MIT’s energy expertise

Nanoparticle screen could speed up drug development

Stars align in test supporting “spooky action at a distance”

Faculty highlight: Senthil Todadri

Sensor traces dopamine released by single cells

Engineers harness stomach acid to power tiny sensors

3 Questions with Richard Nielsen: How political science helps combat terrorism

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