What really killed the dinosaurs?
Before an asteroid wiped out the dinosaurs, Earth experienced a short burst of intense volcanism.
Picower neuroscientists reveal fundamental discovery about cortical neurons
Inhibitory neuron functionality is not an immutable property of cortical cells, but a consequence of more complex network dynamics.
Detecting gases wirelessly and cheaply
New sensor can transmit information on hazardous chemicals or food spoilage to a smartphone.
Potash: Historical pathways to development
Diversity of sources and sustainable production methods are needed to meet world potassium fertilizer demand.
Computers that teach by example
New system enables pattern-recognition systems to convey what they learn to humans.
3 Questions: Ben Weiss on the lunar dynamo
The moon’s molten, churning core likely once generated a dynamo.
Report details steps needed to accelerate innovation at MIT
New Innovation Initiative aims to reshape the role of the university in the 21st-century economy.
Computer model enables design of complex DNA shapes
Engineers computer-design the most complicated 3-D structures ever made from DNA.
Small volcanoes make a dent in global warming
Study shows that the effects of smaller eruptions have been underestimated in climate models.
3 Questions: Lee Gehrke on a new paper diagnostic for Ebola
Simple device now in development could speed diagnosis and improve disease tracking.
Losing air
New study finds a barrage of small impacts likely erased much of the Earth’s primordial atmosphere.
Transient contacts
Ibrahim Cissé is unraveling the mystery of DNA transcription, one molecule at a time.
Seeking answers from a mysterious parasite
Newly tenured biologist Jeroen Saeij wants to know what makes Toxoplasma gondii so unpredictable.
